<p>Hey everyone, I was just wondering-- </p>
<p>for the AP tests that do not count for Hopkins credits (ex. US History, Gov't, Art Hist, English etc.), will those credits be somehow used in the future (maybe not for class credits, but for placement reasons, or requirements and so forth? -- are there any benefits of taking those AP tests except for the joy and fun of learning :) even if they don't count towards class credits?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Assuming you're a senior, I see no reason to take them. I think I took 5 AP classes senior year but only took two of the tests because Hopkins didn't give credit for the rest and I really didn't feel like giving the College Board more of my money for no reason. I don't think you can use them for placement or anything. From what I understand, it's up to the individual departments to decide whether they give credit for AP tests and some departments choose not to, either because the AP curriculum doesn't cover as much material (ie Microecon, where you have to take an oral exam to get credit) or there's no equivalent course at Hopkins (ie. US History)</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>yep, that helps. thanks a lot!</p>
<p>AP test scores where JHU does not provide academic credit will not be used for any other reasons.</p>
<p>Econ's actually sort of useful, and I'd say if you're in the class, stay there, because it will help you learn stuff at JHU, but for the most part, don't study for the exams unless you're planning to submit them as part of a deferred petition.</p>
<p>Are AP scores that aren't awarded credit considered when people apply to Hopkins? How much are AP scores really considered?</p>
<p>I read somewhere else on the forums that if you get a bad score, admissions will think that the grades at the school are inflated. Is that true? I'm afraid that if I get really good grades in the class, but I get a couple of 3's, that Hopkins will think my school has grade inflation and will not accept me.</p>
<p>Grades in AP classes matter ... AP exam scores are considered but they play a very minor role. </p>
<p>And as for the comment about inflated grades at one's school, that is not something we determine because of low AP grades by one student.</p>
<p>^^
This is something that confuses me. Why is it that the grade given by the teacher, on a somewhat arbitary scale is given * so * much more weight that the grade given by a marker who is specially trained on a standardised, nationally administered test. Surely the latter would provide a much better gauge of the pupil's abilities, and would be much more reliable given that high schools are prone to grade-inflation, as well as just general a grades that are considered unfair. I understand why you would want to see that the student has performed well in class as well as in the exam, but to me, it would seem that if someone is getting an A from the teacher and a 3 on the AP some fairly serious alarm bells should be ringing.</p>
<p>I'm not from the US though, and we have an education system in the UK where typically 75% of your grade comes from the standardised exams papers, and the other 25% from standardised coursework, as we call it, that is moderated by the examination boards. To us, if your teacher gives you a B or C in your report, it doesn't really mean all that much, except giving you the motivation to go out and prove them wrong in the exam.</p>
<p>So, as I said, I'm not from the UK, and don't have a vast amounf of knowledge regarding high school and I would very much like to understand why the situation is as it is with APs.</p>
<p>hm i must say I kinda agree with LadyLou but I guess it's for the same reason that our transcript is considered to be more important than SAT scores.</p>
<p>My son's HS uses the AP exam (which all AP students are required to take regardless of college placement issues) in place of a final exam for an AP class, thus the test contributes to the class grade. Pretty simple.</p>
<p>ladylou...i'm sure alot of us definetely agree w/ you...but it's just those tests are only so many hrs while our transcripts represent 3-4 yrs although it definetely is soo arbituary...i mean not only are the grades among schools different depending on the school's inflation/deflation but even among teachers teaching the same classes within the same school O.o</p>
<p>LadyLou:</p>
<p>I apologize for my delay in responding to your post. You definitely raise an interesting point, so let me try to explain our policy clearly.</p>
<p>We do not ignore AP scores, however we do not place much emphasis on the review of such scores. It is great to see a student scoring a 4 or 5 on an AP exam, but we prefer to see a student getting a strong grade in the AP class and being a top student in their AP classes. The grade in the class (as has been said) is a record of an entire academic semester or year of work, while the exam is a record of a one-day exam. Just as other standardized test scores do not tell us everything about a student, we do not feel a score on an AP exam can tell us everything either. </p>
<p>Some students will get a 5 easily on the exam, but do really poorly in the class. To us that is a student who is not working to their potential on every given day in the class ... we do not want to reward that. On the other hand, a student might do fantastic in the class, but then for any number of reasons struggle with the AP exam. We do not want to penalize that student. </p>
<p>Additionally, it is important to note that MOST applicants have only taken a few AP exams prior to their senior year. That means that the majority of AP exam scores are being taken in May of one's senior year and therefore those scores will be received after admissions decisions are complete. </p>
<p>And finally, please understand that when reviewing a student's grade in any of their classes we pay particular attention to the nature of grading at a specific school. That is always factor in our review of the complete transcript for each student. But in the end, we favor the review of the transcript which is a complete record, then that of standardized tests which are records of performance on a solo day and can be quite arbitrary. </p>
<p>Hope that explains it. You may disagree, but that is our philosophy.</p>
<p>let's also not forget the fact that some financially disadvantaged kids can only afford to take a limited number of AP exams because of the high cost.</p>
<p>i think there are fee waivers =D</p>
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i think there are fee waivers =D
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<p>I just wrote a $400+ check for for 5 AP tests last night. Ouch. Oh, well, cheap compared to the checks I'll be writing next year.</p>
<p>In the literature I read that the CB fee waiver is $22 off plus the HS waives the $8 administration fee. Still costs over $50 per test after the fee waivers.</p>
<p>O.o that's weird i think for my school fee waivers make each test $5 or $10...at least i'm pretty sure</p>
<p>In Cali if you are low income, you only get to pay $5 for each AP exam so it's fair if any poor student wants to take the exam.</p>
<p>That's great! Cudos to California for their $5 AP program!</p>