How much do AP scores really matter when applying to top schools like MIT?

I got like a 4 or 5 on some of my scores but got a 3 on English. Wondering how bad that is. Still got AP Scholar Distinction.

They don’t matter really. They don’t ask you to send scores unless you’re accepted.

Let’s see what MIT has to say on the subject:

http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/on_aps_1

If MIT rejects you, it will not be because you scored a 3 in English.

Congrats, but be aware that this is significant only to you (and maybe your teachers and parents).

Also, I plan to take a bunch of ap exams year, so if I get accepted at one of these top schools and commit, can they revoke my acceptance if I perform poorly on an ap exam(s)?

Can they? Well, they can do pretty much anything they want. But will they? No. Just don’t get D’s, get arrested, or be found to have lied on your application.

none.
but how can you be sure of getting into mit? Once you gotten in in your senior year don’t take exams. But if you have the application still infront of you take all ap tests

A 3 in AP English at MIT means having to take the Freshman Essay Evaluation to determine whether your writing course selections will be limited.

The fact that many MIT students take this exam means that not everyone accepted got a 5.

As I recall, AP scores can be self-reported on the MIT app. So, even though you don’t HAVE to send AP scores prior to matriculation – and even though they are not part of an MIT “admission formula” – they could still play a role in the adcom’s evaluation of your app.

For example, it obviously won’t hurt your chances if you self-report a bunch of 5s. (Aside: 5s help to confirm the rigor of your HS’s AP classes. If you made an A in the AP English class, but a 3 on the AP test, it could be a “red flag” that your HS doles out As.) Finally, it may look like you’re hiding something if you take AP classes and don’t disclose (self-report) your scores on the app.

So, even if MIT doesn’t admit based “solely” on AP scores, you gotta believe that they actually could “matter” more than some posters upthread believe.

BTW, MIT grants credit for 5s on some AP tests:

http://uaap.mit.edu/first-year-mit/first-year-academics/incomingcredit/previous-study/ap-and-transfer-credit-advanced-placement

I got 2’s on both AP Lang and Lit, and graduated from MIT last year.

The FEE isn’t really that bad; just plan aside a weekend to do it.

I hear around 75% of people pass the FEE. They give you around 5 or 6 days to read the sources and write the essays (although they release the essay directions 3 days after the sources), and you have plenty of time to compose a beautiful essay. I felt so much more comfortable taking the FEE than with the limited time of the AP English exams. For reference, I got 4’s on both AP Lang and Lit but passed the FEE.