<p>Hi there, I just have a few questions about AP scores. </p>
<p>I took AP Bio this year, and as I'm sure many people know, the distributions changed drastically from this year to last year. I scored a 4, and while I'm very happy with this (I struggled a lot in this class throughout the year) I am a bit bummed because I know that in past years I likely could have gotten a 5 with the more generous distributions. </p>
<p>Will the colleges that I apply to know the distribution of scores for the year that I took my exam? Will they know that this year significantly less students scored 5's or will my 4 look the same as a 4 from somebody who took the class the previous year?</p>
<p>Also, I read that Ivy League schools don't see your AP scores when looking at applications and that the scores are only used after you've been admitted for credit purposes. Is this true? How does this work for schools in the UC system? Are scores of 3's or 4's acceptable when applying to schools such as UCLA or UC Berkeley? I have heard that high AP scores can help you during applications but a low score won't help or hurt your chance of getting into a school. </p>
<p>By the way, I am a rising junior so a lot of this information is still very new to me. Thank you!</p>
<p>I might be just completely wrong, but I think AP scores only impact admission if you received an award because of them and subsequently put it on your app (though this may or may not be seen as all that prestigious…) - but otherwise, scores are just used for placement after admission.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much AP impacts admissions but I do know that in this New York Times interview some admissions director of Harvard said AP and SAT II scores are great indicators of how a student will do in college.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat, except I was in a rivalry with this harvard bound senior (I was a sophomore this year) to be the number one student in AP Bio. I set the curve for the final and won ;). BUT HE GOT A 5 ON THE TEST AND I GOT A 4 AND I’M SO UPSET. I know that I could have gotten a 5 if I had taken the test the previous year as well considering it was more actual Biology based rather than this experiment based one. </p>
<p>Go to ap score policy on the ap website to see each college’s policies regarding AP tests. HYP require 5s usually, but the UCs tend to only require 3-4s.</p>
<p>It’s frustrating, isn’t it?! I worked very hard in Bio and so I felt set with getting a 5, then I saw the score distributions and I was stunned. My teacher rewrote all of her tests to fit the new format this year, and our final was based on the new test, as well. She curved it the way she suspected they would scale the test this year, and I got a 94. So at that point I thought getting a 5 was definitely in my reach. I’m very happy with a 4 but I just wish I could have taken the old AP test and gotten a 5 on that.</p>
<p>Also, when you say HYP require 5’s, does that mean they will not accept you if you haven’t gotten all 5’s or does that just mean you won’t get credit unless you’ve gotten a 5? Sorry for the misunderstanding. </p>
<p>Also out of curiosity, are you planning on taking AP Chemistry?</p>
<p>The second one. And some lower-ranked colleges don’t give AP credit for anything.
I mean, HYP rejects (reject?) almost everybody, but it’s not because of their AP scores.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I agree with the posters here. I read that college do look at AP scores as indicators for how you will do in college AND grade inflation. For example if you got an A in AP Bio but a 3 on your AP test, then some might think your teacher “gave” you your A. However, since the test was new this year, I would assume college admissions departments know that and will cut the AP Bio students some slack. </p>
<p>The real question is, do college admissions reps know that the test was changed this year? Do they care or did they expect you to master it anyway? (I’m talking about highly selective colleges).</p>
<p>Sure, but they still can’t penalize you for the way your school grades or how well or badly the course was taught at your school. People who go to schools with heavy grade inflation usually had no other choice.
And keep in mind that 4 is still an above-average/good score. Colleges wouldn’t give credit for it if it weren’t. Quite a lot of people fail AP tests.</p>