Is it suspicious if you don't report AP scores? And other AP questions from a noob

<p>I am sort of unclear on reporting AP scores (first gen college here, I'm clueless about everything regarding college!). I'm very sorry if I missed something on the college board website.</p>

<p>Can you choose which AP scores are sent to colleges, and do they look down upon you NOT sending a score when they see the class on your transcript?</p>

<p>I want to apply to Cornell ED and I'm SERIOUSLY reconsidering after getting my crappy SAT score and a 3 on an AP exam.</p>

<p>you can cancel a score for a fee, but colleges probably wont like it.</p>

<p>You don't have to send any AP scores if you don't want to. Colleges, as far as I know, use the scores for placement if you want/need to take the next level after HS. Colleges use the fact that you are TAKING the AP course as an indicator of the type of program you are taking in HS. Many students don't take APs until senior year, and the scores don't come until senior summer when the acceptances are long done with. So, they can't use the scores for admissions. Just the rigor of the program. You don't even have to cancel the score. Just don't submit it. And, yes, you can choose which ones to submit, unlike the current SAT rules (which are changing in the next year or two).</p>

<p>The new Common Application will have a spot for AP results, but this does not mean that you are REQUIRED to submit them. (The Common App also has spots for SAT and ACT scores, but students applying to test-optional colleges often choose to skip those questions.)</p>

<p>When admission officials see that a student has taken an AP class but that there is no corresponding score on the application, they may assume that the student took the test and didn't do well. However, they also realize that some students don't take the exams at all, often for financial reasons. Since you are a first-gen applicant, the admission folks may be more apt to assume the latter.</p>

<p>In any case, I think that, as a first-gen candidate with a 3 on an AP test, you should go ahead and report your score to Cornell. If you don't get in, I promise you that it won't be because of the AP results. (The SAT's, however, may carry more weight.)</p>