<p>I was planning to apply to cornell but I've never taken an AP test.</p>
<p>I have taken many AP classes and gotten A's in them but I have never found the need to take an AP test.... will this work against me?</p>
<p>yes very much so</p>
<p>oooooh.. how much and why?</p>
<p>You won't get any college credit. and besides, colleges want to know how you compare to other students that took the class all over the world.</p>
<p>oookay, I am a junior so if I take some AP tests this year and get threes on all of them, is it better to send in the score to an ivy than to not send them at all?</p>
<p>You usually don't send in your score reports until after you get accepted. You are asked to self report them which is really up to you.</p>
<p>If you took the test and passed I don't see the harm in posting them. 1s and 2s may be a bad signal though.</p>
<p>Well I guess it would depend on your situation. Since you are obviously attending a school that offers APs, it looks quite bad that you didn't take the AP tests (signs of laziness, lack of commitment/drive, etc...) Either take them in May (with preparation of course) or take the AP tests for the AP classes you are taking right now.</p>
<p>In response to Kindredkid: Report them anyway so the colleges know you attempted to take them. It looks better than leaving it blank (which usually indicates you took the class and didn't bother to take the test). Not good</p>
<p>but how heavily could colleges look at whether u took the AP test for the class? what if someone didn't want to get the college credit?</p>
<p>All A's are not the same. The tests back up your grades and show great interest in those classes. If your school has a reputation for rigor and not for grade inflation it should be OK, however your counselor should be insisting on you taking the tests. kindred is talking Cornell, and every bit counts for the Ivies.</p>
<p>To sports61kh: If you already bothered to take the class, did well, and you have the chance to get college credit (a privilege you have earned), why wouldn't you? Sometimes you don't get credit but you are able to place out of one of those freshman classes with 10 million people in them.</p>
<p>A bunch of my friends INSISTED to me the other day that AP scores do not get sent to colleges until after you're accepted, at which point you can get the credit. </p>
<p>What?! </p>
<p>Are they right in that it's OPTIONAL to send them; you have to self-report and get CB to send them in? But in that case, why would they have the option to withhold scores for $8? I guess that would be if you wanted to report only SOME of your scores...</p>
<p>Hmm.</p>
<p>@J'adoube: i guess i asked b/c a lot of premeds want to retake the intro courses in college since they can get good grades in them (almost the same class)</p>
<p>any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>honestly... if you are taking the AP class that is fine enough. </p>
<p>colleges are going to be glad to hear that you passed an AP test, but if you took it and didn't pass, or just didn't take it all... it is not that big of deal...
for them, that just means more $$$ to pay to take those classes at their school.</p>
<p>why is everyone so agonized about the college process?</p>
<p>you get in or you don't. and if you don't get in, you don't want to go somewhere that doesn't want you anyway.</p>
<p>^ "why is everyone so agonized about the college process?"
I'm kind of wondering why you're on this forum.
That said, it might hurt you some, but shouldn't be a decisive factor in your application.</p>
<p>sports61kh: That sounds reasonable enough, however how do you know you did well enough in the class unless you take the test? You have the option to report the grades and I think you have the option to take credit or not. I grant you pre-med is a different animal, but in order to be accepted to Med school you have to differentiate yourself from the pack, if you are like most people, you'll end up like most people: not in Med school.</p>
<p>In general, to have AP/IB credits allows you to start college at a higher level, which means that after 4 years and spending the same amount of money, you graduate at a higher level. They also make it easier to have two majors.</p>
<p>Many schools allow you to take graduate level classes at the undergraduate level (same price). So if you are going for a Masters degree it will take you less time.</p>
<p>if you take the AP test and do badly, is there a way you can hide your score from the college?</p>
<p>yeah, just don't tell them. i got a 2 on us history and i didnt report it.</p>
<p>oooh really? for some reason i thought they were permanently on your transcript. So i might as well take all AP tests.</p>
<p>idk if the counselor puts it on them.. you can ask. </p>
<p>i know i asked my counselor NOT to put my ACT scores on there b/c they were tres horrible.</p>
<p>but my supplement for vanderbilt asked about AP scores and i definitely left it out.</p>
<p>but yeah. definitely take the tests. i know they are like 80 dollars, but if you pass and your college accepts them, its less money going into college. (apparently, anyway)</p>
<p>i only took them to get out of my actual GPA weighted finals for the class. haha</p>