<p>hey, i was wondering...if one were to have awesome AP scores (say, six to eight 5s), how dramatically would that affect the admissions decision? is it a big factor that is taken into consideration, or is it just a small statistic that is considered as a whole?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>It is a small statistic that is considered as a whole.</p>
<p>it helps, but not as much as you think . . . remember, there are some people applying to Harvard who are national scholars after Junior year.</p>
<p>what it also does is mitigate any bad SAT II scores as well</p>
<p>That could, indeed, dramatically affect your chances, particularly if you had high class standing and did reasonably well on the SAT tests, too.</p>
<p>Just think of it like this...the Harvard dean of undergrad said that the number one predictor for college success are your AP SCORES. I think it matters a lot...yes especially if ya had good class rank and grades. WHAT I DONT UNDERSTAND IS IF WE TAKE AP WHY DO WE NEED SAT2 SCORES!!??</p>
<p>I know one student who got into Harvard w/ a 3 on AP Comp & another whole got into Yale w/ a 3 on AP Comp.</p>
<p>So 5's are not as much of a requirement as you might think. However, if they were to have scored an equivalent score in the verbal SAT (say 600), I would say they both would have been rejected.</p>
<p>Let's assume:
I have a 5 on US Govt, a 4 on US History, and a 3 on AB Calc (though I did get a 760 on math II).</p>
<p>Is that good/bad/unimportant?</p>
<p>apfreak: I assume the reason you have to also submit SATII scores is so they can have something to compare to all applicants across the board. Everyone takes SATIIs, whereas some people may have a severely reduced ability to take APs. Being an international student, in my case I can't take APs at all but I can take SATIIs. Besides, if you're doing very well on an AP, presumably the SATII wouldn't be too much of a problem.</p>
<p>From what I've observed, if everyone in your school takes APs, does well on them, then you aren't helped that much. But, for example, if you go to a school that offers only two APs, and take three, that's showing extra initiative.
Of course, it also seems like the best way to get into Harvard is to have a huge achievement--a la Intel, RSI, maybe something like Telluride Association, or some other national championship/recognition, etc.</p>