<p>Right now, I'm a junior in 4 AP classes. I am taking AP Chem, AP Comp. Sci, AP English Lit, and AP USII. As many of you know, the AP test season is right around the corner, and I have to register to take them by the end of this month. However, I'm not sure which ones I want to take, or which ones I should take.</p>
<p>So, my question is how would I be viewed by top schools (Ivies, Stanford, etc) if I chose not to take all of my AP tests? In a perfect world I would only take the USII test and nothing else, however that is not the case. I don't want to take all 4 tests because of two reasons:
1) They are expensive as h***! I mean really, $89/test is outrageous. I don't know if I want to have my parents spend over $350 for me to possibly do well on these tests.
2) Four tests is a lot, and some of them are supposed to be pretty difficult. So, if I could avoid having to take these tests, it would be a big help.</p>
<p>I am not necessarily worried that I won't do well on the tests, but I can't guarantee that I'll get all 4's and 5's either.</p>
<p>So, would the schools mentioned look down on me for not taking the AP test, or would they not really care? I know that I can take the tests, and choose not to send them if the scores are bad, but is there really any advantage to that?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know if these schools do in fact give credit for good AP scores?</p>
<p>AP tests are mainly for getting credits rather than for admission. Nevertheless, some schools will view them as additional SAT2 (e.g. Harvard). Compare to the credit you may get from each AP, $100 is not that expensive. Of course, if you think you may not a score higher than 3, then you may not want to take it. Also, if you find out the AP credit policy of the schools that you are likely attend, you may skip some test too. Last but not least, getting sufficient AP with decent scores will get you one of the AP Scholar titles which you can put on your college application. The entry level for AP Scholar need 3 decent AP scores.</p>
<p>I may be completely wrong, but to my understanding, AP exam scores are also used to compare your application to others. So, having the extra 4s/5s may help you out. However, that being said, if you plan on getting into top-notch schools, know that most won’t give you credit for your AP scores; they’re all just for “building-your-resume” purposes. I got seven 5s and one 4, and Yale gave me zero credits. All I got was an acceleration credit for my language requirement.</p>
<p>Like others have said it really depends on where you want to go. Some schools (ivy leagues) don’t really give that much credit even if you take the tests, so you might consider taking the test as a waste of money. Others (notably public schools) give a LOT of credit for AP tests. I’ve heard of freshmen at UC Berkeley amusing enough AP credit to get senior level credit. This helps them with get priority registration enabling them to get the classes they want and, possibly, graduate early. This could save you something like $30,000 so that should also be considered.<br>
You should keep in mind though that if you take an AP class but don’t take the corresponding AP test the adcomm might wonder whether or not you’re really motivated OR if you took the test, failed, and are withholding the scores. </p>
<p>Honestly, it’s a potential red flag if you take the AP classes but then don’t take the actual test. The schools will probably be wondering why. If you don’t take ONE of the AP tests for your classes then it probably wouldn’t matter too much, but not taking more than one would definitely set off alarms.</p>
<p>It costs money to apply to college too. I don’t know your financial situation but it really doesn’t seem like something you should be worrying about, because taking and doing well on an AP test is an economic investment in your future. </p>
<p>So, to summarize, study hard and take the tests!</p>
<p>Note, you only need to self report AP scores on application if you want to. If submitted, they may use that to evaluate your GPA. For instance, if you get an A+ on an AP class but a 2 in AP exam, that may indicate the generous grading curve of your school. It does not matter if you take an AP class but not the exam. It is really optional. Taking an AP class is for the rigorous curriculum. Take the AP test is mainly for the credit. There are seniors not taking AP exam once they find out they cannot get the credit from the admitted school. That is very common.</p>
<p>If you were a senior, I would say it doesn’t matter. However, since you are a junior, and you do not know what college you will be attending, I would suggest taking the test. The senior can review the AP credit chart at the school to which he will be going and make an informed decision based upon what credit, if any, he will get; the junior cannot. If money is an issue, there are fee reductions available; otherwise it is an investment in your future.</p>
<p>You don’t have to take all the tests, but you should take at least 2 of them and preferably 3 <em>as long as you’re reasonably sure to score a 4 or 5</em>. If you think odds are high you’ll get a 3 or might even get a 2 on an exam, don’t take it.
Colleges primarily use AP classes to gauge course rigor. Then they award credit if the class really corresponds to one semester at their college - at the top colleges, they don’t, so you won’t get credit for them.
As billcsho said, you only self report your AP scores and your counselor may add them onto your transcript but those don’t matter as much. Of course, having a string of 5’s will help - have you taken tests already? How many AP classes will you have when you graduate?</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that I am only going to take the Chem, Comp Sci, and USII tests as of now. I was aware that most of the top schools will not give out credit, unless you get a 5, but even then there’s no guarantee. With that in mind, I figure that I might as well take the 3 that I feel best about, and hope to do well enough. I feel fairly confident that I could get a 4 or 5 on CS and USII, and I think a 4 is reasonable for the Chem test (no way I’m getting a 5 on Chem).</p>
<p>Does anyone have any idea what scores would be deemed “acceptable?” For instance, if I get a 3 on Chem or something, would the schools look at that as being a bad score? (I don’t see myself getting a 3, but in the event that something went wrong for whatever reason on test day, I would like to know.)</p>
<p>3 is usually around the average and is at the proficiency level, although it is also usually not sufficient for credit. It is just like getting 650-690 in SAT2. It is not bad but nothing to boast.</p>