Should I report a 4 in the subject I'm planning to major in?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hi all. I'm applying to Yale as an English major, but I received a 4 on the AP English Language and Composition exam. Will this hurt me? I have writing awards, good SAT reading and writing scores, and so on to show that I'm good at the subject. However, my forte is creative writing, not analytical essays, and I just felt thrown by the prompts on this year's AP exam.</p>

<p>I don't know whether to report the score or not. My mom is convinced that I'll now be rejected at all the top colleges (like Yale, my number one) because I got a 4 in the subject I'm supposed to be good at. I was considering not reporting the AP English Language score. (I would report my other four scores, three of which are 5s, along with the fact that I'm an AP Scholar with Distinction.) Then again, I don't want college admissions to assume I got a 3 or lower.</p>

<p>What do you think? Is it better to report the 4 or to leave the space blank?</p>

2

<p>Although colleges ask about your intended major, admissions directors know that the vast majority of students change their major at least once during their four years of college. That’s why Yale doesn’t require students to declare a major until 1st semester of their junior year. So, I would not worry about it; self-report the score, especially as Yale (and other colleges) expect applicants to be truthful. (BTW: For Yale AP credits, see: [Award</a> of Acceleration Credit Based on Advanced Placement Test Scores | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/award-acceleration-credit-based-advanced-placement-test-scores]Award”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/award-acceleration-credit-based-advanced-placement-test-scores) and [Table</a> of Acceleration Credit | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/table-acceleration-credit]Table”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/table-acceleration-credit) and <a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/english-language-and-literature-1[/url]”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/english-language-and-literature-1&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

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<p>It isn’t really an issue at Yale; they ask you to send ALL of your scores, and if something doesn’t help you they don’t add that part to your file/they don’t look at it. You have awards and are a creative writer; they say numerous times standardized tests are general and don’t give too much insight into the test taker. Tell your mom not to worry! I got in with a 4, haha</p>

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<p>Report it…it won’t be a deciding factor. And I think you’re right that it would be worse not to report, as they might think that you did REALLY poorly on it. A 4 is OK! :)</p>

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<p>Why are you stating your intended major at all? Isn’t there a way to say that you are undecided? That might be the best idea.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies!</p>

<p>@Yanaj1: Well, English aligns with everything I’ve done in high school more so than any other intended major would…and more importantly, I know I want to double-major in English and another field (for which my standardized test results are perfect), so I’m not undecided. I would never conceal my passion just because of the 4.</p>

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<p>… How did you get a 4???</p>

<p>I didn’t even take Lang at my school, and I walked in cold with no prep and got a 5.</p>

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<p>Holy cow I experienced this exact dilemma. I go to an arts magnet program as a creative writing major and have writing awards and intend on being an English (plus something else) double major. I’m reporting my 4 so it doesn’t look like its a 3 or 2 and because a 4 is still decent. </p>

<p>Trust me though, your mom is over reacting.</p>

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<p>This isn’t important, of course, but I agree with OP. I thought 2 of the 3 essay prompts were completely stupid. The second one was okay, though.</p>

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<p>

Are you under the impression that a post like this makes you seem smart?</p>

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<p>

Wow, my Yale son must REALLY be stupid as he only got a 3 on AP Calc. Sheesh! :o The problem with the scoring is you don’t know if you are one question from a 5 or a 3. Maybe you were only one question from getting a 4.</p>

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<p>@decillon: No need to be rude. The 2012 prompts were a little less intellectual than those of past years, so I wasn’t used to writing essays on such topics. I also have had almost no instruction in analytical writing until this year, as my science-oriented school’s English classes vary greatly based on the teacher.</p>

<p>@Avalde4: Thanks for your reassurance! It’s good to know that I’m not alone. Good luck with your college apps! :)</p>

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<p>Obviously sarcasm is not well detected via interwebs. My apologies.</p>

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<p>Thank you! You too!</p>