<p>Lets say I apply to a university. I'd like to be more competitive, and thus take more APs and do more extracurricular activities. However, those would be done in the senior year. </p>
<p>How in the world that university is going to track that AP score I have gotten in May of my graduation year and still make a decision by that time?</p>
<p>They aren’t. Unless you’re applying to Oxbridge, where you need X number of 5’s on your APs, in which case your acceptance would be conditional on you getting those 5’s. But hey, no pressure!</p>
<p>For most US schools, they would look at your senior year courses and your first semester and/or midterm grades. For US schools, the course and grade is more important than the test. ECs added senior year are usually of minimal worth, unless it’s an extension of something you’ve already been doing. Schools are not stupid, they know padding when they see it.</p>
<p>They don’t. You apply to colleges in the fall and winter (latest regular decision deadline I have seen is January 15) and depending on the type of application (EA, ED, ect) you will find out your acceptance status anywhere between mid December to late April. By mid May (same month as the AP testing) you will have made your decision of where you want to go school.</p>
<p>Your score on AP tests taken senior year has no impact whatsoever on your acceptance (in fact AP scores in general are not a huge factor in your application). What is more important is the grade you get in the class, which colleges will see when they receive the midterm grade report. Your AP scores for tests taken senior year are only relevant in earning you college credit, provided you do well on them.</p>
<p>At some universities, they can and will rescind your admission if your final semester grades are not up to a certain standard. </p>
<p>^ At all universities I know of. </p>