<p>After AP exams were said and done, I lurked in my AP English teacher's room for the rest of the school year. Throughout the days I would meet incoming juniors and high school graduates of that year. It was there that I overheard a conversation with my teacher and one of her former students. The student talked about how he might not be able to graduate because he failed three quarters of AP United States History; he had enrolled on the virtual school and was rushing to completion; the most peculiar aspect of this story was that he had scored a five on the AP exam. The kids around me called him out on it and he quickly showed the score report. He wasn't lying. A similar event occurred when a friend of mine, who never showed up to class, failed AP English but earned a five on the exam.</p>
<p>It was then I thought about the importance of AP scores in the application process as a whole and how import they should be. If the individual is able to score a five on an exam but he earned B's, C's, etc in the class, then shouldn't those grades be ignored, or at least have a reduced emphasis? Furthermore, shouldn't they be considered over individuals who scored 4's, particularly in first-tier colleges? It's only fair. I took four AP exams this year (APUSH, AP Lang, AP Calc AB/BC) and scored 5's on all of them, but I didn't get an 'A' in one quarter in Calc (I bet a friend that I could get an 'A' without turning in homework); what's even funnier is that I have an A- as my GPA, but individuals who have higher GPA's scored significantly lower on their exams (the individuals who I'm speaking of took the same exams); in some cases, they failed. </p>
<p>But this is not how the system works. Grades and SAT scores are heavily emphasized whereas AP scores are pushed to the side, and, based off of my observations, are a better determinant of your success in college. Having said that, isn't such behavior in college admissions inherently wicked? And doesn't it distort the meritocratic environment that they try to evoke?</p>
<p>Anyways, I'm done voicing my opinion. Discuss below. I'm very interested in hearing what you all have to say.</p>
<p>They aren’t important, at least, that’s what admissions counselors keep saying.
But you bring up n interesting point, tons of people don’t do well in the classes, but get good scores on the AP exams.
Many question the validity of the tests for reasons like that. It’s completely true that you can just get lucky, being tested on material you happen to know really well (that happened to me with the APUSH DBQ).
For that reason, and also the fact that some people don’t go to schools that offer AP, or don’t offer a lot of AP classes, exam grades are not given much consideration.
The SAT and ACT were designed to show approximately how well a student was capable of performing in college, which is why those two tests are the ones colleges look at.
In my opinion, the ACT and SAT aren’t perfect… but they are MUCH more accurate in predicting how well a student will do. (e.g. getting a 5 on AP bio doesn’t mean you will do well in a bio class in college)</p>
<p>I was at a college tour at Northwestern and the admissions officer said that AP tests scores would be taken into consideration in the application process. He also said that if AP classes aren’t offered at your school. You should at least try to self-study some to challenge yourself.</p>
<p>Sure, AP Exams are a bit indicative of college success, but one thing you have to keep in mind is that AP Exams are only the first year of most college classes (e.c. intro bio, general chem). This means that they are also the easiest courses in college, that require the least amount of natural intelligence to understand the core concepts. Anyone can easily kill them self studying and receive a 5… it’s really not that hard. However, most(not everyone) study incredibly hard for the SAT and still can’t reach 2250+. Colleges want their students to be naturally intelligent so they can comprehend all the high level stuff, and even go farther and make contributions to whatever fields the student are in. The SAT/ACT is a much, much better way to measure this than an AP score. However, although the sat & act are far from a perfect “intelligence” test, will you ever see someone get a 2000+ that’s stupid? No. The majority of complaints about the SAT come from those who think way too highly of themselves and end up coming short of expectation; i.e. pretentious.</p>
<p>And that’s not even taking into account that AP classes are not available to many people, and even then… The only thing standardized about AP Classes is the exam itself. Students taking the exams come from a wide variety of backgrounds and schools. For example, a student that goes to an elite private school with lots of money and good teacher with more resources has many more opportunities and has a better chance of doing well to a student that goes to a so-so, grade-inflated public school(represent!).</p>
<p>I’m wondering this too…my APUSH teacher for next year said that, in some ways, the APUSH exam is easier than the ACT because it can be studied for, unlike the ACT. I kind of second that. A student spends all year studying the material, and the exam is over everything you have covered, so why wouldn’t it be like a standardized version of a final? </p>
<p>The ACT is different; coming from someone who studied a lot and got a horrible score, I believe that it is simply a test of intelligence. I am not smart, but I study to make up the difference. In soms ways, I believe the ACT is flawed; sure, it tells how “smart” you are, but does it show your work ethic or values? A kid in my grade falls asleep in school and doesn’t do homework, and guess what. He aced the ACT. I truly believe that some could study and study and study and never get the perfect score. That’s how it’s set up. Sometimes, it’s unfair. Oh well.</p>
<p>An AP test does not test your intellect; it tests your ability to retain info. Now, I have not taken any APs yet, so I may be inaccurate on some things.</p>
<p>rbouwens - I agree with your comment on ACTs and someone’s “work ethic.” </p>
<p>Those numerical indicators of performance - from SATs to APs to ACTs - don’t give a complete picture. I screwed up my GPA big-time in the first two years of high school. Now look - I’ve lost my shot at those elite colleges (Ivies). </p>
<p>But I know for a fact that if you place me on an Ivy campus, I won’t be the dumbest person there, despite my GPA. I’m of above average intelligence. And I’m the kind of person that is willing to invest a massive amount of effort in all things academic. And I have done nothing this summer but study the courses I’m going to be taking next year. </p>
<p>But some would argue that an individual’s work ethic is just as important, if not more so, than his aptitude, given that his aptitude is above average. For the social sciences, AP scores are more or less studying the material for a year; but for the hard sciences and math AP’s, you could even throw AP Lang in there, you need a relatively high aptitude and relatively good work ethic to get a 4 or a 5 on those exams (ie: Calc AB/BC, Physics, Chemistry, etc.).</p>
<p>I believe that AP scores are given more importance than some people here claim. I mean, if scores didn’t really matter that much, then schools would advise all students to take various AP’s and make the classes easy. In fact, this whole “scores don’t matter” myth has produced exactly that situation where I live: schools adivising kids to enroll in AP classes BUT NOT TAKE THE TEST. It’s done as a blatant GPA booster, and colleges have seen right through it. I agree with various posters here that these types of tests aren’t always accurate measures of work ethic or even aptitude, seeing as some people are just very good or very bad test takers, but to say that they hardly matter (which seems to be the prevalent opinion in CC) in terms of college admissions is a very wrong misconception IMO.</p>
<p>Going back to the OP’s story, yeah, that’s not fair to the people that worked their butts off to receive X score. The individuals that fail the class and ace the exam, though, are probably in worse conditions than their peers. It shows college adcoms that they’re smart, yet not willing to work. As my Chem teacher used to say (when referring to SAT scores and GPA) “High scores and low grades is the kiss of death.”</p>
<p>In my OPINION, it really depends on what type of school you go to. If you attent an elite, very rigurous school, then that B could hold more importance because it would be noted as an achievement superior to that of the 5. In a school where all kids get A+ in that class, that B could hurt you slightly.</p>
<p>Look, I guess what I’m trying to say is that AP test scores are more important than people believe. Are the actual class grades more important? In the end, yes. Like I said before, a perfect score will look bad next to a bad grade in the class. What a bad grade is colleges will prob base on the school you
go to, the rigor of your other classes, paricipation in EC’s, etc. Again, though, don’t expect to get into Ivies with a transcript full of 3’s or below.</p>
<p>I read a book by a woman who worked in dartmouth’s admissions office and said that AP scores could be a saving grace. If you score a 5, a 4 on language tests, you portray the fact that you can handle college courses. Therefore if you get a B+ in the class the admissions office will generally bump up your grade. If you get a C then it probably means you didn’t do your homework so even if you get a 5 it could hurt you.</p>
<p>@strat94 is right on. a 5 could help overshadow a slightly mediocre grade, like a b+ or a 91 in a tough course with a harsh grader. but if you’re pulling c’s a 5 won’t help much.</p>
<p>5’s aren’t too difficult to get: i bs’d most of ap chem free response and still got a 5! subject tests are where it’s at if you’re looking to pad your app with high scores to impress.</p>
<p>Really? I always had the impression that AP tests were worth more than SAT ii’s because they test more material/more difficult concepts. I mean, the science SAT’s test the material of a basic course on the subject.</p>