Not sure if this is the place for it but I’m an Asian attempting to apply to the Ivy Leagues.
My grades this year were horrible, I got a 3 and a 4 on my AP exams today and I’m not hoping the best for my SATs either.
Anyways, my real question is: should I bother sending a 3 and 4 to the Ivies? Or just the 4? I will be taking 4 more AP courses during the year next year. Thanks
AP scores are not used for college admission.
AP scores hold little to no weight in the college admission decisions. 3+ scores are passing so worth reporting. It is your choice.
If this is true, and not hyperbole,
“My grades this year were horrible, I got a 3 and a 4 on my AP exams today and I’m not hoping the best for my SATs either.”
Then you should also be thinking beyond the Ivies.
This may be hard for you to believe but the vast, vast majority of happy, successful people in this country did not attend an Ivy league school. It’s well within your power to be one of those people. Or you can choose to ignore reality and have a mental breakdown.
Also colleges usually don’t want scores sent. You can just list them on the common app.
Schools don’t use AP results for admissions, sometimes for course placement. Relax and wait until you get your SAT’s as you may have done better than you thought you did on the AP exam.
You should also keep in mind that plenty of applicants with lots of 5’s will get rejected from those schools, and most people who apply will get rejected from those schools. Develop a realistic, well balanced list.
Also, I wanted to clarify that it’s just the AP scores colleges don’t need you to send with your application. You usually do need to send SAT and/or ACT score reports.
Your are Asian and you have terrible grades this year? You have little or zero probability of getting into an Ivy. That is the bitter reality for Asians. U have to have a stellar application and even then you can get rejected. Really spare yourself some heart ache and apply elsewhere and be happy
That is the bitter reality for everyone who doesn’t have a really good hook. Fixed.
What exactly do you consider as terrible grades?
What exactly do you mean by a mental breakdown?
I find it amusing that on CC, someone posts “I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown because of my grades”, and a common reaction is “well how bad are your grades?”
I’m imagining this exchange.
(Note that my comment above was made before the post and title was edited by skieurope.)
@VeryLuckyParent That pretty much applies to every student of every race who doesn’t have impressive extracurriculars, not just Asians. I have a cousin who is Asian and she is stellar in swimming and was accepted into an Ivy for medical school, yet her test scores/grades were not up to par with the average accepted Ivy student.
To the OP: Why prioritize on Ivies? There’s so many other great colleges out there to apply to. If your grades were really terrible as you say then it might be best to not breakdown over the Ivies since chances of being accepted is slim anyways.
@chelsalina There are a lot of studies that show that Asian applicants on average need better scores, GPA and even extra curricular activities than other applicants to make it into the same schools. Asians are being held to a higher standard, specially at very competitive schools. There is even a lawsuit alleging that Harvard discriminates against Asians in its admissions. We will see where that case goes.
Asians pretty much have to be all round stars to make it to the top schools. Exceptions don’t prove the rule. Yes, a few slip by, some have hooks, but for a large majority of Asian kids, that is not the case. Asian kids who don’t believe that are welcome to ignore that observation. Just be prepared for a lot of frustration at the end of the application process.
@VeryLuckyParent I am definitely not saying that Asians aren’t held in a higher regard for top colleges or are expected more out of others, all I’m saying is that anyone, regardless of race, who has terrible grades would most likely not be able to be accepted into an Ivy.
Don’t send your scores for admission. And not just for the Ivy League, but for all universities in the top 40 and LACs in the top 50. Obviously, you’ll be able to submit for credit after admission and deposit.
What matters for admission to top schools (top 50) is that you took the AP class and got a grade of A/A-/B+(perhaps B). Did you?