I currently a junior and have taken 8 AP Tests with scores listed below
9th - AP Computer Science A (4)
10th - AP Physics 2 (4) AP Chemistry (4)
11th - AP Chinese (4) AP Biology (4) AP Macro(5) AP Micro(5) AP Calc AB (5)
I am most definitely going to major in computer science and my top choices are Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, and Cornell
Would these scores be good enough for these competitive universities? I am most worried about my AP Computer Science A score because I am truly passionate in cs and have taken advanced topics cs courses in addition to programming extracurricular . Will these universities get second thoughts about my abilities or realize that I took it in my freshmen year and it was my first AP so I was less prepared? All of my science AP scores are also 4: what will colleges think?
Sort of unrelated question: Do colleges give credit regardless of major? (For example, if I were to major in computer science, would they still give me credit for AP Art History?)
Your GPA, standardized test scores (SAT or ACT) and your essay & recommendations are aaaaallll going to be more important than your AP scores, in terms of admission. High AP scores can “demonstrate mastery,” much like SAT Subject Tests, but that’s about it.
As to whether or not they will count for actual class credit after admission, that is specific to each university, and sometimes specific to major programs within a university.
AP scores only matter once you are accepted, when colleges use them for credit or placement. However, list your scores- they are very good and show mastery!
Although schools like Stanford will tell you in their info sessions that AP scores are the best indicators of how students will do in college, I agree they are at the bottom in terms of which scores to pay attention to. GPA, SAT/ACT then subject test scores (the required things.)
Interesting story: my daughter got “attacked” during Freshman Orientation by a sophomore Cal student who wanted to know how many AP classes she took to get the Regents and Chancellor’s Scholarship because she had taken something like 18. My daughter replied, “3, maybe…” Not all that important but if you do well, they no doubt can help you since they are a line on the app.
We should quit saying that, across the board, they aren’t considered. You can’t know that. Or that they’re only about later credit. It depends on the tier and the individual colleges.
OP, you’re likely fine with 4’s. You have a whole app and the supps to strut the rest of your stuff.
Like others say…worry about GPA/SAT/ACT most.
Getting A’s in your class and a 3 on the test is better than C’s in the class and a 5 on the test FOR ADMISSIONS.
They can’t really use AP’s for admissions because not everyone has the same access to AP classes.
Some only let you take them Junior adn Senior years…and Senior year AP test results come way after you are admitted.
On the Common Data Set for each college, it talks about what is considered for admissions. AP tests are not even a category.
Look on college of interests websites under “AP Credit” and see what you will get credit for.
It’s when the kid did take AP that adcoms can look. I am speaking from my experience. Another poster has a different perspective/experience. That alone should tell you there is no one absolute truth. The fiercer the competition for an admit, the more every jot can matter.
From what I have seen, colleges are more likely to give AP credit outside your major. Chemistry/chemical engineering major will be less likely to be given credit for AP chem exam than would a math/physics/accounting major. Schools typically say its because they need to know you have their level of understanding of the classes in your major. True to an extent I suppose but that can also be true for other classes that are not directly in your major but very important to it. I think there is some revenue protection at play (kids are more likely to have taken AP classes in their major).
Be aware that many elite private high schools don’t offer AP courses at all…
AP courses are by their nature survey courses that prepare you for the broad based corresponding AP exam. You can’t take AP Literature at my D’s high school, instead they take focused courses on Shakespeare, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Dostoyefsky, etc. You learn a lot in those classes, but none of them prepare you to take the AP exam. I guess students could prepare on their own and take the AP English exam, but no one bothers. Same with history and science electives. The top end classes are narrowly focused, not broad surveys for test preparation.
Most students at this school take few if any AP exams, but they tend to go to competitive colleges. From this I surmise that colleges really don’t care about your AP exam scores - they care that you are taking a rigorous courseload and doing well at it. At most schools, the most rigorous course load means AP courses, but it is taking the courses that matters.
I don’t disagree with this; if one can successfully prep for a 3-hour AP test, one can generally succeed in studying for a 3-hour final. That still does not mean that Stanford puts a lot of weight on AP’s in its decision making. YMMV.
Harvard’s Fitzsimmons said it. “At Harvard the more curriculum-based tests such as the AP, IB, and subject tests are the best predictors of college grades.” NYT 2009
My comment above applies to this as well. The Fitzsimmons quote is 7 years old and to my knowledge has never been replicated. Since that time, Harvard has made Subject Tests optional. Again, anyone can choose to believe what they’ve been told by AO’s or not.
“While we normally require two SAT Subject Tests, you may apply without them if the cost of the tests represents a financial hardship or if you prefer to have your application considered without them.”
I find it hard to say that’s par with submitting good results. The page goes on, of course. “Standardized testing is only one component of our admissions process and your application will be evaluated on the basis of all submitted information.”
It’s a far cry from declaring colleges don’t consider AP or Sat2 scores.
Whether the university accepts AP credit can be dependent upon the policies of the individual college within that university. For instance, Michigan engineering will only accept a “5” for BC calc for placement into Calc 3, but LS&A will accept a 3 for partial credit (Calc 1) and placement into Calcl 2, and a 4 or 5 for full credit (Calc 1+2) and placement into Calc 3. In some cases AP credit will only apply only to your distribution for credit but not your major. There are all sorts of permutations with no hard and fast rules between universities, so I would check with an academic advisor for your school.