How much do AP Scores really count towards a college's decision?

Is it really that important to get all 5s for your AP exams?

Let me propose a hypothetical: if student A has excellent grades, solid work load, and great ECs, but he receives 4s in a lot of his AP exams, how will it affect his chances?

Can colleges defer him just because of his mediocre AP scores (specifically those “top” universities)?

How much do colleges really look at AP scores compared to the things like GPA, class rank, ECs, essays and so forth?

And finally, how many AP scores should you send (speaking as if they are not all 5s), and will sending multiple 4s hurt his chances?

Thanks.

Other than possibly validating the rigor of your AP course, your AP scores will carry little to no weight in the admissions process for the vast majority of US universities; they are mainly used for credit and/or placement. Nobody will be rescinded for an AP score. BTW a 4 is not a bad score.

At many colleges, AP scores go directly to the registrar’s office, so admissions may not even see them, other than what you self report on the common app. Don’t overthink.

Just make sure that you take them. They don’t care about the score, but some do like to see you taking the tests for the AP classes that you take.

Not positive, but I’m pretty sure the OP is asking about self reported scores on the common app

@taishi I heard that UCB requires you to submit all your AP scores, but then again, they don’t use the CA and require to mail in your registration so… UCB cares a lot about your academics, can someone confirm that?

I think AP exams confirm that you did well in the course and understood the material that was taught. It’s like any other final exam or standardized test. I would imagine that the scoring well would make your application look better. I doubt that AP scores “don’t matter at all.”

If I remember correctly, I believe the Dean of Admissions at Harvard University said that good AP scores are an indicator of college success. 5’s make your application look better for sure.

It helps to verify your school grades. Some schools will consider it just as additional subject test scores (e.g. Harvard). In other words, it carries very little weight in admission if any. Note that many students do not have the chance to take AP before senior year due to school policy or limited resources. So it cannot be used as a universal and fair criteria to evaluate all students.

AP scores are a normalizing function that is often used to calibrate the difficulty of the coursework and learning environment.

Two cases:

  • Student A gets an A+ in class and a 3 on the AP test.
  • Student B gets a B+ in class and a 5 on the AP test.

One college admissions officer mentioned, that in the first case, it is a likely indicator that the class was easily graded, with the typical HS extra credit, etc.
Student B is perceived to have a more challenging learning environment but was able to nail the material as compared to Student A.

Of course there are other interpretations, but this is considered the more common.

OP’s starter list includes Stanford, Brown, CMU, Duke, etc.
Yes, the AP scores matter. Think about it.

4 is okay, even top performers can have some. But the most important grades and scores are those related to your potential major.

Anybody want to comment on my getting a 4 on the AP Bio test but top 50 in-nation for USABO, bahahahhahaha?

they barely matter at all.
I personally dislike this, as they’re a standardized measure that can compare applicants all across the country (or even the world) and Harvard’s study found that AP scores were the best predictor of success in college.

A “4” does not put you in the top 5% for any test. For advanced calc, you aren’t even in the top 45%, advanced physics not in the top 30%, economics, just make the top 15%, government/politics, not even in the top 10%.
(2013 data)

So depends on how competitive a school you are applying to and the applicability of the AP test to the major, the AP scores do say a lot.

I can construct scenarios that rationalize that either in your favor, or against you, depending on my mood, any pre-conceived biases and how I read the rest of your app.

Colleges really look at AP scores to determine whether or not you get credits. Many applications have no place to even record AP test scores. We had them sent anyway but it didn’t matter. Glad my son took so many because he walked into college with 34 credits DONE. Saves $$—he now has time to do a double major!

@skyoverme Just to comment on your previous post and your reply to mine :P…

I think the percentiles for AP exams are heavily skewed rightward O_o… For example, you have to consider that top 30% in economics means top 30% of highly-motivated (okay, it depends, I guess) students taking AP exams–not top 30% out of all students.

Also, as an answer to my post… I guess that’s a fair statement :P… There are actually a wholeeeeee lottt of reasons for that 4 :P… I’ve gotten 5s on the rest of my exams, so it’s quite the outlier, hmmmm?

If a majority of your AP exam scores are 4’s but you have a few 5’s, will the top colleges look down on you? Because I’m pretty sure I didn’t get a 5 on the AP Bio exam and I’m scared that’ll affect me because I want to major in that and would look so much better if I got a 5…

AP scores are barely important in admssion itself in general, and besides, you don’t even send them til May.

Obviously, we’re talking about the scores before senior year starts. And OP is talking about reaches.

AP scores matter. But the degree to which they matter varies on the school. One college told my guidance counselor that if you don’t have a 5 in AP Calc BC and/or AP Physics C and /or AP Chem, your application has to be extremely strong in other areas for them to seriously consider you. But I can imagine other colleges might be curious to see if a student has handled higher level coursework.

Do not listen to a single person who tells you otherwise.

What school?

Besides MAYBE HYPS+, I have never heard of them carrying any significant weight. First of all, 4’s are a fine score. Maybe not for CC, but they show a good grasp on the material and most schools count that for credit.

My high school was all about college prep. They knew admissions well, and I was told that AP’s carried little to no weight except for very specific schools, usually the ones mentioned above.

I applied to lots of competitive schools and I didn’t have a single 5 on my application: a three and two fours with 4 AP’s pending. I only got denied from two schools, both under 12% acceptance rate. My GPA wasn’t spectacular, both were very high reaches.

If AP’s carried any weight at my other schools, I would have expected to be rejected by at least a few more as I applied to 9 schools, only two being safeties. 4 of them were in the US News Top 50.

I’m not saying it’s how it should be (Interesting stat with Harvard there actually), but for a majority of schools, AP scores mean little but as others have mentioned, grade verification.