I am in the 10th grade and so far I have taken two AP exams (AP Human Geography and AP World History). I have a 4.0 GPA, currently in the top 5% of my class (so far), and I am in various extra curriculars.
I have made A+'s in both AP Human Geography and AP World History, but unfortunately I got a 1 on my AP Human Geography exam and a 2 on my AP World History exam.
I don’t understand why I am doing poorly in these exams after all the effort I put into studying; it’s really upsetting.
So, my question is will this negatively affect my admissions for any Ivy League school?
Do Ivy League or any top tier school check AP scores to determine admissions?
Will I be denied at a college for these scores?
And do I have to take these classes again in college, if not, what would classes would I take instead? (I want to hopefully major in Biology or Pharmaceutical Studies in the future, if this information helps in any way)
And my last question, if I don’t pass any AP exam in the future, will Ivy League schools deny me for that reason?
Thank you very much! I apologize for asking numerous questions!
To me it tells you that you are not ready for college classes in 10th grade.
Or that you took these classes too early in your HS career.
It also tells me that the grading in the classes is easier than the AP grading.
It might also tell you that you do not know how to study for finals.
Schools don’t know about your AP scores unless you report/tell them. They generally are not used for admissions.
Use these scores as a reality check…you may have to study harder/better/differently in the future to keep up with those of your classmates who did better on these tests.
And there are almost 3000 other colleges besides the Ivy League schools…you will see where you fit in when you get your SAT/ACT scores.
Make sure you study hard for the SAT/PSAT this summer…your Junior PSAT score is used for National Merit Scholarship purposes.
AP scores don’t hold that much weight in admissions, but can be used for proficiency and credit waiving. However,that being said, I don’t think your 4.0 GPA will be worth much (no offense, let me explain). To get A+ in both courses but still end up failing the AP tests (one even with a score of 1) means that there’s some serious grade inflation going on at your school. Unless you have some sort of learning disability or other equivalent illness, it will be hard to explain why you failed both. If you don’t want to send these things to the schools, that’s fine.
If the college somehow requires you to take these courses, then yes. You have to retake them. Most colleges need a 4 or 5 to waive credits.
That doesn’t make any sense. a 4.0 and high As on those classes and a 1 and a 2 on the respective exams says a lot about those classes. That will be a problem for you later - most likely in standardized testing, which is of similar difficulty to the AP exams, if not harder. Are those AP Geography and World History classes in school actually hard? Do you do any work for them? Or were they easy As?
I don’t believe most colleges require you to submit your AP scores. You generally will supply them in order to receive credit. Otherwise, the AP class will just represent a high school class on your transcript. At my kids high school, you can take the AP class and not be required to take the AP test at all.
@MrWiggles, Those classes were VERY difficult, to be very honest. I struggled to get an A+. I did a lot of work for them, do you know how I can better improve my score? I did cram last minute, but could that really affect my score?
Thank you for your advice. Can you please tell what I can do to study harder and differently? I’m good at unit tests but not finals. You seem to understand! But, the grading in my school is just as hard. And so… Ivy Leagues don’t use AP scores for admission purposes?
Even if I got a 3 on an AP exam and got an A+ in that class, that STILL wouldn’t mean anything right? Because all the colleges I want to go to only accept 4’s and 5’s. Do AP scores really matter though for Ivy League admission purposes?
Like @michelle426 said, APs themselves aren’t weighed as heavily as say SATs, SATII, and GPA, but taking AP exams and either not reporting them or failing them (which a 1 and 2 definitely are) is a strong indication that your school has insane grade inflation. This would devalue your 4.0. The human geo exam is often considered the easiest ap exam as well… My advice to you would be to not report those AP scores and to study harder for future exams.
How did you study for the tests? Did you feel confident before and after taking the exams?
That signals to colleges that the quality of those AP courses in your high school is poor (especially since human geography is widely seen as one of the easiest AP tests). If the pattern continues (A or A+ grades in AP courses with 1 or 2 scores on AP tests), it will devalue the rigor of your high school course selection in the eyes of highly selective colleges that look holistically at your record of AP courses and AP test scores.
While not passing AP tests will not by itself disqualify you from admission to any college, having your high school course rigor devalued can be a “defect” in your application compared to that of thousands of other applicants to highly selective colleges.
@royals101 let’s put it this way: the whole reason why you take an AP class is for either one of two things: 1) you enjoy the subject and like to challenge yourself or 2) you want to waive college credit. The only way to do either of those things is by taking the AP test. If you don’t submit your AP score that you earned on the AP test, it will be like you never took the test at all. If colleges look and see that you took an AP class, but don’t see the score (mostly because you failed or didnt want to send) they assume you never took the test. Colleges frown upon those who do not take the test after taking an AP course.
I wouldn’t report them. If you don’t, colleges could assume you got a 1 or 2, or that you had extenuating circumstances and weren’t able to–which is better than just sending a 1 or 2 and leaving no room for doubt. As others have said, those scores contrasted with your grades definitely raise concern for grade inflation in those classes at your school.
I may be wrong but I spoke to a couple of students at Ivy League universities and very few classes will be waived off with a 4 or a 5 at an AP class. Most Ivy League universities require you to take the subjects even if you have done good at an AP exam. I suggest you research more about the particular university you are interested in. It is questionable as to how you have a high GPA but low AP scores, Did you face any difficulties during the exams? Or were you over confident? AP exams are definitely hard so it’s good to have a couple of 4’s or 5’s in your high school resume. See if you can self study these subjects and retake the exam next year.
I would suggest you to take the AP exam of a class if you actually are interested in it. I faced this with World History, I thought I could self study my way through but I ultimately did horrible in it.
Ivy League universities want to see demonstrated interest in a particular subject so if you are interested in Environment law you should definitely try to get a 5 or 4 at the AP environmental studies exam same for physics or any other subject. If the subject you like does not offer an AP class, then take an honor or regular class.
You absolutely don’t have to push yourself to take a particular class just because it’s AP, I have learnt that you should only take the AP classes that are related to what you want to do in your future. This will help the admission officer to understand what exactly you want to do and what major are you planning to take.
Hope this helps good luck and don’t stress out too much! 
To be frank, I’m in a very similar situation but this was with AP chem. I’m also an incoming junior and was considering retaking the AP exam junior year. Does anyone know if you can choose your AP score from the two for college? For example, colleges can see I took the AP class and will see a corresponding score when I take it junior year instead of sophomore. Can they recognize I retook the exam?
OP, I slacked off in AP World, poor note taking, low test scores, and I barely scraped a B and only studied by rereading the text the weekend before the exam. I got a 4 on that exam, likely because the teacher was very good, and tried to challenge students. If you got an A+ keeping a 4.0 and got a 2 on the exam, that smells heavily of grade inflation. Don’t submit those scores, cause they certainly won’t help an Ivy application.
Did you take the PSAT or any similar tests? That would help us tell if your school is inflating grades. If they are, that’s not good, and would definitely devalue your 4.0 as another user said
I am pretty sure it is your own responsibility to submit AP scores to colleges. In this case, you can elect not to submit these, but that it a bit questionable in my opinion.
Colleges ask you to self-report your AP scores. If you are accepted and you decide to attend you send an official copy to the registrar. Admissions people never see your official scores. That being said, you are expected to self-report ALL scores. If you take an AP class and do not report a score, they will suspect something is amiss. The DO consider AP scores when reviewing your academics but how much weight is placed on them is anybody’s guess. Dean Fitzsimons of Harvard has been quoted as saying he thought they were the most important scores of the standardized tests they look at. To be perfectly frank, scores of 1 and 2 are not good, especially when your transcript shows an A+ in both classes. I have never heard of such a thing and it would be very surprising to Adcoms as well. In the future, you should make start studying for your AP tests over spring break and make sure you are scoring highly enough on practice exams or else seek some help. Kids who get into the Ivies or other top schools routinely get all 4’s and 5’s on their exams so that is what you should be aiming for. Good luck with everything!
I’m going to come to the kid’s defense for a second here and say that I also took AP World this year. Our teacher is one of the most respected in the country, and the class is regarded as the hardest course at my school. We had multiple assignments every night, which is understandable for a college class, but most teachers don’t do this. He prepared us as good as anyone could have. He gave us old AP tests and the majority of the class got 3’s and 4’s, with a few 5’s (I was one of them). He gave us an essay a week, which I averaged about a 6 or 7 out of 7. I also had one of only 4 A’s in the class. Well, exam day came and we were all prepared. The essay prompts were right up our alley, and we had seen just about everything before. Everyone walked out with an air of confidence (I was confident I got either a high 4 or a low 5). After they publicly released the essay prompts, I went over my responses with my teacher, and he said that everything I put was spot on. Well, my scores came back yesterday. I got a… 3. I was shocked, mad, disappointed in myself, etc. When I first read it, I thought it had to be a mistake (I’m still considering doing the multiple choice recount). I was understandably frustrated, so I texted some of my smarter friends in the class. Just about every one of them got 3’s also (with one 4 and one 5). I don’t know if the test just had a very strange bell curve, was overly difficult, or what, but all of these smart friends who got 4’s and 5’s on practice tests had now gotten 3’s. That obviously made me feel a little better, but I was still disappointed. I still sense something fishy, I’m not sure. But regardless, I feel for you on your 2, dude. I was fully expecting to see a 5, and I didn’t. In the end, unless all of your AP scores are very low, it won’t make much of a difference. One class isn’t going to make or break your college application.
@fireonmytoast, I got a 190 on the PSAT in the 10th grade. I’ve always got commended on Standarized exams. It’s just the AP exam that freaks me out I guess.
Thank you for your replies. I don’t know if this information will help you understand. But I paid for the AP Human Geo. exam BUT I did not take the AP Human Geography class. I took the regulars Human Geo. class. BUT, this year, I took my first AP class in a new school and did not have to pay for my AP exam. Will this affect me in any way?