I am pretty sure that the BC tests’s AB subscore does not count as a full other test or class for the purpose of AP awards.
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Well that is where I am confused. He got two grades in school, one for AB in fall and 1 for BC in spring as his course was a yearlong course. Also, I understand that if a kid taking the AP BC exam passes AB but not BC then that AB sub-grade counts. Hence my question.
Just go on their website. It says if you take the BC exam they won’t count AB subscore as a separate test. Not saying it makes any sense.
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Ah! Thank you for the clarification!! And a huge congrats to your son!! Wow! He did amazing- hope he’s celebrating:)
Yes, that does count, if AB is taken alone as one test then the next year BC.
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I wish they still had the National AP scholar award–ours has 8 total APs at this point and would qualify. Oh well! It’s not a huge deal, she has other things for the “award” slots, but it is hard when siblings had these options just 2 yrs ago.
Yes ha, at this point they max out at 5 APs I believe, which my son has. Though to be fair taking more at school is in many cases difficult/ prohibited and doing them via self study is probably in many cases not best use of time.
(Meanwhile, my kid only took AP Music Theory and chose not to take the exam. He’s not taking any AP course next year either.)
Congrats to everyone! I hope the AP test scores help the kids get into the schools they want and/or reduce tuition costs.
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I suppose so, but hers were all classes and all allowed so it doesn’t make sense for her. But maybe it encouraged too much AP focus nationally , to have these awards for most Apps.
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AP Calc AB - 4
AP Psychology - 4
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B #1 - took AB, got credit; next year took BC; got credit. They counted as two ap courses for an award. BC counted as one, AB counted as one.
g#2 - took BC. got college credit for the AB portion; blew the C part. The BC score (not the subscore) was used for ap scholar awards. – that was 7 years ago; might be different now.
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While we are on subject of AP scores, I have a question - is it necessary to send to schools applying to if they don’t plan on turning in for credit? The AP classes S23 took are geared towards his major (comp sci with engineering minor - kind of)…he will more than likely want to take the actual classes on college campus. Thoughts on pros/cons for that?
@JaceyK it’s certainly very school dependent, however I think 1) if you have good scores 4/5s it can only help. 2) It’s your choice on whether you want to apply the credit or retake the class.
I would also be cautious about just submitting some scores. If you took 7 AP classes and only submitted one score, it may lead an AO to assume you didn’t do well in the others.
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There is generally no need to submit AP scores until the kid knows where they are going and wants to use them for placement or credit. If they are high, you may want to submit as part of the application to a selective college, if your school isn’t known to the AOs, it may be helpful to support that high grades in those subjects aren’t due to a weak curve or lax grading for the class.
But you can send the scores and still retake the class. Many colleges encourage or even require that, especially for your major.
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Congrats on all great AP results.
Our D got
5- AP Bio, APMacro, AP Micro
4-AP Psyc
Their AP Calc BC is yet to come! Wondering why!
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Many schools don’t use AP scores for admissions, just for credit. Paradoxically, some of the UC’s which are now test blind for SAT/ACT do consider AP scores if offered as part of the admission process.
UCB and UCLA have stated in the past that they consider AP scores in their application review however, when you look at the 13 areas of application review criteria, this is what is stated:
Number of and performance in UC-approved honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate Higher Level and transferable college courses.
Outstanding performance in one or more specific subject areas.
So one can interpret that performance on the AP exams could be a factor.
Since none of the 13 areas of criteria are evaluated within a vacuum, all these areas will contribute to an applicants chances.
That said, self studying AP’s and taking the exam are not the UC preference. The UC’s would rather the see the student avail themselves of the rigorous classes available at their HS and receive a letter grade over an AP exam score.
Applicants are reviewed in the context of what is offered at the HS’s and will not be penalized for not taking courses that are not offered.
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AP scores: Congrats on the great scores! And if there’s anyone here whose kid got a 1 or a 2 on anything, congrats on having a kid who was willing to take the test anyway! And for those whose kid opted against taking the exam after taking the course (which mine did for world history 10th grade), congrats on having a kid who knows what they want and are willing to do!
The U of Colorado Denver debrief: So the past few days were spent frantically driving Denver-Albuquerque-Phoenix-San Diego. (I grew up on the east coast, where driving I-95’s 199 miles through South Carolina feels like it takes forever—and in Alaska, of course, the concept of driving to another state isn’t even something that one thinks about. The distance between major cities in the western states never fails to blow my mind anew.) During that time, D23 talked with us about her impressions, and said that CUDenver has probably moved into her top three (her high school counselor is all about having a top three list of colleges you’re aiming toward), along with Middle Tennessee State and one other still to be figured out, probably chosen from Montclair State, Seton Hall, SCAD, and North Texas. (I still find it weird that audio tech is a place where so many regional publics have staked out a space with really good programs. But that increases the possibility of good scholarships, so I’m not complaining.) She likes the flexibility of CUDenver’s audio tech program, and that she could do something like major in music tech and minor in foley sound—and she said that her camp got her to realize how much she wants a program that would let her be a generalist when it comes to sound tech. (That’s a bit of foreshadowing, see below.) She also sees Denver as a place she could happily be, and the way she describes it seriously sounds like the way I remember people describing Seattle in the late 80s, which is a promising sign, I suppose.
The Colorado Avalanche: As you may know, the Avalanche just won the Stanley Cup, and they did it while D23 was at her camp. The outdoor viewing area for the games was within sight of both her regular and isolation dorms, and all the cheering and excitement mean that she has decided that no matter where she ends up, because she got to (in a way) be a part of the Avalanche winning the championship, the Avalanche will always and forever be her hockey team.
San Diego State U: This morning we toured San Diego State, which has a very selective audio tech program, but one where it’s very clear you learn a lot—and it’s very hands-on, almost an apprenticeship. D23 (and C25) came out of the tour incredibly impressed with the university, both in terms of visual appeal—and I would say it’s one of the prettier public universities you’re going to find anywhere, all California mission architecture aside from the library, which can be charitably described as “1960s concrete”—and in terms of what they learned of the student experience. However, she isn’t so sure of the audio tech program, now that she’s had a chance to look at it more closely—she would come out of it very clearly incredibly skilled at live sound, but as mentioned above she wants something that would let her come out of her undergrad as a generalist, and SDSU wouldn’t really let that happen. So she might not even apply there now, we’ll see.
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For highly selective colleges, good AP scores are helpful (ie school websites encourage submitting them) and not reporting scores when the AP class is on the transcript can be a negative, and could be assumed to be lower than it really is. Our school has the scores on the transcript anyway, so it is a moot point for us.
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Aaaannnndddd…our AP scores have been revealed lol. Thing 1 only had one AP this year as he did more dual credit classes…he got a 3 on his AP Lang/Comp. That will be accepted at all the instate publics he’s applying to so we’re good to go. Thing 2…oh gosh, I don’t even know where to begin with this kid…he had 3 AP tests this year: Physics 1, Lang/Comp and APUSH…A’s is all three classes…AP test scores: 2, 3, 2. It is what it is. The 3 will work at instate publics…not for any of the LAC’s he’s applying to but I’m not going to sweat over it. He has an admissions interview with Trinity University tomorrow!
The twins both have their SRAR completed 9-11 grades (waiting for 12th grade final schedule to be released and then they’ll complete it); expanded resumes are being fine tuned and completed and they both have a rough rough drafts for their Common App essays.
I think we’re on track to have apps submitted the first week of August once Common App opens! 
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