Hi! I am entering senior year in the fall, and want to major in Engineering/Physics at some top colleges. I received my Mechanics score today and got a 3. It was a bad test day and on a better day I probably could have made a 4. I have 3 questions:
- Will taking the Physics SAT subject test and doing well look good to make up for the 3?
- Should I retake the AP Physics C exam in the Spring of Senior year to see if I can get out of some classes?
- Will the 3 affect my possible admission into engineering school?
Thanks!
I disagree with @lostaccount 's point 3. AP scores carry little to no weight in the admissions process. A 3 will not affect your admissions.
Also to the OP’s Q1, Doing well on the Subject Test does not “make up” for anything. No US college requires/requests AP exams for admissions. However, many top schools do request/require subject tests. A good Subject Test will only help you.
AP scores are not used for admission, but many top schools require you to self report them. Unless you plan to apply to MIT or Caltech, I don’t see it as a problem.
Cool, thanks so much. I am applying to Caltech but I don’t have high hopes for it and don’t know if it’s the place for me anyways.
AP scores are not that important in admissions. Your grade in the class is much more important.
Unless it is a school that asks for all test scores, since AP’s are self reporting at the application process, you don’t even need to mention the 3 if you do not want to. At matriculation, you have your scores sent, if it worries you, you have have it deleted from your testing record prior to sending scores.
They do not make much of a difference, if any, for admission. The colleges care more about the grade received in the actual physics class, than the AP test score itself.
@Ballerina016 Are MIT and Caltech different in they way they handle AP scores? Can you elaborate, please?
Don’t report it. Schools do not even know if you took the test, just that you took the class. Study for the subject test, then kill it!
If you struggled with the material, though, you may want to think hard about the direction you take in college.
If you don’t report it they will assume you got 1, so it is better to report it.
You could always apply as undecided or could put down another major and then switch once enrolled.
It is extremely difficult and almost impossible to switch into engineering at many schools. Physics is under L&S, so you can apply as undecided.
@Ballerina016 true, good point. I know some schools have open admissions policies, but that may just be a few.
Not all kids who take AP classes even take the tests, perhaps not even most. It varies widely be school. I completely disagree that not reporting means a school will assume you got a 1. They may simply assume you didn’t sit for the test at all.
@Ballerina016 I’m curious why you say that schools would assume a 1 if you don’t list your score. Do you work in admissions or have you spoken to admissions officers about this? To me that just doesn’t seem right, but I have no special knowledge of this. I know many kids that just didn’t bother taking the tests.
@me29034 No I don’t work in admissions. I am just a parent of incoming freshman at MIT. It was a common knowledge among parents and students of HS class of 2016 that you don’t want to leave anything to imagination of admission people. Most people take exams after AP classes. If you don’t take it for a financial reason, you probably want to mention it. If you don’t self report AP scores, they might think you got 1 or 2. If you self study for AP exam you don’t have to self report, since they don’t know you took an exam.
I don’t have any inside information besides personal experience after a very successful admission season for my D16.
I think I probably will report the score especially since I will take the subject test (and hope to do quite well). Also @gardenstategal I think I will end up majoring I’m Engineering of some sort (maybe Chemical?) and probably not straight up physics.
While I agree that you don’t want to leave things to imagination of the adcoms, particularly if they might be negative, our school advised not to report AP scores below a 4 or IB scores below a 5 as it adds little (unless you got a D in the class, in which case, it shows that you probably mastered the material better than the grade would suggest)
As mentioned above, there are lots of students who take AP and IB classes who do NOT take the exam. Adcoms know this, so are unlikely to l leap to the conclusion that you got a 1 or 2.
While I agree that you don’t want to leave things to imagination of the adcoms, particularly if they might be negative, our school advised not to report AP scores below a 4 or IB scores below a 5 as it adds little (unless you got a D in the class, in which case, it shows that you probably mastered the material better than the grade would suggest)
Remember that there are lots of students who take AP and IB classes who do NOT take the exam. Adcoms know this, so are unlikely to leap to the conclusion that you got a 1 or 2.