Poor AP Scores

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

Today I received my AP scores and was very disappointed to find that I scored a 2 on World History and a 3 on US Government and Politics.

I plan to take an SAT II Subject test in AP World History this December to prove that know the subject well. I go to a pretty competitive private high school and I consistently got the highest scores on practice AP tests in class as well as other exams in the class so I know I understand the material.

I would love to attend the University of Pennsylvania (Biochemistry major, Biological Basis of Behavior minor) or Northwestern University for pre med. I know that you cannot receive credit for World History but I am very concerned about how this is going to look on my application.

I have heard that you only have 8 places for AP and SAT II Subject tests on the Common Application. I plan to take SAT II Subject Tests in Math I, World History, and Biology by the end of next summer as well as completing 12 AP classes through my schools curriculum by graduation and 3 as self study programs. If I complete self study AP Environmental Science, Psychology, and Human Geography my junior year as well as the AP Biology, Language and Composition, and United States History I will have the choice of omitting 3 of the 8 AP test scores, correct?

My mom tells me that AP scores will be weighting heavily on my admission to highly selective colleges, but everything I have read online has stated that it can only help you and isn’t a big deal unless you really need the credit. Is this true for the schools I hope to attend?

Also, how will Villanova view these scores if in fact I cannot successfully submit a good SAT II Subject Test for World History without the AP Score? This is likely where I would attend if I was not admitted to UPenn or Northwestern.

2

The 3 is definitely of no concern; it’s passing and not even in your intended field of study. AP scores are in no way a major factor in admissions, even for the most prestigious schools. At UPenn and Northwestern, they might be slightly considered if you’re up against a similar applicant with much higher scores, but I sincerely doubt that will be what comes between you and your dream school. The 2 might be of slight concern if you got an A in that class; it could point to grade inflation for that class at your school. But if you can get an excellent SATII score, that concern would be eliminated. Don’t worry about it, and good luck in the admissions process :slight_smile:

3

^^ Exactly. GPA and course selection matter much more than AP scores, so you shouldn’t be worried. Even the most prestigious schools don’t pay much attention to AP scores, your grade in the AP courses is far more important. I’m not entirely sure about this, but I thought you didn’t even have to submit AP scores to colleges unless you wanted to? I could be wrong, some might make that mandatory, but it isn’t a big deal, and especially if you pass the rest of your AP exams, no one will hold this 2 against you.

I don’t know about Villanova to really say, but if you want to go into pre med, I can’t imagine that a university will hold one low history grade against you.

4

You have 10 spaces. If you have more than 10 test, you can list then under the additional info section.

For which highly selective college is your mother an admissions officer? :slight_smile: She’s wrong; they will carry little to no weight in the admissions process.