So I did not do well on my AP Tests at all I believe. I did 6 AP Tests (im a junior right now) and go two 2s on the 2 I took sophomore year.I believe i got a 3 3’s on the three I already took this year and I am taking one tomorrow which is brand new version of the ap test (the ap world history test they made a bunch of new edits to it and my teacher didn’t really know how to teach it that well) and I don’t feel all that confident on that one. Basically I have gotten 3 3’s and most likely going to have 3 2s. Will these bad scores hurt my chances of getting in, and when I apply to college should I put them on my app?
The colleges I am interested in applying to are: UW, NYU, Babson, BC, and BU.
Should I just not report them? Will it hurt more to not report them or hurt more to report bad scores? Or does it not mean pretty much anything either way? Here is some context: my GPA is a 3.71 my ACT is a 32.
My SAT IIs are pretty good on Math II I got a 770 and on 720 on Bio
@billcsho So should I just not report them? Will they care if I do not report them for the colleges I listed? I am not applying for any top 25 colleges other than ones in canada (and USC if you consider that a top 25) so I assume my ap scores won’t matter much or at all?
If you take an AP course in the previously but do not self report the score, the adcom may think you did not do well in the test or not taking the test (for whatever reason like health situation). Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong to report any 3 on the application. Again, self reporting scores are optional.
@billcsho Okay, so basically if I do not get into a college I most likely wouldn’t have gotten in even if my ap scores were better? I have gotten very confused because my teachers told me the scores do not matter to colleges and if I didn’t get in it was because of grades, ecs, and act/sat scores, not my ap scores. They all told me that ap scores can help a little bit, but they do not help enough to get you into a college, and they do not hurt enough to get you out of a college. Is this true in your opinion?
Basically, Is it true that good ap tests can help, but not enough to get you into a college you previously would probably not get into, and bad ap scores won’t get you out of a college you previously most likely were getting into?
Yes. If you have great AP scores and self report them, it may only have a small positive effect if any. With bad score, you can skip the self reporting.
I would advise not self reporting anything lower than a 4. In your case simply don’t include these scores on your common app. Should not be a problem. A 2 will stand out in a bad way, omitting scores won’t really be noticed
DD’16 took 11 APs with a range of score, from 2-4 and did not self report any. She was accepted at every (12) school she applied to (no ivies, but school in the USNWR rankings in the #50-#125 range) I don’t think it matters if your report or not.
Surprisingly AP scores don’t matter, in fact, admissions look more at SAT 2s for whether an applicant has in-depth knowledge of a subject. They want to make sure you take them if your hs offers them and you did well in them. They’re not going to wonder what your score was. The exams aren’t cheap either, they know all that.