Sending AP scores for college admissions

<p>I am a rising senior and I am curious whether you are supposed to send your AP scores to all of the colleges you are applying to like you are supposed to do with your SAT scores, or whether you only send them to the college you get accepted to. I have no problem sending them to all the colleges. However, after a cursory look at the college board website it seems like they only want you to send scores once. Can I send my scores to all colleges I will be applying to so it can help me with admissions?</p>

<p>It won’t help with admissions, so send to the college you will be attending.</p>

<p>@skieurope That’s interesting because I have heard that great scores on AP Exams such as 5s and even 4s can help with admissions. Are the people that say this wrong?</p>

<p>Not all high schools offer an extensive array of AP’s. Some people send in their scores with the application, some don’t. Since it not required, and to level the playing field, admissions does not consider AP scores in their decisions. The exception would be for schools like NYU that take AP scores in lieu of SAT subject scores and for British universities.</p>

<p>@skieurope It’s not that big of deal to me if they don’t, but practically it seems like colleges should use AP scores for admissions. My HS only offers around 10 APs, which is very low, but if I do well in the ones I took I would still like it to be included in my application. Additionally, SAT II’s are also optional but colleges that don’t require them still accept them; I feel that it could be the same for AP scores. </p>

<p>I appreciate your information by the way, I am only trying to understand the situation better. Thanks!</p>

<p>AP scores are self-reported on the Common App, so to some degree they are depending on your honesty. Self-reporting also tells you how much they take them into consideration - not much. If it’s important, they require an official report. </p>

<p>If the scores you report later don’t match your official scores, you could be in trouble, including having your admission rescinded or even having your degree revoked.</p>

<p>This is a very confusing aspect of admissions; ask 100 people and you’ll get 3 different answers with a pretty even distribution (yes/no/maybe).</p>

<p>I’ve personally been told by admissions directors (Carleton & Swarthmore) that self-reported AP scores can help support an otherwise borderline application, especially if you get a 5 on an AP exam but a lower score on a related subject test. Or if you got a B in an AP class but got a 5 on the AP exam, they will weight the exam higher.</p>

<p>I think it would be a mistake to think that AP exam scores will get you in on their own, but it’s also a mistake to not self-report if you did well.</p>

<p>Both schools also said that skipping the AP exam would not reflect negatively on a candidate.</p>

<p>As @MrMom62 said “AP scores are self-reported.” The reason is that the College Board automatically sends AP scores directly to a College’s Registrar’s Office and NOT to Admissions. The majority of Registrar’s Offices do not forward AP scores on to Admissions, but holds them until you matriculate and then adds your AP scores to your official college record. So, for the purpose of Admissions, it’s a complete waste of time and money to send your AP scores to a college. SELF-REPORT the scores – and do so accurately!</p>