Self reporting bad scores vs. Letting colleges assume you had bad scores

So basically I understand that both options are pretty unfavorable and that AP scores don’t carry that much weight, but I highly doubt colleges will look at a list of 3’s for AP scores and totally ignore it. Duke says it will consider AP scores as additional representations of mastery of material. It is to my understanding that if you don’t report scores you run the risk of seeming unmotivated or have preformed poorly, whereas self reporting proves that you preformed poorly. Is self reporting a 3 better than letting colleges assume you got a 2?

My advice would be not to report it to top schools such as Duke. While it’s true they likely will assume you didn’t report the test because you didn’t score well it’s possible they won’t. If you send them a score there will be no room for doubt.

Assuming you are talking about Duke, I wouldn’t send along a 3. For schools that aren’t the elite of the elite I’d have no qualms about sending in a 3.

The thing is though, I should be qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor award, which is given to those who pass 4 or more AP exams with an average of 3.25, and plan on listing it on my application.But my transcript only lists 2 AP classes, since the other two were tests I took in correspondence to dual enrollment classes I took. Would it look weird if I list that award and not the AP scores? Should I not list the award either?

I think that just reporting the AP Scholar with Honor award is the way to go. Common App asks for awards. Most colleges don’t ask for AP scores. Obviously, if you’re applying somewhere that DOES ask for AP scores (e.g. the UC system), then you do provide them all to that school.

So it wouldn’t look odd that I only have 2 AP’s on my transcript?

No, it won’t look odd.

As a general rule of admissions (or job applications or any other situation where you want to look good), never purposely provide information that makes you look like a weaker candidate than you are unless you are required to report it - and even then, you want to provide context or talk about what you did learn. Let admissions find fault if they are going to (and they may not care). And by the way, 3s are not terrible. You may not get academic credit for the course, but it’s certainly not equal to a C.

A 3 score is not terrible by high school standards, but it may not look all that good by college standards at a highly selective college.

If the college gives credit for a transferred college course with a C, but requires a 4 or higher to give credit for the AP score on the test with the same content, then that indicates that the college considers an AP score of 3 to be worse than a C.