Is One Bad A.P. Score Going to Hurt my App?

I took four A.P. exams total in my sophomore and junior years of high school, and have gotten 4’s and 5’s, but I got a 2 on Chemistry. My G.P.A. and other test scores are fine. Does the 2 hurt my chances with the Ivies?

AP Scores are seen as a bonus and really aren’t used unless applying internationally

No unless you’re applying for schools like MIT or CalTech.

We have been over this question SEVERAL SEVERAL times. AP SCORES HOLD LITTLE TO NO WEIGHT IN APPLICATIONS.

Also, @jason861101 doesn’t know what he is talking about. MIT and Caltech follow what I just stated above there, especially since they offer very little AP credit.

^ AP scores matter. Suppose OP wants to major in chem? You may have been told this by someone or other, but you need to learn the colleges’ perspective. Credit for AP classes can only come after you are accepted. OP did ask about Ivies.

OP, so what’s the major?

Thanks for all the information so far. I will most likely be majoring in business or economics.

For business or econ, I wouldn’t worry so much about the chem 2. You might think about not reporting it.

@basedchem What makes you say AP scores have little to no weight in applications?

I would just not report that one.

@cheeryParent Check every single discussion we have had after AP testing. It has been stated multiple multiple times that AP scores have very little, if any, impact on admissions. If anything, the most they can do is point out grade inflation. AP scores are used for credit earning and placement anyways. Some schools, like HMC, don’t even take AP credit.

@basedchem The only thing I’ve been able to find are the Hout Report, which suggests AP scores have a large weight in Berkeley admissions, and an article from Harvard’s dean of admissions where he states the best predictor of success at Harvard is AP and IB scores. Is there another source I should be looking at?

Won’t the AP exam that is not reported be seen by an admissions committee as a missing exam, where the class was taken and is listed on the transcript? Further, won’t that then be assumed to be a low score (as in 1 or 0), anyway?

If so, there is no upside in not reporting it.

2 quick things: Others who I believe are very well-informed about admissions on this board have opined that they believe AP scores are taken into consideration at very selective schools. However, I don’t think not reporting a score is a huge deal. My D ended up not taking the APGov exam her sophomore year because we (erroneously) believed that no school gave credit for it, so there was no point. She self-reported all other AP scores but obviously not that one. She had very good admission results.

And we will do the same this year. That is the consensus, however, as I have been able to glean here at CC.

OP could decide not to report chem because he/she has other good scores, is not stem. That’s based on this picture. For others, it depends.

It doesn’t matter how kids discuss AP or testing in threads. Or some adults. The more selective schools want to see how you did, not just the grade from your hs teacher. Getting college credit or not is a different matter.