I am a rising senior hoping to study Oriental Studies with Classics. To my understanding, students are expected to list every score they have received and expect to receive on UCAS.
I found out today that I received a 3 on AP English Lang & Comp. Obviously my course (any course) would involve a substantial amount of essay writing, and this score does not reflect especially well on my skill as an essay writer.
(I also received a 4 on AP Bio, and a 4 on AP Seminar last year. I believe these will matter less because they are not directly related to my chosen course?)
How will this score be received? Am I right to think my chances of admission are diminished?
Aside from the listed scores I have 5’s on US History, Latin, Macro, Micro, and European History. I think I have a fairly solid extracurricular background in both Oriental Studies and Classics. Good grades, GPA, ACT. Also a 1420 on a 10th grade SAT.
I pretty sure you can have collegeboard cancel your scores, then it will be like you never took them in the first place
heres the form:https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-score-cancellation.pdf
I would, but the deadline was June 15th
you can still cancel your scores, the june 15 thing is if you dont want CB to send your scores to colleges. However, to my understanding, (i’m in basically the same situation as you), after your interview, oxford will contact collegeboard to confirm the scores you put on your ucas application, including sats. Unless they dig up an old score report, it will not show any scores you canceled.
Also, looking at your stats, you should probably retake your sat, the cutoff is 1470 for oxford, 32 for act
Thank you, I guess I didn’t read carefully enough. I have a 35 on the ACT, which I took more recently. I think on account of this, previous scores might be overlooked.
no problem, I’m also a rising senior hoping to make it into oxford, feel free to DM me about stuff like this. Its always more comforting shooting for a goal with an acquaintance.
Not quite. If you get an offer it will be based on either achieving or confirming that you have achieved specified marks on 3 specific exams, that they have chosen from the full set of your completed and planned exams. Either way, you organize for CB to send your scores.
“I pretty sure you can have collegeboard cancel your scores, then it will be like you never took them in the first place”
Not really like never taking them. You are certifying that you have included all exam scores when you submit your application. Some would regard cancelling and not submitting scores as lying.
More importantly if you list the courses you took and include AP English, then it will raise suspicions if there isn’t an AP score associated with that course. Are you going to lie more and say you didn’t take the exam if asked?
@Twoin18 The UCAS application doesn’t ask for courses or a transcript, only test scores. Also, many students choose not to take the exam when taking the course for a multitude of reasons. Furthermore, when you choose to cancel your scores from collegeboard, unless they are archived, they will be completely wiped from record.
While I do agree this is kind of shady, almost all students and teachers I’ve talked to agree that the 2020 AP exams were a complete joke that did not reflect a students true ability. Unlike the UK, where A level scores were awarded by teachers after a comprehensive review of academic progress, we were forced to take a BS exam with 2 questions and half the course material removed. After this, scores were assigned to students based on a grading curve that was designed before the pandemic and based on the exam students would have taken were it not for the outbreak. Students that would have gotten 5s may have gotten 3s. Students have been harmed by an inherently broken system that we are forced to participate in for the sake of our future.
@Limmion So better to be honest and show the score, in the expectation that allowances will be made. Do the SAT 2 if need be and submit that in addition. My S got an interview for PPE having reported a 3 (albeit in sophomore year) in USH due in large part to a poor teacher. It will just look odd to not have a score for English but report other scores for this year. The applications are read closely by academics who will note discrepancies.
You said you had to list that you took AP English. Where do you list that? Are you supposed to list all the classes you have taken? I thought you only list your test scores under qualifications.
Get your teacher rec to include your explanation of the 3. Oxford know 2020 is a weird year.