I’ve read posts on this topic, but there seemed to be no general consensus. So, I decided I’d ask myself. So, do AP scores matter for admissions? My scores were horrible:
AP Language and Comp: 4
AP Bio: 3
My dream schools are Gtown, Pricenton, Yale, U Chicago and Columbia. I want to Major in IR and Economics with a minor in Arabic. Do my scores kill my chances? I meet the other benchmarks: top 10% of class, good ACT score, good recs, URM, good ECs.
I’m bummed about these scores, I was hoping to do better.
No one can really say for sure. The general consensus on AP scores is that they’re not used for admissions purposes - just for assigning transfer credit. However top 20 schools have much more selective admissions. I personally think these schools use AP scores to “validate” your GPA - ie an A in AP Biology with a 3 on the AP test indicates some kind of grade inflation. However that’s my opinion, others may have more concrete answers one way or the other.
I agree with @saif235
Calling a 4 “horrible” is both disingenuous and disconcerting. Your scores will not have affect on your admissions outcome. However, your “Woe is me” attitude, if it comes out in your essays, will do you no favors.
I dunno if it’s “woe is me” I’m just disappointed, I thought I would have done better is all. I studied very hard for the biology especially @skieurope. But I suppose it might not be too bad because I’m not majoring in biology, so maybe they won’t care as much. And my essays aren’t “woe is me” and I apologize for coming off in that way
AP scores, as I understand it, are self-reported on the Common App. Unless a college requires you to report all your scores, only report the good ones (although they may assume bad scores for the ones you do not report).
If you score a 4/5, you should usually always disclose it.