<p>Do AP scores matter as much as everyone thinks they do? Is there a huge difference between a 4 and a 5? I guess I'm just a little confused about how AP scores impact one's application. I would think the most important thing is that one chose to take AP courses (you know, challenged herself and all that).</p>
<p>They don't matter a whole lot. They can be a boost if you</p>
<p>a) self-studied and scored a 4 or 5</p>
<p>and a detriment if</p>
<p>b) they are much lower than your grade in that class</p>
<p>For some reason (AP teachers?), students are led to worry about AP scores, when they hold little significance compared to SAT II Subject tests, and SATs for admission. They do indicate the caliber of the school's AP program, and the commitment of the student, but are not added in the academic index scores calculated by admissions.</p>
<p>Nothing significant, especially if you've taken the course - it's what's expected, really. I know successful people at my school and many others who got some 2's and 3's and had no problem getting into Stanford/harvard and the like, which shows, at the very least, that AP scores aren't deciding factors in admissions (if you're a sure-in with good competition, some AP scores won't make them reject you, and stellar AP scores won't get you in if you aren't competitive in the first place). </p>
<p>With that said I doubt even how much of self-studying actually helps unless you're really passionate about the subject and get a good score; a bunch of self-study in random subjects and getting 4~5's will probably just show that you just want to flaunt your flashy AP scores...besides it's like 83 dollars or something.</p>
<p>they... really don't matter unless you want credit. just make sure u keep your grades up in the AP class.</p>
<p>They don't matter much at all, AP scores only matter if you want to get ahead and get college credit. I destroyed the majority of my friends on AP tests, and for the most part they all got into better schools than me so I can tell you from personal experience it doesn't matter at all.</p>
<p>Focus on GPA, SAT's, ACT's, Extracurriculars</p>
<p>This topic has been beaten to death....</p>
<p>APs are not completely useless</p>
<p>There has been several posts floating around that states Harvard takes AP scores into account (unconfirmed) and several others stating extremely selective colleges look at AP scores as a "tiebreaker".</p>
<p>They don't COMPLETELY DON'T matter.</p>
<p>There's no way, for instance, adcoms can ignore a humongous string of 5s (or, conversely, a huge string of 1s and 2s). But otherwise, for the most part, yes, AP scores factor minimally (occasionally not at all) into admissions.</p>
<p>What if your grade in the class is subpar, but you receive a 5 on the test?</p>
<p>This is basically my life story. AP Bio, AP Euro, AP Lang. All Bs, all 5s. What am I supposed to do!?</p>
<p>Relax? Having a B in a class, but still getting a 5 on the test really only shows that your school doesn't suffer from such rampant grade inflation as the average American high school.</p>
<p>colleges don't see it until after they accepted you. unless your teacher includes it in your rec, but they won't do that unless the score is good.</p>
<p>I've taken several AP classes. Haven't passed only one, got a 1 (and just one 3 as well), and I am rather worried it might give the wrong impression. Our teacher got sick early on and the whole situation was a rather big mess. I'm taking another year of chem anyways because of Higher Level IB and was considering paying to take the AP test again next year. Not worth it?</p>
<p>Getting a lower score on the exam than in the class would indicate that your school is easy. What happens if you don't report the scores, and say you don't want credit? </p>
<p>Also, what would a significantly lower grade be; would a 4 and an A and a 5 and an A- be alright for example? As in a 4 and 5 and A range....</p>
<p>Quizbiz: I wouldn't bother retaking the test. Don't submit the 1 and have the counselor explain the situation for why you got a 3.</p>
<p>Forum search is your friend. </p>
<p>The 2008-2009 Common Application will have spaces for self-reporting AP test scores (or IB test scores) for any to any of the hundreds of Common Application colleges. </p>