<p>I'm a junior in HS and ap tests are coming up, obviously, and id like to send off my scores to a college, since its a free service versus paying for it later. im wondering if sending off scores that are below 4s or 5s would be hurtful later on when i apply for that college. do ap scores affect the decision making of the college or is it insignificant? should i just not send in my scores until senior yr?</p>
<p>and, assuming that ap scores are significant when applying, i have another question. this is my understanding of this whole withholding-scores-thing: so i can withhold all my scores after i take my tests, and in july, when i get my scores back, i can then "unwithhold" <em>individual</em> test scores that are worthy for sending off before i apply to my choice of colleges. then in my senior yr, when ive got my college choice down, unwithhold the rest of my scores and send them off, hoping i get credit for (if) any 3s i would get.</p>
<p>First of all, colleges dont need an official AP score report until after you decide to enroll. The only way colleges find out your scores for the admissions process is when you write down scores on your applicaiton. Because of this, applicants can selectively write/omit scores, so there's no need to pay to have scores withheld from your official record.</p>
<p>The value of AP scores has been debated repeatedly. The consensus is that they also let the admissions committee know that you are challenging yourself and you're capable of college level work. A good score can boost your app a bit, but a bad score, especially when applying to the top schools, may have a negative effect.</p>
<p>As for sending scores as a junior, if you do send them to a college, they will have them on file when they read your application. This effectively eliminates your ability to not include scores in your application. I would not send scores out junior year, and then use your free score report your senior year to send a score report to the college you have decided to attend.</p>