<p>From what I've seen, colleges don't get your ap scores unless you send them.
If you do send them, do they even matter in admissions?</p>
<p>I was hoping that my 5's would help me get in to duke (along with sats, grades, etc) but now im not sure..</p>
<p>It seems like AP scores should matter in admission because grade inflation is so bad at my school that kids get A's in an AP class but dont even pass the national.. its not fair that I get the same recognition as they do when I worked harder and have a much better grasp on the material</p>
<p>Taking AP courses is probably the single most important thing that you can do, but the actual scores are not nearly as important as the SAT and SAT II scores. I am aware of no college that requires that the AP scores be sent to them for admissions purposes. Most app forms, including the common app, do not request the scores. A few highly selective colleges do request the scores on their app forms. </p>
<p>However, a whole string of 5's will help you get admitted. Since you have the 5's, emphasize them by having the college board send Duke the scores. If you are applying online, include the scores in the additional info section. If you are applying using a paper form, write the scores in the margin. They will be impressed by them.</p>
<p>Incidently, don't expect that much advance placement to result from 4's and 5's on tests in your major. If you have a 4/5 in AP Biology, you will get credit for a Biology course in college, but it probably won't be the intro course for science majors. If you have 4/5 in AP Calculus and are a math/science, you will probably still have to take calc in college, but it will be a special course for people who did well on the AP Calc exam. The best use for AP exams replacing courses is when you are required to take a college course for graduation outside of your major. For example, when a science major is required to take a US History course in college, they may be able to skip a class if they got a 4/5 on the AP US History class.</p>
<p>Great advice, dufus. My daughter made sure to highlight in whatever way possible her 5's on every app. She did not send them official scores tho.</p>
<p>MaryC how did she do that? I did not send official scores to my school, nor did I mention it anywhere because it was not asked for. I think my US History teacher might in his rec, though, because he seemed really impressed with me. (Not many, and none that I know of, kids get 5s on the APUSH test at my school)</p>
<p>raindrop---online if there was an add'l info section, she stuck it in there, but sometimes she sent a cover letter with a resume that included APs. I would not rely on a teacher to include it. My D chose to use the Duke paper app which asks for AP scores on it.</p>
<p>Our son's GC is writing in son's recommendation that son got 5s in all his APs + 4 in AP US. He said not to send the APs unless the schools ask & will confirm if any schools ask him. He says to write them on the ap where there is space to mention them.</p>
<p>dufus you did make a good piont, but as time goes on the aps grow more useless. I mean one, not requrid for admissoin. 2 A lot of "good" schools don't give you credit for them, and for a good reason: an ap course isn't equivalent to their college course. 3. Even if they do give credit, if you are a pre-med,law, or business major a higher gpa, not advanced courses is what counts, so even if you do get 5's on 10 exams, it helps to avoid skipping out of classes as an ap class doesn't cover all topics covered in intro college courses. That said you should still prepare for the exams, I think they are excellent for college preperation (2nd to IB, but IB isn't offered in too many places), but other than that they're in many senses... useless</p>
<p>My own little pet peave is that the quality and difficulty of AP now means something entirely different depending on the high school where it is being taught. At one of the prestigious high schools, an AP course probably is almost equivalent to a college course. However, parents of kids at low performing high schools have now heard of AP classes. The public high schools systems have responding by trying to get as many students signed up for AP classes as possible so that they can brag about how great their public schools are. Under those circumstances, of course, the AP classes have little rigor. At my son's high school, the principal was given an award for how many kids she had in AP classes, but over half of the kids scored either a 1 or 2 on the AP exam. This could be why the colleges don't require anyone to report their AP scores.</p>
<p>Sending AP reports through the collegeboard isn't practical since it costs $15 for each college. I think it is a better idea to attach a copy of the AP score report collegeboard mails you after taking the tests to your application.</p>