I will be applying to colleges this fall and I am looking through to see my AP scores. I have 5 4s, 3 5s and 2 3s. I am definitely sending the 4s and 5s, but will it be okay if I don’t send those two 3s. I know AP Tests aren’t very much of an important factor when it comes to college admissions and is more useful for credit once you enroll. In addition, there are the COVID circumstances. I had received a 3 on APES last year and on APUSH this year (both are courses irrelevant to my intended major), I don’t want this to be taken against me and I’m not too confident in sending them…but at the same time will college raise they eyes if I choose to not submit 2 of my 10 scores?
How do colleges know one signed up for 10 AP exams even one had 10 AP classes? it is not cheap for each exam. e.g. if one thinks he/she has to retake Calculus base Physics in his/her college program, he/she decided not to take AP Physics exam.
@lemonlulu wouldn’t they see the number of courses I took via my transcript?
they would see AP classes. It doesn’t mean you sat for the test.
you self report scores…you only send the official scores after you are accepted and want to use it for credit.
I would not send low scores to top 20
My daughter was told to include them if they strengthened her application. She had all 5’s so she sent them. If you self-studied for the exams without taking the class, it won’t matter much because most colleges don’t care. If you took the AP class and it is on your transcript, and you choose to send AP scores, you need to send all of them. Only sending some shows there is may be something that doesn’t strengthen your application. That being said, 3s are good.
Also, research the schools you are looking at. They all have very different policies for granting AP credit (in/out of your major, no more than one in a subject, different scores for different exams, etc). If the school won’t give credit, don’t bother sending.
@helpingmom40 yes! Thank you for the advice! I am planning to send my 3s to my lower-tier schools but applying to some T20s as well which have much higher credit standards, so it wouldn’t be worth submitting a 3, correct?
@Luckyjade2024 so a low score would mean anything below a 4 in terms of T20s?
If you are planning on sending some, then you have to send them all. You really shouldn’t pick and choose only those that you think are better. Personally, I wouldn’t send any to a T20. You will potentially be up against kids who can send in all 5s. Not sending any scores will keep you in the running but you run a risk of being put in the “no” pile without a full score report that matches your transcript or with some 4s. It’s just my opinion.
Some high schools include AP and SAT/ACT scores on the transcript. If your school does, they will all be reported anyway.
I would not send a 3 to a T20. I had a 3 and I did not self report it. It will put you at a disadvantage. There is no reason why you would send it.
I now have the option to send official scores to my accepted University. If you have a 3, they don’t want it anyway. So I can pick and choose which scores to send.
Both statements are simply false.
Incorrect, in my opinion.
There’s no requirement to take an AP test, so no expectation to “match” a transcript.
If leaving off a couple of scores would be bad, why would leaving off all scores be good?
Send the data that supports your application. Send 5’s, don’t send 3 or lower. I’d go ahead and send 4’s.
- there is no rule that taking AP class entails sitting in AP Exam.
- We don’t take exam because we plan to take the intro course again in college.
Algebra base AP Physics vs calculus vase College Physics is an example. and some top colleges won’t accept AP Bio or recommend you take the course there.
There is no point to take the exam for some students. Because a 4 or 5 may not make a big difference if you earn grade A in class.
FWIW my D20 got into a Top 10 college and sent in all her 6 AP scores and she had two 5s, two 4s and two 3s.
I’m not sure adcoms put much weight into AP scores as long as they are reasonable. They have 5-15 minutes to review your file and will spend most of that time on reading essays and LORs.
With that said, to the OP, I would submit the two 3s otherwise they may think you got less than a 3 if they care to match up AP classes with AP tests.
The bottom line is that if you don’t get into a top 20 college its not going to be because you have two 3s. Remember these colleges reject 100s of perfect stat students. And take 100s that are less than perfect students.
There may be no requirement to take and report AP scores, but IMO, if your school cohort are reporting AP scores and you’re not, then that may raise a flag at institutions where AP scores are an admissions factor.
And as I said on another one of these AP threads, it’s not a complicated line of code in an admissions algorithm to check if an AP class is shown on a transcript and an AP score was or was not reported.
I’d have my kid report the 3.