<p>Before you guys totally bash this thread, please take the time to understand my situation. I am a rising senior that is striving for the Ivy Leagues. I have 5's in Biology, Chemistry, US History, and US Government. </p>
<p>I see that from last year, 43.5% got 5's on the BC test and an overwhelming majority got 5's on the AB subscore. I received a 4 on both - HOWEVER, I did not take the class (which they only offered AB anyway), and I was the only junior taking calculus. Is there someplace on the college application that I can mention this, and if so, how much will this score hurt me?</p>
<p>I’m sorry that you didn’t get the score that you wanted, but I don’t think the fact that you were a junior when you took is going to change anything.</p>
<p>Yeah. I know what you mean because a junior would put you a year ahead at my school, but at a lot of schools it’s common for sophomores to take BC.</p>
<p>They really don’t care about APs enough for it to make a big difference. Unless you’re going for an engineering major or something similarly math based. Then you might get dinged a bit, but not substantially if your math is otherwise strong.</p>
<p>of course you can’t. clearly you need a solid grasp on college level material before actually going to college and a 4 on calc bc just doesn’t show that… duH!</p>
<p>You can always ask your counselor to note that you self-studied the BC part, and the actual grade is used more for placement. You might be able to note this in the supplementary information section, but a 4 vs. a 5 is not going to make or break your application in any way, even for the Ivies, especially since you have such an impressive record of 5s. <em>relax</em> :)</p>
<p>I seem to remember Yale accepts a 4 for BC credit, and I know MIT does. Especially if you’re a year ahead and self-studied it – and you should try to get your guidance counselor to mention that in your recommendation – that’s a good score and I don’t really see them punishing you for it.</p>
<p>I had NO CALCULUS AT ALL on my transcript and no AP score because I took it online the summer before senior year. I discussed it with my guidance counselor and brought her my online course transcript, and she mentioned it. Problem solved.</p>
<p>A 4 on BC Calc in Junior year through self study puts you statistically in the stratosphere. </p>
<p>You did just fine. For admission this shows passion and ability. For credit, most college award credit for 4s and 5s, sometimes 3s. </p>
<p>Be proud, and move on to having a rich life that makes you an interesting person; colleges aren’t looking for one more pasty-faced exam-robot who obsesses over arcane details of GPA calculations or text score. Go have a life. Your score is excellent.</p>
<p>Your life is over, go to your local McDonald’s get an application and work there for the rest of your life, because with that 4 you wont be going anywhere.</p>
<p>Sorry bro i’m going to be honest. A 4 is good for a PUBLIC school but IVY League wise? This can only look not so well. Seeing as how Calc already has a generous curve a 4 is pretty bad. It shows you didn’t work hard enough to learn the material and with the competition the way it is now you look much less credible. Why would they choose you? Someone who has all 5’s but one 4? Compared to someone who has all 5’s?</p>
<p>My advice is to keep some public schools in mind as a backup.</p>
<p>^I’m not sure if that post is satire or not. Go look at some stats threads; people get in with 4’s. Colleges don’t just pick the best test scores. I have a friend who took three AP’s last year with one 4 and is going to Yale; another friend says she’s not in the top 10% of her class, although her (public non-magnet) school doesn’t rank, and she’s going to Princeton.</p>
<p>A 4 is not bad, and it’s pretty amazing for self-studying. And I don’t know what’s wrong with public schools; I took myself off the Princeton and Stanford waitlists but came very very close to choosing UVA over MIT.</p>
<p>umm, I always thought that most college/universities’ official stance on ap scores is “we don’t consider them for admission”</p>
<p>the guidance counselors at our hs told us explicitly that our ap scores were not considered in the admissions process, or counted for very little</p>
<p>i know a girl who got 1s and 2s (but also some 4s and 5s) on her ap exams junior year and was accepted to columbia (and dartmouth, cornell, etc) this year. she got a 1 on the ap calc bc exam</p>
<p><em>wince</em> That’s tough man… my advice would be apply to a community college and transfer. Make sure you write a really good essay for the community college because that 4 will hurt you…</p>
<p>Nah, in all seriousness, the name of the thread should be ‘How GOOD is a 4 on AP Calculus BC?’. Your score is great, it won’t hurt you at all.</p>
<p>I mean, maybe don’t make it the focal point of your MIT application, but it’s by no means fatal, or even bad, especially if you only took AB. There’s no need to mention it on your application.</p>