Before you say that there are 20 other posts about this, I’ve already read them and have come to the conclusion that for top 20 schools, AP scores matter but significantly less than GPA & SATs. Also, having the national AP award can benefit you a bit, while failing an exam raises an eyebrow and can hurt you a bit. Luckily I haven’t failed any, but don’t qualify for the national AP award.
So first of all, are my conclusions correct? Secondly, I’ll list my scores and courses…please comment on how these will affect my chances at getting into the top 10-20 colleges
Stats 5
Calc BC 4 (AB subscore 5) (does this have a negative effect given that it’s calculus?)
Computer Science 3 (how bad does this hurt me?)
APUSH 5
Microeconomics 4 (self-studied, but does a 4 then help me still?)
Macroeconomics 5
Some other info for you: I’m an Asian male from New England, rising senior, looking to major in economics or something polisci-esque, with intentions to get an MBA or go to law school. I’ve received As for all these courses (which, from what I’ve gathered,matters more than the score). I’ve very nice scores for SAT and SAT IIs, if that can cancel out some of my relatively weaker scores.
If you are in the ballpark academically - go to the common data set for each school, section C, google it - and you have taken the most rigorous course selection available at your school (per your guidance counselor who provides this evaluation in his/her letter of recommendation), then it’s time to stop thinking about APs and focus instead on how you are going to differentiate yourself from all those other top students who have comparable academic records.
I think they help reflect that your curriculum was solid. Good SATs combined with strong APs help to show that your good GPA is not just a result of grade inflation.
@Troyus so do you think my scores show that my curriculum is rigorous?
I’m assuming you received A’s in these classes. Your AP scores show either your school provides good course rigor (otherwise, you would have 1,2 instead of passing scores) or you are a hard working student who overcomes poor teaching and course rigor (everyone else in your school scored 1,2 but you scored 4,5 and one 3). Both are good for you.
A 3 in AP CS, a subject not directly related to your intended major, is okay. It shows that you pushed yourself. You weren’t great but you understood basic concepts. Would a 5 be better? Of course (but then you would have to combat that Asian stereotype of being “naturally” good in math and CS).
I agree with what @Troyus wrote. And I’m also just going to add that the 3 on CS looks not-so-good (especially for top 20), but it is balanced out by some of the other good scores that you have.
Overall, though, I think your AP scores are probably not up to par with the scores of the average student admitted to a top 20 school. However, AP scores don’t seem to be too important to colleges, especially when compared to GPA, SAT/ACT, ECs, etc.