URGENT: I wrote my AP essays in pencil

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
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<p>OK, OK, OK, I get it. I'm an idiot.I should have used a pen.</p>

<p>So, I finished my last FRQ for the AP US History test and I sit there for about a minute before the proctor calls time. As the proctor is collecting our booklets, the kid next to me turns towards me and says, "You know, redisthenewblack, you should have used a pen to write your essays.</p>

<p>I just about had a heart attack, a hemorrhage and a brain aneurysm right there. From what I had understood from the directions, you were supposed to use your pen to write your initials and the date and other stuff on the front. I didn't get from what they said that you had to WRITE the essays in pen.</p>

<p>From what I gathered from other people after the test, I'm pretty much screwed. The CollegeBoard seems to be really anal retentive about stuff like that and more likely than not, they won't even read the essays and throw them out. Instead of a score, I will probably get a dash, which is worse than a 0.</p>

<p>I also took the AP English Language and the AP Chemistry test and both free response/essay sections required a pen too. I'm also really concerned about those tests.Will those also be invalid?</p>

<p>Has anyone else had a similar experience when they wrote their essays in pencil? Did you get your score? Did the CollegeBoard invalidate the score? Was the score really low (indicating that you may have gotten a perfect 0 on the free response)?</p>

<p>Should I try withholding/cancelling my AP Scores? If I'm doing fine on the multiple choice, is there is a chance that I could get maybe a 3 even with a perfect 0 on the free response? On the practice AP tests I took, my multiple choice percentage were: English 70%. Chem, 65%. History:90%.</p>

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<p>Your scores will not be invalidated for writing in pencil. It’s simply strongly recommended to write in pen because the ink is darker so pencil might be harder for a grade to read. </p>

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<p>The reason they tell you to write in pen is because pencil fades and gets smudged. The graders probably won’t like it, but they’ll grade it and you’ll get a score. It may not have been as high as it could have because of smudging and fading, but it should still be scored.</p>

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<p>we get threads like this every year. you’ll be fine.</p>

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<p>@Remembrance
@maymay5678‌
@ruskiVG</p>

<p>Thanks. Do the proctors hand grade essays which don’t show up on the scanner?</p>

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<p>Do they even use a scanner? I thought they graded them straight off the page. But for classes like AP calc, ap physics, etc. you have the option of using pencil so I’m assuming that even if they do scan them, it can pick up pencil as well.</p>

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<p>You’ll be fine.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys. Got 5s on both US and English.</p>

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Did they really still grade them?? I just took my AP Psych exam and did the exact same thing and I have been like sobbing ever since! (I know this thread is a little old but please help!)