<p>My scores aren't out yet, but I'm pretty sure it's borderline 4 and 5. Which really makes me mad. Throughout the year i have had the highest average in my class, and pretty much aced everything. I studied throughout the year using a Princeton review Calc book as well, and understood everything. Being my first AP test ever, I was extremely nervous and I don't think I read the directions properly. You know the first FR quetion where you had to find the area of curve? I re-read it and it asked to solve using y and I solved using x(or something along those lines). I also realized I made A LOT of careless errors and misinterpreted a lot of stuff on the exam. I just had a really bad testing day, and if you gave me another test later on that day, or even right now, I would dominate it. </p>
<p>So I'm just wondering, ......really, how bad is it? Math was always my best subject (like many people here) and it just plain sucks to have this feeling of uncertainty. I dont want for the AO to assume my 4 on the exam + A+ in class to automatically mean grade inflation. I know bad testing days happen to everyone, but this is just really bothering me. I'm also assuming getting a 4 vs a 5 isn't exactly the same as a 790 vs a 800? </p>
<p>Then again....if I DID get a 5 this entire post was meaningless and I will be completely relieved.</p>
<p>First off, what grade are you in? Unless you’re a junior you’ve still got at least one more test date to retake the AP. Also, colleges look at the whole you, not just one test score. If you have one bad AP score the rest of your application should reflect that you’re amazing at math. Maybe a few 800s on the math SAT 1/2s, a recommendation from a math teacher, or a few awards?</p>
<p>But I bet you did fine. I was expecting all 2s on APs this year, but I pulled off pretty good scores. I had a similar freak out with Comp Sci AB. The guy sitting next to me mumbled throughout the test so I couldn’t concentrate and didn’t finish the multiple choice, even though comp sci has always been my best subject and it’s always come naturally to me. But I still managed a 5.</p>
<p>Agree with lidusha. As long as the rest of your application is strong and shows strong math ability (for example, if you took the Physics AP exam and did well, it would show good math skills), you should be fine.</p>
<p>I also think it sounds like you pulled off a 5, especially if you’re like me and like to estimate your scores lower than what they’re likely to be. If you think it’s borderline, and you’re as good at calc as you say you are, you’re probably fine.</p>
<p>I’m a rising junior. Yeah Puzzle, I usually make an underestimation of my scores to prepare myself for the worst. But this time, being completely unbaised and realistic, I would say I squeezed by. Like if the cutoff was 70, I got a 70 or 71. Which doesn’t seem safe enough for a 5 for me. Also I don’t think I can retake AB b/c I have BC next year (our school requires AB before BC =( ) . </p>
<p>And Lidusha, were you honestly expecting 2s? Did you really think you did that bad? I mean, I estimated a 4 (being hard on myself), so I was worried and then estimated my best possible score that day. Which was either a high 4 or low 5.</p>
<p>Obviously your BC score will have an AB subscore with it, and a 5 on the BC pretty much solves all your problems. Given BC has an identical format to AB, with somewhat different questions (though with considerable overlap), you’ll be a seasoned AP Calculus person, and so it should be no problem.</p>
<p>Pi Face (awesome username!), getting a 5 on BC would more than make up for a low score on AB.</p>
<p>And yes, I was expecting ALL TWOS. This past year (junior year) I really overloaded myself with eleven APs, a big chunk of which I was self-studying. I was also captain of our Science Olympiad team, so I spent a lot more time on that than studying… AP weeks were hell, but I managed:
Physics C, Mech: 5
Physics C, EM: 4 (self-studied M)
Calc BC: 5
Comp Sci: 5
English Lang: 4
Comparative Gov: 4 (self-study)
Chem: 5 (self-study)
Environmental Science: 4 (self-study)
Psych: 4 (self-study)
Econ, Micro: 2 (lol, self-study)
Econ, Macro: 2 (lol, self-study)</p>
<p>…and last year:
Bio (5), Stat (5), and Chem (4)</p>
<p>Yes, a bunch of 4s, but I’m perfectly happy with that because I got 5s in my main science APs. And in 10th grade I got a 4 in Chem and I didn’t like it, so I retook it and got a 5! Which you can too!</p>
<p>You’ll be more than prepared for Calc BC with a year of Calc AB under your belt. Not to mention that you can always cancel unhappy scores or just not report them. Though personally I would, since Calc in 10th grade is pretty impressive regardless of score. Not that you didn’t get a 5 anyways. ;)</p>
<p>You are worrying way too much about this. Chill. It really is a lot more comparable to “790 vs a 800” than you think. The key is that you need to have demonstrated that you are a capable math student who could pass MIT’s math requirements. This doesn’t mean that everything you have ever done with math has to be perfect, or that you have to be any sort of math genius.</p>
<p>(I had a 4 on the AB subsection of the BC test. My overall score was…not a 4. This is why having a teacher who actually finishes the curriculum, and who teaches for the full class period instead of only the first two thirds of it, is nice. However, the point is that I got into MIT, despite my lower scores on that test. I’m sure that getting 800s on both the SAT I Math and SAT II Math IIC helped.)</p>
<p>I recall Jessie, myself and some others had a discussion on something almost identical to this in some thread. The consensus seemed to be that it’s most important that there *is * something special about you, which tells MIT that it won’t be a waste to admit you. In other words, show them you really care about something in the math/science/engineering realm. If you’re a natural at some form of engineering but don’t really care about calculus, it seemed from that discussion that you’ll be considered strongly, though of course there are never any guarantees. </p>
<p>I’d focus on doing better on BC though, if your focus is on demonstrating your mathematical ability, given you seemed to be emphasizing that you were a very diligent math student, despite having a bad test day. I don’t think AP scores do matter too much at the end of the day, but I think you yourself will be much more comfortable if you do how you expect to do.</p>
<p>I will, however, say that if you truly find the AP exams in math tough, that you should reconsider how you’re preparing for them. For a good math student, they tend to be very easy, though I very much understand how bad testing days can cause nasty surprises to come one’s way.</p>
<p>Ok, Pi Face, AP grades will almost always turn out better than you expect
Here are my scores:</p>
<p>Test Expected Actually Received
Calculus BC 4 5
English Lang 4 5
Chemistry 4 5
Music Theory 1/2 4
U.S History (9th grade) 3 5
Calculus AB (9th grade) 3 5</p>
