Hey everyone. I got my AP Scores yesterday and cried for hours over scores that are fine, just not what I wanted. I wanted a 5 on AP World and didn’t really care about AP Seminar so long as I passed. As it turned out, I received a 5 on AP Seminar and a 4 on AP World. Not sure if this is a totally unreasonable post; it likely is. I was just wondering if anyone could relate or offer suggestions. Considering retaking AP World considering how well I did in the class/how extensive my knowledge was proved to be on practice exams etc, and because I would like to pursue a career in international relations. Suggestions?
A 4 in AP World is great. That’s a hard exam. You should be proud. Don’t move backwards. Go on to the next AP
You cried for hours because you got a 4 and a 5 on your two AP exams? That’s completely irrational, and you have to really, truly understand that. Irrational.
Nobody ever in your life will ask you what you got on an AP exam in HS. The score is completely irrelevant to the rest of your life. You could have gotten a 1 on the exam and still pursue a career in international relations.
From what I have seen of AP history classes, I would consider a 4 in AP world to be very good. Any school that I have looked at will give you full credit for this (they seem to vary with regard to whether a 3 is good for credit, but you don’t have to worry about this).
Between now and the rest of your life, you are not going to be perfect at everything you do.
Have some ice cream or a gelato and have some fun.
No one will ever care what you got on it. A 4 will give you credit at most institutions. You will probably not remember your score once you’re in college.
I got these same scores (Seminar 5, World 4) and I was elated with them. Of course, I wanted a 5 in world too because I’m a history buff; however, a 4 in world is very good. You said it yourself, you have extensive knowledge regarding world history. Don’t waste your time retaking it just to prove you can get a 5.
Or you could contact the AP test people & tell them that they mixed up your scores.
You did great. AP World is a disjointed mess.
My sons both got a 3 on AP World… and fives on all the rest (9 or 10 exams).
I took a sampling of about 10 top private and public universities, and the only courses where you really need a 5 to accomplish something meaningful is Calculus, languages, Literature, and the hard science courses. Other than that, 4 is definitely good and in many places, 3 is good enough for credit.
The AP score should be treated like a pass/fail - either you get the score that you need (not want) or you don’t. The grade in the class is way more important to Admissions people.
“I took a sampling of about 10 top private and public universities, and the only courses where you really need a 5 to accomplish something meaningful is Calculus, languages, Literature, and the hard science courses.”
What does that even mean?
@suzy100 lol, thanks for asking that! i was wondering the same exact thing…
I looked at 10 sample school’s AP credit charts.
Stanford
UCB
UCLA
Michigan
Texas (very nebulous)
Northwestern
Northeastern
Vanderbilt
Florida
Rice
The only courses where only 5’s give you additional credit would be classes like AP Calculus BC. So to spell it out for those of you who didn’t get it, a 5 for BC at Berkeley L&S lets you skip out of 1 year’s worth of Math classes. A 4 doesn’t do it, a 3 doesn’t do it. Another example, at UCLA a 5 in the AP French class gives you full credits for French classes, whereas lower numbers give you partial credit.
There are lots of permutations amongst each college within a university wrt scores, but I generalized what classes that getting a 5 is of importance. Which is very few of the AP classes. Getting a 4 or even a 3 is ok in most cases.
AP world had less than 9% of students get a 5 this year. And just under 20% got a 4. ( https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php?year=2018 ). At most schools a 4 and a 5 are treated the same. Its a great score. Move on.
Yeah, like that will work. 
You can ask for your MC section to be rescored for $30.
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-multiple-choice-rescore-service.pdf
and you can ask for your FRQ booklet back for $10. However, your FRQ will have no notes from the readers and will not be regraded.
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-free-response-booklet-request.pdf
That said, I have never heard of a successful rescore of a 3+ .If you want to spend the money, go ahead, but don’t expect much. My advice - move on. A 4 is a fine score.
Quite frankly, that has nothing to do with the price of tea in China. I am unaware of any college that has awards different credit based upon a score on an AP History exam, which is what the OP is discussing.
Years from now you will look back and laugh that you even made this thread.
Thank you @hayisforhorse @DadTwoGirls @OhWhatsHerName @awilson9 @NoKillli @ProfessorPlum168 @momneedscoffee
I unfortunately probably won’t look back and laugh or forget that I got a 4, considering how important it was to me for two years, but it’s a nice thought 
@CottonTales @OhWhatsHerName
I don’t think I would rescore or ask for my FRQ booklet, I think that that would just make me keep hoping and be again disappointed @skieurope
I doubt my scores were mixed up, as most people I know ended up with 4s on world @Publisher
Thank you everyone!
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@skieurope is my English writing that bad lol?
the OP is asking whether having a 4 on a test is bad or not. I gave examples on the only classes where a 5 does matter, if you read everything I said.
@mak902 I guarantee that this will not be the last disappointment you have in your life. In fact, I can guarantee that this will be among the most minor of disappointments you have in your life. Please put it in perspective. You will need to learn to do so for the sake of your own mental health.
Presumably you mean beyond what the college’s passing threshold score is.
However, a few colleges have a passing threshold score of 5.
http://uaap.mit.edu/first-year-mit/first-year-academics/incomingcredit/previous-study/ap-and-transfer-credit-advanced-placement
https://www.brown.edu/academics/college/degree/policies/advanced-placement
Also, many colleges do not have a course that covers similar content as AP world history, so they may give only elective credit or non-specific frosh-level history credit (as can be seen in the two examples above).
So the OP should not be too concerned about earning a 4 instead of a 5 on AP world history, since it is rather unlikely that it makes a difference in getting useful subject credit in college.
Don’t ask me - English is not my native language either.
@ucbalumnus Nope, that’s not what I mean. I guess my own English skills are failing. Or I need more coffee. I was referencing @ProfessorPlum168 's post where some colleges, as an example, give 8 credits for a 5 in Spanish (or Calc BC) but only 4 credits for a 4. My point was that I am not aware of any college (although I am sure there are a few) that give more credit for a 5 on an AP History exam while still giving some credit for a 4.