So I don’t think I will be self-reporting scores to the Ivy League schools I am applying to, will that hurt my chances significantly?
Why are you not reporting your scores? Is this because your AP scores were low?
Why do you want to attend an Ivy League university? While the eight Ivy League universities are all very good, they are not all the same, and none of them is a good fit for every strong student. Many strong students would be better off at some other university. Also, they are not all the same. Do you know which Ivy League university or universities would be a better fit for you?
There are hundreds of very good colleges and universities in the US. Most students would be better off at a college or university that does not happen to one of the eight in the Ivy League.
If you high school does not have AP classes, then this is unlikely to be held against you. They do not expect your to fix your high school. However, if your high school does offer AP classes and you either did not take any, or you took AP classes but got low scores (whether in your high school class grades or your AP scores) then I do start to wonder why you want to attend an Ivy League university.
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If you’ve taken them Junior Year or Sophomore year and aren’t submitting a score, they might wonder why.
You’ll never know why you are rejected to a school - you’ll just know you didn’t get in.
You don’t know - unless you try - but you want to ensure that the school is right for you. You shouldn’t apply to a school, just because it has a known name - especially one that has a 4% acceptance rate, etc.
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Is that because you had AP courses but either chose not to take AP tests or did poorly on the AP tests, or because your school does not offer AP courses (or at least not in subjects that you would take), or because your school does offer AP courses but you were not allowed to take them because of rationing?
Here’s an anecdote from my kid:
Decided not to report scores. Took many APs before senior year and passed all of them, but it wasn’t a “all 5s”situation. More than half, though, I think, and rest were mainly 4s. Had nearly all As in those classes (I think it was all but one). Decided that between the specific score mentions in letters of recommendation, and the college board AP award level, she didn’t need to spell out each and every AP grade in her application.
Meanwhile, several schools basically required her to spell out every AP score. Ivies we’re not in that group.
Guess what? She got into those particular schools, and not ivies. Note that selectivity at at least one of those schools is single digit. So it would be reasonable to conclude that the APs were a help, even though she was intimidated by how many people supposedly have “all 5s”.
I’ll take some of the blame: by telling her that it seems like in college confidential there are many kids with all 5s, this may have affected her decision. And I realized afterwards that I have no verification that any of those kinds of CC posts are even true.
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This is your third go at this question, and the answers are not going to change. There is no absolute answer: APs are simply one part of your application.
You don’t seem to respond to posters with follow-up questions, but do think about why you are able to get As in your AP classes but apparently no 5s on any of your AP exams.
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