Hey everyone! I was just wondering how AP test scores come into play for ivy league school apps. For ex. if you had an okay SAT score and did ‘okay’ (as in 3’s and 4’s) on AP tests, how would that affect your application?
ap exams really not important in the admissions process
SATs and ACTs are very important, on the other hand.
They’re important for your course load because AP classes are vigorous. The scores only really matter for college credit.
For specific answers, you should go to each Ivy school and review what scores they accept.
Every admissions session I’ve been to says they don’t care about the scores you got in an AP course, only that you took a rigorous schedule and did well in it. (i.e. Vassar’s answer to “Is it better to get a B in the AP class or an A in regular class?” was (with a bit of a wince)“An A in the AP class?”) Since they do ask you to self-report your scores and it’s certainly possible that letters of recommendations from teachers and GCs may mention strong scores, I’m guessing that it’s still somewhat better to get a 5 than a 3. I have never heard any admission of that from an admissions officer however.
Most of the Ivy League schools if they give credit for APs at all will want at least a 4 and usually a 5. Most of these colleges have long lists of APs for which they grant no credit or only one semester of credit. Some only give you credit if you also get Advanced Standing. You have to check the individual colleges. The Ivy League is an **athletic **conference they each handle academics differently.
My guess is that a 3 on AP test sends a negative signal to ivy schools.
^ Admissions officers might become suspicious if you have mostly 1s, 2s, 3s, and non-reported scores. However, AP Exam scores are a minimal factor in admissions because the instructional standards can and do vary wildly from school to school.
So they still consider them during the application process but don’t actually use it to deny/compare students?
@purpledog354 It’s like a screening thing.
For an applicant from an unknown high school, AP scores may be an indicator of the rigor of the high school’s AP courses. A grades with 1 scores imply a low quality high school, while B grades with 5 scores imply a very rigorous high school.
My high school is extremely low quality compared to most schools in the U.S., and I have straight A’s, so would that tell them that I’m not being challenged enough?
A grades and 3-4 scores are not the best, but certainly better than those school districts where the most common AP score for students who got A grades in AP courses is 1.
I got an A in APUSH freshman year and didn’t do well on the AP test. I got a 3 on the AP Gov’t test but started with a C in the class and ended with a B. I’m planning on retaking APUSH and possibly AP Gov’t senior year, and I’m taking 3 AP exams this year with 4 AP classes. If I keep improving my scores will that look better on my app?
i think AP scores are generally an indicator of how legit an so-called “college-level” class is. if you get an A in a class and score a 3 or bellow, that could be worrying(especially if that sort of thing is consistent).
@FakeCat so would that show more of what the school’s teaching level is or more of how independent I am as a student?
Yes, grade versus score can be more of an indicator on your high school.
So I’m assuming that would hurt my application? Unless my school is evidently a lower level but I still get good AP scores
You do not have the luxury of linking your performance on an AP exam to either the quality of your school and/or the teaching.
IMO, getting good grades in AP classes and one AP score of 3 or below is fine - anybody can have a bad testing day. However, having all A’s and a string of 1’s and 2’s will certainly raise an AO’s eyebrows.
Having said that, I am of the opinion that AP scores carry little weight in the admissions process. They will certainly be used to validate the rigor of your courses, but college admissions is not an area where whoever has the most 5’s wins. The scores themselves will mainly be used for credit and/or placement.
Am I correct in assuming that AP scores would be much more consequential for classes you do badly in? For instance, if you get a B or C in a class but get a 5 on the AP test it would generally imply that your bad grade was due to the class being very difficult as opposed to not being able to understand the material. (Unless, of course, you have a pattern of getting notably bad grades in comparison to all your test scores, in which case it’s possible that it just shows you didn’t do the work in the class)
The question is unanswerable when asked in a vacuum, but some schools have less grade inflation that others, so a B/C in calc could be an indication of course difficulty.