How much do colleges value AP scores when applying?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m currently a sophomore in high school. My gpa isn’t too great (3.35). It’s steadily improving though. The reason they are so low is because I took both AP Physics B and AP World History my freshman year, and I got pretty stressed out and my grades dropped. I did well on the exams though (4 on AP Physics, 5 on World History).

This year I’m taking AP Chem, and self-studying AP Euro. I expect to get at least 4s on both of those. My question is, how much will high AP scores offset my bad grades in my application? Based on my practice ACT score, I’m expecting to get around 30-32 on that.

I’m looking at schools like U of I Champaign and U of C Berkeley. U of C’s incoming students have average GPAs of 3.86

How much will good AP scores help? Should I entirely rethink my options?

2

Additionally, are there any schools that place heavy weight on AP scores, that would be easier for me to get into?

3

I dont think colleges even ask for AP scores during the admission process.

4

AP scores are not used for admission purposes only for receiving college credit. You can self-report your scores on the application, but official scores do not need to be sent in until after your Senior year.

5

AP scores have little weight in admission. Some schools may look at them as additional SAT2 scores. Your GPA is far more important than AP scores and that may hurt your chance. Moreover, UIUC admission chance would depend on your major.