I have taken 5 AP Exams now, 1 of them sophomore year, and 4 of them junior year. Here are my scores:
(AP Physics 1) 2 (A)
(AP Calc AB) 2 (A-)
(AP Physics 2) 3 (A+)
(AP Chem) 3 (B+)
(APUSH) 3 (A)
Should I report my scores to colleges when I’m applying? Should I only submit my 3’s? Should I report my AP scholar award or is it better to let them think that I just didn’t take any exams in the first place?
Well, you technically passed more than you failed. Some colleges accept 3’s for credit, some don’t. Just don’t report the 2’s.
Alright, I’ll report the 3’s and that allows me to also report my AP Scholar award. Thanks.
Except for maybe chemistry, these scores compared to your course grades do not reflect well on your high school.
Only report the 3’s if they will be accepted for credit or as prerequisites, and don’t report the 2s at all. Your grades on the classes are excellent, though.
I agree with both of these. I was a parent who saw this data, I’d be having a conversation with the school about overall score distributions and the effectiveness of the AP teaching program
Did you take physics & calc this year? If so, maybe you could appeal to have your tests rescored? This year’s format was funky & definitely didn’t reflect my knowledge. Don’t worry too much about the scores though! Your grades matter more for admissions; AP scores are more for the placement & credit. Good luck
The majority of colleges do not require an official AP score report to be sent until you are accepted and enrolled.
Colleges will accept self-reported AP scores on the application, so report which scores you want. Grades are far more important than AP scores and many colleges do not even consider them in their application review since AP classes are not always available to all applicants.
I would wait until the college asks for them before sending those scores.
Getting A grades in the classes with low to middling AP exam scores would indicate either grade inflation at your school, or a possible disparity between the AP curriculum and what your teachers are teaching. The latter could be fine from a learning standpoint: perhaps you covered the topic more broadly and didn’t go in depth enough for the AP exam, or covered the topic more deeply and didn’t hit all the topics covered on the AP exam - or you just didn’t study enough for the exams. A college isn’t going to take the time to dissect any of that. Which is why I would withhold those scores rather than give them a reason to stop reading and move on to the next candidate.
I emailed my AP Lang teacher because I got a 2 and she still hasn’t replied back. I hope I can somehow get my essay rescored.
Is the school effectively running their AP program? Or maybe the school inflates grades.
I don’t think this year’s AP test results should be considered “typical”, given the condition we’re in. Only free response and no multiple choice/short answer? Come on.
@diamondelite101 : Almost a guarantee that’s not going to happen.
Well, to be pedantic, the test will be rescored, but the score won’t change. 
I have taken 5 AP classes so far, and despite getting an A in pretty much every one of those classes I got a 3 on 3 of the exams and a 2 on 2 of the exams. I am planning on just not submitting any of my AP scores since my grades don’t match my scores at all.
I have heard stories of college admissions officers contacting students and asking for their AP scores, will this happen if I submit an application containing 5 AP classes prior to senior year with no AP exam scores?
Would it benefit me to take subject tests to submit in the place of AP exams? Something about the AP exams just throws me off and I just feel more comfortable with subject tests.
However, a probably more common interpretation is that the AP course teaches less material in less depth less effectively than the AP syllabus specifies. While a few elite high schools do not follow the AP syllabus (and do not use the AP designation) for some of their advanced level courses for the reason mentioned above, a high school that labels the course as AP should be covering the AP syllabus (more material and/or more depth is fine if it is not at the expense of missing some depth or material in other parts of the course).
Re: making assumptions about a high school’s AP class based on students’ exam scores, what would a college interpret about the high school if one student with an A gets a 3 and another student with a B or C gets a 5, same test, same high school (true story)? Do AOs really pause long enough to even make an interpretation?
For one applicant, who may be an outlier, probably not. But if they see patterns from high schools that produce lots of applicants, that may influence their view of those high schools.
And it would not be surprising if colleges’ institutional research departments were checking on how high school grades, AP scores, and college grades match up for students and applicants from common source high schools.
Most AP teachers not only teach the AP standard curriculum but they teach to the test, they use the old exams as tests in their courses, using similar grading as well. One way of having A students getting 3s or lower would be if the teacher structured the class so that getting an A meant you needed a B on the tests and problem sets or homework got you the A.