Will a 3/3/4/4/5 Keep me out of HYPSColumbia??

powerbomb · June 2009

Okay, so I think I will end up with a 3,3,4,4,5 (if lucky, 3,4,4,5,5) on my AP exams - will these scores keep me out of said schools? I have heard that AP scores are used "only" for placement purposes, but I am disinclined to believe that...Given that all my other factors are great, 4.0+, 2250+,750+ on subject tests, etc...

Thanks.

powerbomb · June 2009

bummmmppppp

bluebayou · June 2009

Yes, it's good to disbelieve what you have "heard". The problem with a 3 on an AP score is that it devalues your course grade, i.e., that 'A' now looks inflated against another applicant who might have a 'B' on his/her transcript but yet earned a 5 on the AP test. However, strong subject test scores show academic strength in those discilpines.

In short, any adcom will give you the stock, politically-correct answer: we look at the WHOLE application, yada, yada, yada. The only thing you can do is apply. If Columbia is your #1, go ED. Good luck.

powerbomb · June 2009

eh, I wouldn't consider Columbia to be my first choice, but thanks anyways.

I guess another way to ask this is - has anybody seen an applicant with similar AP scores as mine get accepted to these schools?

uskoolfish · June 2009

Just a heads up---D never sent a score report for any of her APs---and not one of the colleges she applied to ever asked. She had gotten a 2 in Physics and a 3 in US History junior year, so she would rather have not promoted that. No one asked. She got accepted into Barnard, Brandeis, NYU, GW, American, Muhlenberg and Binghamton. Good luck.

BigWeight · June 2009

i got a 3,4,4,4,4 on my tests, and it didnt keep me away from Dartmouth, UChicago, or Duke.

HiPeople · June 2009

I doubt that will be a deciding factor in keeping you out of HYPS and Columbia.

silence_kit · June 2009

APs are not that important in the college admissions process. Good colleges know that they are easier than college courses anyway . . .

hsseniorlooking · June 2009

The brutal competition is your worst enemy, not one statistic.

powerbomb · June 2009

^ explain...?

NWdivisionCHAMPS · June 2009

^ ^ There will be people applying that have the exact same scores + gpa as you, but may have beaten you on the AP tests, which would then give them the upper hand. Basically, you want to be at the top for most everything since you will be competing with people who are the best at everything..

Juanmarco · June 2009

I have a friend who got into Princeton with scores similar to those, so you certainly aren't out of the running. Just make sure your essays are really good.

quanta · June 2009

I got all HYPSM with worse (couple 1s). Don't worry...
However if "all my other factors" are simply scores as you've listed, then you have a problem.

bugaboo · June 2009

Your AP scores definitely won't keep you out.

powerbomb · June 2009

However if "all my other factors" are simply scores as you've listed, then you have a problem

well, I did say...

etc...

I wasn't going to make this into a chances thread...

HiPeople · June 2009

I got all HYPSM with worse (couple 1s). Don't worry...

Whoa nice! Did you report all of them? I'm just curious because so many people are dishonest and want to try and trick the adcoms, but you must have some other amazing activities.

juillet · June 2009

My question is, why did you even ask this question if you were already disinclined to believe the most common answer that is passed around on this board (and the one that is generally cited as the true one)?

AP is short for "Advanced Placement". The entire point of the test -- the reason it, and the courses, were designed -- was to give students the chance to earn college credit in regular high school courses taught by their high school teachers. It was not designed for admissions purposes and is generally not used by admissions committees for admissions purposes.

You don't even have to report your AP scores on the application. That's not being dishonest, and it's not "tricking" the adcoms. And scoring a 3 on the test and an A in the class doesn't necessarily mean you look inflated. Think about the way college courses are graded: it is entirely possible to get a C on the final exam and still pull a B or an A in the class. Likewise, it's also possible to get an A on the final and still get a C in the class. So it is with AP scores -- it's even MORE possible for a student to get an A in the class (which is an entire semester or year's worth of work) and still get a 3 on the test (which is a high-pressure event that only takes 3 hours tops). It doesn't make your A look any less deserved.

In addition to that, admissions committees look at your entire package. One small thing does not "keep you out" of anything. If you have a 4.0, near-perfect SAT scores, great SAT II scores, and the rest of your package is tight...do you think a school will decline you based on one 3 (especially when by the AP rubric a 3 means "qualified" as in "qualified to do higher-level college material in this area"?

powerbomb · June 2009

Juillet, you came off a bit strong, but thanks for that clear-cut answer. Just what I needed - not many people provide such answers, which was why I asked the question in the first place.

bluebayou · June 2009

May I suggest you consider what a college counselor (and former Dartmouth admissions officer) has to say on this topic for unhooked applicants:

since both AP and IB tests are considered the most difficult and collegelike tests around, colleges sometimes weigh these even more heavily than SAT Is and SAT IIs....

Source: Acing the College Application

HiPeople · June 2009

^Really? Actually that is the first time I heard that type of response. Everyone has told me that SAT, SAT II are more important than AP and IB because AP and IB has a lot to do with the teacher that you have in school/resources your school can provide you for this test. For example, there are many schools in which the teacher doesn't even cover everything on the test and the student is forced to learn it by themselves...so it is unfair to compare this student to someone that goes to a top school.

powerbomb · June 2009

I don't know!! this is so frustrating!

Bluebayou - you wouldn't consider my scores to be "horrible" so as to automatically keep me out of those schools, would you?

Will a 3/3/4/4/5 Keep me out of HYPSColumbia??

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