<p>^If you didn't take AP's it shows nothing. Who says all schools offer them? You're all thinking of your own situations. </p>
<p>Of course, if somebody takes AP's and gets 1's they should be put below an applicant who scores 5's (only on those same exams, though), but a person who lists no AP's should not automatically be put below either of them.
I never said getting good grades was showing off. The people showing off are the ones coming on here, many in Freshman year, saying "Ok next year I'm taking these 4 AP's, and then junior year I'll take these 6 and probably self-study this one, and then senior year (so I can be National AP Scholar OMG RECOGNITION!!!!!) I will take 10 AP's while self-studying the 2 that are left on the list..." And that's so many people. If you want proof for the fact that this is showing-off and not ambition, check the many threads/posts asking what the easiest AP's to self-study for are. Easiest, not most rewarding.</p>
<p>Admit it, half of you on here take the AP's just so you can look good, and I don't mean only for colleges. wxmann, how many of those 5's do you think Harvard even gave credit to the kid for? My guess is 0, and my guess is also that the valedictorian did not care at all. </p>
<p>My school is considered pretty competitive, but few kids take the maximum number of AP's you can (which is seven). And the one or two kids who do are thought of as crazy. But yes, kids who don't even take the maximum number still get into ivy leagues (only mentioning that because this is the standard and ultimate goal for most of you on here, not that it means much). </p>
<p>As for the standardized tests, there are SATII's for that. There's a much wider score range, and greater availability seeing that you can take them every month and since many schools give fee waivers for those. Note how many people discuss "this curve was high, this curve was low" when discussing AP scores. That really lets us know that they're more trustworthy than grade inflation, doesn't it?</p>