<p>tl;dr I got a 4 in AP Comp Sci and a 3 in AP Calc. My intended major is comp sci. What should I do?</p>
<p>Well, this is weird... I currently intend on majoring in computer science, and my ECs suggest this, but I got a 4 on the AP Comp Sci test. Perhaps worse, I got a 3 in Calc. I'll spare you the sob-stories/justifications; I didn't independently study for either, so I can't complain. Should I send those scores?</p>
<p>For what it's worth, these are my AP scores in full (I don't know if I should send any):
APUSH - 5
AP Lang and Comp - 5
AP CS - 4
AP HG - 4
AP Calc - 3</p>
<p>I'm intending on applying to competitive schools... to name a few I'm considering as reaches: Cornell, Wesleyan, UChicago, perhaps CMU. I expect my SAT, SAT IIs, GPA, and class rank to be sufficiently competitive, but my AP scores are a gaping hole, and probably raise questions about my GPA (~3.96 unweighted).</p>
<p>I guess my options are
1. Send all the scores and let them take the good with the bad
2. Have the two worrisome scores removed, send the rest
3. Send none</p>
<p>Thoughts? I don't want to come off as dishonest, but I don't find anything dishonest about having some scores removed and only sending my best (though you're welcome to disagree). In case it's of any value to you to know, I'm a white male from a non-spectacular public school.</p>
<p>You are the one who reports your AP scores - they are not sent by any outside entity. You are therefore welcome to report those that you think reflect well on you and omit the others. That said, there is nothing especially toxic about a 3 in Calc. It just means that you will probably be retaking the class at a college level. A 4 in CS is perfectly respectable for the future CS major.</p>
Thank you, but I’ve heard a lot of conflicting information about this. Some have said, for example, that the most competitive schools will look down upon an app that doesn’t include AP scores.</p>
<p>
My understanding was that you would send you would have the CB send along your scores to verify that you got what you said you did, and that would allow admissions officers to see all your scores. Can I elect what score verifications I send?</p>
<p>College Board does not include your AP scores when they send your SATs. There is no ‘electing’ to send or not send them. Schools take on faith that you took the AP test if you took the class, for purposes of applying. There is no way they would know if you didn’t or what your scores were unless you told them. They take you ECs on faith too. These things are not critical enough to the decision to make it worth lying about on the applicants part, nor verifying on their part.</p>
<p>You do send the scores later if you want to get college credit for them - S had trouble with this when it turned out he had two records, one with and one without his SS# listing different AP tests - had to request that the records be combined when they finally were sent to the one school he was attending.</p>
<p>Most colleges won’t care much about AP Comp Sci. Some high schools just have bad CS teachers. Your “low” Calc grade is much more troubling, particularly since AP Calc has a generous curve. </p>
<p>But you will need to rock Math 2 (700++), for a shot at those highly selective colleges. (Excellent math skills are required for CS.)</p>
<p>Yep, your official score report doesn’t need to be sent until AFTER you are already admitted … and of course, by that time, it won’t affect your admissions chances.</p>
<p>And even if you did choose to report all of them, it wouldn’t be a big deal because admission officers pay very little attention to your exam scores. Contrary to popular belief, AP exams are NOT an admissions tool. They are not meant to see how smart you are or to see how good you are in a subject … that job belongs to SAT subject tests, not AP exams.</p>
<p>OP, your AP scores are fine. I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to report any of them. This is how the College Board defines AP Scores:</p>
<p>5 - Extremely well qualified to receive college credit
4 - Well qualified to receive college credit
3 - Qualified to receive college credit
2 - Possibly qualified to receive college credit
1 - No recommendation to receive college credit </p>
<p>Not sending scores might lead to an admissions officer to think you either didn’t take the test or received a 2 or 1.</p>
<p>FYI, I reported a 3, and it was in my intended area of study, which really doesn’t have much bearing on anything anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks all. @M’s Mom, I knew they don’t get sent with your SAT scores, but I thought there was some sort of verification that you’re supposed to send along if you self-reported your scores; this is apparently not the case! </p>
<p>@bluebayou, yeah, my CS teacher was actually quite good, in fact excellent in my opinion. He was just more concerned with our general understanding of programming than the nuances of Java, and didn’t bother with AP practice. Calc really was the case of having a poor teacher, heheh… I only pulled a 3, yet I think I had the third highest grade in the class by year’s end. I’m studying for the Math II as we speak, and a 750+ seems likely. I have demonstrated interest in math by taking a course (precalc) over a summer, which may alleviate some worry.</p>