<p>Do AP scores even affect a person's chance of acceptance?? I'm a junior so i'm not familiar with the college app or anything, but if top colleges see that you've taken AP classes, do they require you to send them your scores? What if you don't?? And if you're an A student, but dont have high AP scores will it affect your chances of getting into a school?</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think that AP scores affect that much your acceptance into a college. They obviously want to see that you’ve taken challenging classes and done well in them, but a lot of selective colleges don’t even accept that many AP scores for credit, so I honestly don’t think it’s going to matter. Let’s just say this: you won’t be accepted/rejected because of a 4 vs. a 5 on an AP.
It’s really going to come down to GPA, essay, teacher recs, and extracurriculars. Colleges “look favorably” on good AP scores, but this is by no means a deciding factor.</p>
<p>i don’t think any schools require that you even send your AP scores. since some schools don’t offer AP classes i don’t think it has any impact on admissions. the important thing is that you take the most challenging classes possible.</p>
<p>ok how about NOT sending your AP scores? will colleges think that you’ve done bad on them which is why you’re not sending it? </p>
<p>but you’re not required that you send your scores, it’s just your choice?</p>
<p>Well if you take an ap class, but don’t send in the scores they’ll either think you did badly on them or that you just took the ap class for the weighted grade, with no intention of actually taking the test.</p>
<p>ap scores are more of a measure of how you would handle a rigorous college course. Colleges want students who can demonstrate their ability in a tough environment.</p>
<p>I just recently spoke with a Duke admissions officer and asked the same question. She said that they usually look at AP scores with a grain of salt and really as just an afterthought. Since all teachers teach AP classes differently–some for the test and others not so much–they recognize that not all equally qualified students are going to get the same scores.</p>
<p>^I disagree. They do factor them into admissions because any somewhat talented AP student should be able to get a prep book and pull a 4/5. They know that, so they weigh them considerably. If you take 10 AP tests and score all 5s, you will be looked at highly.</p>
<p>@Diag: How do you know that that’s how admissions officials perceive AP scores? I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just wondering.</p>
<p>I asked a few colleges if AP scores affect admission, and all of them said variations of “not really, but if you do exceptionally well (AP scholar), it helps.” Except for the U of Washington fellow. He looked at me like the idea of an AP score factoring into admissions had never even occured to him. </p>
<p>I’m sure it differs from place to place, but I don’t think it’s worth stressing yourself over if the rest of your app is where it needs to be.</p>
<p>Would you or would you not send a 3?? And do SAT IIs count more than AP scores?</p>
<p>I don’t know how much AP scores are used, but frankly I feel like they should be used more than they are. One of the problems with admissions today is inconsistencies between schools in regard to grading, especially when comparing private and public schools. AP Scores offer an easy way to tell if a student is moderately intelligent and understands the material. Moreso, I would argue, than grades. Since you only require 60 percent or so on a lot of AP tests to get a 5, a student getting a 3 on their test is an easy way to tell that something is wrong. In stark contrast to low grades, it seems that a LOT of students get plenty of so-so and even bad AP scores, even when applying to top tier schools.</p>
<p>Sat II scores count more than AP scores. Say you got a 4 on an AP instead of a 5, it won’t matter as much as getting a 700 instead of a 750. </p>
<p>Also let’s be real. All top colleges look at AP’s a lot. While some might not care as much whether someone got a 4 or a 5, they definitely don’t want AP’s with 3 or below. Also tier 1 colleges expect AP’s, and a lot of them. Many people get rejected from Harvard even though they took 8 AP’s etc.</p>
<p>@jazzkingrt: I also agree. Also, for someone who goes to a really competitive school, I feel that sometimes my grades don’t reflect how smart I actually am compared to public school kids. I might get an B+ in my class while they get an A, yet I still get a 5 on the AP versus their 3 because it’s that much harder in this school. That also explains why the curve is so amazing for APs.</p>