So me and my friend got into a little argument. She received a 95 in AP World but only got a 3 on the AP exam. She doesn’t want to submit the 3 because she thinks that adcoms will see the 95 and just assume she got a 5. I think they’ll see she didn’t submit a score and assume she got a 1 or 2. What do you think?
Tell her to submit the 3. You are correct. They’ll also assume your school does grade inflation, so it could harm you too potentially if you didn’t well either.
There is no way they’ll assume she got a 5 – teachers and classes are different, and you may have had a teacher who was an easy grader and who did not teach much. My daughter has had several difficult AP teachers where the highest grade in the class has been a B+ but she got 5s on the tests. The test is what standardizes this so the colleges have a more complete picture.
As for whether she should submit it – it depends on the school, what her other AP scores are, etc. A 3 will still get her credit at some schools. I’ve spoken with some admissions people who say they wonder (and sometimes call guidance counselors) when AP scores aren’t submitted, and some who say they don’t care at all - it’s just less info for them to work with.
No, they will never ever assume that. They will assume one of three things:
• Financial hardship prevented her from taking the exam
• She were not motivated enough to take the exam
• She took the exam and performed poorly (1 or 2)
She’s better off just submitting the 3.