I put a lot of working into my AP classes and their corresponding exams, getting 5s on several! My question concerns college admissions, do the scores actually play a factor in getting in? Will colleges care if you’ve done well on the tests, or do they just ignore the scores and focus on your grades in the class? thanks!
They care most about your grade. Scores are noted, but don’t decide anything. Many students don’t take the tests, for various reasons.Poorer studetns can’t afford them. It’s good to have high scores for credit or placement, and of course, a two won’t look good to Harvard.
Highly competitive colleges can care very much about AP scores. Although some are publicly saying they aren’t a definitive point, in holistic for a highly competitive, every bit matters. Remember, they’re trying to cull down an applicant pool that’s multiple times the number of admits they can take. Yes, your 5’s will be noticed.
Grades are as your one hs and that teacher choose to mark you. Although that does reflect your classwork, the standardized tests show how you fare in the national pool, that bar. An A grade may not carry as much weight with a 3 score, eg.
Where AP scores may matter less is in subjects not related to your possible major. So OP, if you want the arts, a lower calc or physics score would matter less. But a 5 in those would be tidy. You have some very competitive schools on your list. Scores will matter much less to your less competitive targets.
The fact is the kinds of students that are going to make the cut at highly selective schools are going to get 5’s on most of their AP exams. They are goign to be outstanding in every way.
My guess is that AP scores can be a positive indication that you have or you don’t. Some people here worry that if your transcript shows you could have taken 6 tests and you send 5, they’ll assume you failed the sixth and disqualify you. That can’t be true.
But say you have two applicants with transcripts that show 6 possible tests. One has six 5’s and the other has two 5’s, two 4’s, and two “either didn’t take the test or must have gotten a 3.” At a very competitive school, the first candidate must have one more positive thing on their application than the second. And every positive thing helps.
“Poorer students can’t afford them.”
Fee reductions are available and knock the price down to $53 per exam. Still not free, though:
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/ap-coordinators/exam-ordering-fees/exam-fees/reductions
“The College Board provides a $31 fee reduction per exam for students with financial need. For each AP Exam taken with a fee reduction, the school forgoes its $9 rebate, resulting in a cost of $53 per exam.”
For the most competitive colleges, AP scores of 5 are the norm for competitive applicants. Lower scores are potentially a negative aspect. Not taking the AP exam after an AP course is also potentially a negative aspect. Of course, any grade lower than A is also potentially a negative aspect.
While this is true, the reality is that for some families, $53 might as well be $1000. If they can’t afford it, they can’t afford it.
Regardless, the original question was not how a college would view a student who had not taken an exam.
^ Sorry for the diversion. Because of post #1, I was curious about whether accommodations are made based on family income, so I looked it up and just thought that I’d share what I found. I’m really surprised that AP tests are not free for some families.
I agree with many of comments above. 5s can only bolster an application. They also confirm the rigor of the HS AP class; if the AP score and the class grade are out of whack, it can be a red flag. The AP score trumps the class grade because the AP test is a national standard.
Sorry to continue the OT but just this: There are still waivers, though sometimes limited by a hs.
Oh, and I wouldn’t say the score trumps the grade. A 5 doesn’t overcome a poor grade. Its all part of one holistic picture.
LF, I agree that a 5 doesn’t overcome a poor grade. I just meant that the AP test score generally has greater weight than the class grade, because the AP is a national test. I believe that you said the same thing.
5 on the test and an A in the class is consistent, and good for the applicant.
3 on the test and an A in the class raises question about the HS grading system.
5 on the test and a C in the class also looks odd.
The only explanations I can think of for the last scenario are:
- the class grading is exceptionally hard, or
- the kid had a great day and aced the AP test.
Which brings up the issue of single-day testing vs HS grades. It’s often stated that GPA and HS rigor are generally more important than SAT/ACT scores for admissions, because the latter reflect performance on only one day, rather than throughout high school. But, in that case, the issue is more pronounced for AP test scores because the SAT/ACT tests can be repeated, whereas the AP test cannot… Just pointing out a possible inconsistency in reasoning.
“whereas the AP test cannot”
I’m pretty sure that’s not true. I thought I read on college board that a student can sign up to re-take an AP test the next year in high school (won’t work for AP courses taken during senior year). I’m pretty sure it was talking about re-takes and not taking the test the next year when a student opted out the year before.
Anyway, I have been confused about this topic for a while. When my daughter completed her Common App, I don’t remember it asking for self reported AP scores. So she never sent any of her scores to colleges, thinking she’d send them to the college that she decided to attend after she was admitted. She took 4/7 of her AP classes her senior year so schools wouldn’t know the results of over half of her AP tests in time for admissions decisions anyway.
So what is the protocol? Do most applicants send their best scores (that they had at the time - since senior scores won’t be available) to all the schools they apply to before the application deadline? Do only certain college’s have a place for self reporting scores on the common app? Can someone please help me as I have another daughter starting the process next year?
Thanks!
^ You are right. One can retake the test the following May:
https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/help#How%20many%20times%20can%20I%20retake%20an%20AP%20Exam?
As you mentioned, this won’t help seniors with college applications, although a higher score on the retake could be used for credit at universities that give it. Retakes also don’t help juniors with college applications, because the retake date is after admission decisions are released (March time frame). So the retake option can only really help kids with poor scores on AP tests taken as a freshman or sophomore in HS.
In contrast the SAT/ACT tests are administered seven or eight times in each school year. Lots of opportunities for retakes for these tests.
While correct, I don’t see any reason to do so unless the student is hellbent on getting credit. Retaking, for example, an AP Bio test a year later means having to review the content a year later, while in the midst of preparing for that year’s AP’s, doing EC’s, prepping SAT/ACT, etc. Something will have to give whether the students wants it or not. In contrast, the SAT is offered 7 times per year, so one is not going to forget that much of the material in the couple of month in between.
To the OP’s question: I agree with @Lindagaf - the grades are the primary issue. The regional admissions leaders know the rigor of the school you’re attending. While it’s entirely possible a score could raise questions (as detailed at #10 above), the school would look at the grade as an indication of your ability to do the work assigned, versus the scoring on a one-day exam that might not align with the material presented in class.
If for some reason your school doesn’t have a history with the college(s) you’re applying to, then it might play a slightly larger role as the admissions counselors attempt to normalize against other students. I doubt this happens much, and wouldn’t worry too much about it.
@LeastComplicated The place to self-report AP scores on the Common App is the same place where you self-report SAT and ACT scores. In general, you wouldn’t send AP scores as part of an admissions application. One admissions rep told us it would be useless to send official AP scores because when they are sent from the College Board, AP scores go to the Registrar’s Office and not the Admissions Office. So the Admissions Office wouldn’t even see them.
“In general, you wouldn’t send AP scores as part of an admissions application.”
Why do so many keep saying this? No, not the official score report. Yes, self report on the CA.
Yes, for highly competitive colleges. Maybe no, for those colleges only looking at gpa and doing some form of rack and stack.
Admissions review is entirely separate from college course credit.
I agree with @lookingforward . My daughter certainly self-reported her AP scores on her app. She had all 5s and would have been crazy not to report them. Once she had all her senior scores back,she sent them all to the college she matriculated at. AOs do look at the scores, even if they don’t base their decisions on them.
Regarding inconsistencies between grades and scores, my son found AP stats to be extremely difficult due to,his LD’s. He went to extra help, had a tutor, etc…but still managed a C average for three quarters. However, he studied a LOT for the test and managed a 4. The teacher is very strict, but throrough. He finally cracked it, but not unitl the last quarter, when he got a B. Sometimes a subject is just very difficult for a student.
@ciervo Thanks for the info. I’m embarrassed to say that my kid and I totally overlooked the self reporting of AP tests scores in the common app last year even though I reviewed her apps several times before she submitted them. Don’t know how that happened, she entered all her ACT/SAT scores properly. Thankfully I don’t think it would have made any difference. She got accepted to a couple of selective (but not highly selective) schools with significant merit aid so that’s something positive to offer for future applicants I guess - that not reporting the scores is not a disaster if you have decent grades and entrance exam stats. I’m 99% sure that she wouldn’t have gotten into her high reaches in any case. But I am totally mortified that we overlooked it.
Also when I went back to the Common App website, a new category (courses and grades for 9th - 12th grades) showed up that I swear was not appearing in last year’s app. Her old app was not available so I started a new one for her just to look to see where we failed to notice the AP score reporting. The “new” category stated that “this section only needs to be filled out for the colleges that require it and none of your colleges require it” (but you could enter the data if you wanted to). Please tell me that we didn’t overlook that one also. I don’t see why that is even included since all colleges require an official transcript as part of the application package anyway. I guess to have as much info as possible in one place - the common app - so adcoms don’t have to keep referencing transcripts and other school docs? She did enter her senior classes in the proper place thank goodness.
I think the reason why people keep asking is because they want assurance that not reporting a score won’t be a red flag. It’s really impossible to know and some schools have a holistic approach so it may or may not matter. Our S19 didn’t take the AP Comp Sci test even though he got an A in the class (as a soph). He didn’t take it because he had a brutal finals schedule and a super heavy workload…and he hated comp sci and was never going to use it for any credit.
Our GC said it was fine. Now, our GC obviously knows what the rest of S19’s application will look like and he knows what kind of schools he’s interested in (mostly top 40 LACs but not the top 10). And this GC has worked at our high school for 20 years and is known as the best counselor at the school. We took his advice and haven’t thought twice about it. S19 will have four APs junior year and five senior year and intends to take all of those tests.