Hi! I’ve been taking AP courses since sophomore year but have never gotten a 5 on any of the tests but have managed to get high grades in the class (B+'s and high A’s ). I got a 3 on AP Bio, 3 AP Euro, 4 APUSH, 4 AP LANG (never took the class), and I will be taking AP Lit, AP Spanish, AP Physics 1, and AP Calc AB this year. Do my low scores on my AP Tests hurt my chances of getting into UC’s and USC if my grades in the actual class are good? I just never saw the importance on these tests then just being credits in college that I would want to retake anyways and found out that they were pretty important a little too late. Should I take them again and let my colleges know? Also will my 3 in AP Bio affect my admission to a school under a BS in Biology for undergraduate. I have a weighted 4.18 and unweighted 3.88 thats bound to shrink a little due to senioritis and my EC’s and Essays are good. Just concerned about my numerous AP 3’s.
Those are not bad scores. I doubt they will affect your UC application. As far as USC, I think they will look at your overall application and while a few 5s would look good, I don’t think that 3s and 4s are going to be a negative. The courses show you have taken a rigorous schedule, which is the important part.
On another note, you might check how much credit these universities give for AP scores. There might be some caps, and universities have different policies on how they treat AP scores.
Your grades in the courses are what count for admissions. I have never heard of AP exam scores being a factor in college admissions – only in how many credits you are awarded or not after admission. According to the UC system: “Although the College Board reports all AP tests results to us, students should be aware AP test scores lower than 3 will not adversely affect their chances for admission.”
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/exam-credit/ap-credits/