<p>I was wondering if colleges actually care for what ap classes you take.</p>
<p>YOU should care, because AP EXAMS can be used to waive some GE or graduations requirements. These are the AP exams that USC gives either GE or Elective credit for, with a score of 4 or 5</p>
<p>[USC</a> ARR : Articulation : AP Exam Credit at USC](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/articulation/apexamcredit.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/articulation/apexamcredit.html)</p>
<p>YES! Many colleges look more at AP exam scores than SAT/ACT scores because AP scores show how well you learned material taught in a college-like course while ACT/SAT is a 4-hour test.</p>
<p>What if I get a c in the class? But I pass the ap exam.</p>
<p>If a Big State University recalculates applicants’ GPAs, it likely treats AP courses as honors courses for weighting purposes.</p>
<p>A school that does holistic review likely looks at the transcript to see if you took enough of the offered honors and AP courses, and likely considers some of them to be more rigorous than others (e.g. English Literature + Calculus BC > Human Geography + Statistics).</p>
<p>USCTennis </p>
<p>Many schools consider the rigor of your HS Record to be as important as your grades, class rank, essays, etc. (just one example, the Dartmouth Common Data Set – you can look up this admissions information for most schools).</p>
<p><a href=“This Page Has Moved”>This Page Has Moved;
<p>Schools know that these courses are more difficult than non-honors ap</p>
<p>I am pretty sure most colleges do NOT look at your AP scores for admissions purposes. They do, however, look to see that you took the hardest courses possible (that were available to you). SAT/ACT scores are more weighted in admissions.</p>
<p>Of course they look at AP scores! That’s like saying that colleges only look at WHAT classes you took and NOT at your grades! An “A” in an AP Calculus class, and a 2 on the AP test, shows that the class was not rigorously taught, which puts doubt on the veracity of the grading scale used by the HS, and the rigor of the class. A student who gets a “B+” in a Calc AB class at another HS, but scores a 5 on the AP test, shows that he has mastered the subject and probably he had a tough teacher. His overall GPA will more likely be viewed in that context.</p>
<p>I know kids who come in with sophomore standing because of AP tests. Yeah colleges care.</p>
<p>From what I’ve gathered, colleges don’t look at AP scores for ADMISSION, but rather, for placement into higher level courses.</p>
<p>My rising senior son just received an email from a top-tier private school that waives the Application fee - and the email specifically mentions that this is because of his AP scores. (He has 5s on all 5 AP tests.)</p>
<p>Once again, colleges , especially highly selective colleges who have 10 X’s more applicants than openings, look at EVERYTHING when making admissions decisions. Students who have demonstrated mastery of difficult subjects [ as indicated by AP Scores of 5] will be judged as more ready for college level work than those with lower AP scores, and it MAY tip an admissions decision in their favor.</p>
<p>The question of which AP tests may then be used for course credit / waiving of required classes, is determined by an different dept than admissions and varies from college to college.</p>
<p>they care because they want to see that you take a rigorous course placement instead of slacking off lol…i would take 3-4 (my schools limits all students to no more than 3) and call it a day, try your hardest on ap exams, will the scores determine if you get in or not, no probably not but you should care because those exams cost $$$ and you could be saving yourself $$$ by taking classes and getting credit for them, exempting you from taking these class again in college (which would probably be more $$$…get it?)</p>
<p>AP classes and scores only help you. Even if some colleges don’t accept the score as college credit, the fact that you took a college-level class and placed highly on it (especially if you get lots of 4s and 5s) will be favorable to your application. Even if you get, say, a 2, it’s better than taking an easy class just to get an A. Of course, that won’t help for HYPSM, but what’s the chance your’e going to accepted there? 1 out of 12?</p>
<p>So my son took AP Physics as a sophomore and got a B+ because of the teacher, but got a 5 on the test. The teacher was tough and obviously prepared him well for the exam. </p>
<p>Would competitive colleges (like MIT) put more weight on the 5 than the B+?</p>
<p>^I doubt it. Honestly, I think that colleges use AP tests as a way to evaluate the grade inflation/deflation that takes place in high school AP courses. For example, if a student were to get a 5 on the exam but only a B- in the class, maybe the college could infer that their grade was deflated. Conversely, if a student gets an A+ in the class but only scores a 2 on the AP test, they can conclude that the grade was extremely inflated. I think the latter example is probably the more common use amongst high-ranking universities. Just my two cents though…</p>
<p>And Nighthawk, the GRADES you receive in the AP courses demonstrate how well you learned the material taught, NOT the AP tests you take and the scores you earn on them. Remember, the AP tests are only three hours, too. And I HIGHLY doubt that top tier colleges place more weight on them than the SAT/ACT. Again, just my opinion.</p>
<p>^Regardless of what colleges actually do, I think the AP tests to a good extent show what you learned in a class. It’s exactly what you said with the grade inflation/deflation. The test is a constant, the class grades aren’t. And I also think they show a lot more than the SAT but obviously colleges put huge weight on the SAT. I’m not arguing against that, but it’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>SVMMom, at my school, ap physics is without doubt the toughest course. the teacher told the students taking ap physics (i am not one of them) that an 80 in his class is actually really good and would be like getting a 95 in a typical honors class. that being said, i think about 25 students took the class and only 2 or 3 ended up with scores in the 90s. i heard that almost everyone that took the exam got credit. that being said, a B+ is probably a very good grade for a class like ap physics and im pretty sure that colleges know that ap physics is a very tough and demanding course. if the rest of his grades are A+ A and A-, colleges will see that he took a demanding course (which colleges like to see) and did the best he could. and for the record, a B+ is actually a pretty good grade. that being said, MIT and other competitive colleges would not hold that against him.</p>
<p>If AP test scores are not required in the application (look under “required standardized testing” for all the Ivies, no mention of reporting AP scores) how can they be used for admission? Wouldn’t then there be no way to compare applicats if it isn’t a requirement? I know thatthere is a self-reporting section for AP scores on the Common App., but many AP’s are taken senior year & thus won’t be on the app.</p>
<p>I mean they don’t use the scores at all. My father is an admissions counselor for the University of New Hampshire and they only use scores for credit allotment.</p>