Just looked at last and 14th AP score my son received and noticed he always had 5s, even in subjects he doesn’t like or teachers were subpar. Are there any statistics out there about what percentage of students take dozen plus AP exams and score perfect on all? As private schools are abandoning these exams, it becomes even more interesting.
Congratulations to your son. It is a real achievement and a proof that he is able to master rigorous coursework in a variety of academic fields.
But keep in mind that after 8 APs the law diminishing returns applies. Indeed, 8 APs mean he can do the work at a high level. Having 10, 12,14… doesn’t really change that.
So, yaving 14 AP classes and 14 scores of 5 is excellent but it’s like chocolate medals when it comes to college admissions.
For public flagships it will matter and it will carry a lot of credits at these.
As for statistics, again, as it doesn’t matter except for bragging rights, it’d be specific individuals who’d compile that. Many people wouldn’t find those numbers very interesting.
No.
There might be some individuals who have compiled some anecdotes, but as @MYOS1634 says, it’s a pointless exercise. In fact, I’d go a step further than her and say any such lists were probably started as a humblebrag.
Congrats to your son, though.
Congratulations to your son - getting 5’s on 14 AP’s is awesome.
I never came across any stats for AP scores (either for the high number of AP’s like your son, or even for optimum level of courses). I was trying to understand AP scores and its impact on admissions and went thru common data set for multiple colleges that I am interested - its not covered explicitly anywhere. Maybe AP courses importance is covered implicitly under the academic rigor - but not sure how the AP “scores” relates (in schools like ours, the GPA is not directly related to AP score - someone could get a 5 on AP test but a B+ in school course - colleges may see both but based on common data set, the admission criteria is GPA but not AP score). So AP test scores may not influence admission as much as other factors. This is just my understanding.
I’m not sure what you’re asking here. There is no statistic that tracks student performance across AP exams. This is impressive though. He is also considered a National AP scholar since he got a 4 or higher on 8 or more exams. This is nice to have if he’s planning on going to grad school.
They are abandoning the courses. Their students can take as many AP exams as they want if they are trying to get college credit.
As of 2017 there were 34,057 National AP Scholars (vs 196K with Distinction, 199K with Honor & 292K Scholars). So not a huge group comparatively speaking.
Having 14 ‘5’s’ is a data point- a nice one, but nothing more. Most colleges in the US pay more attention to the grade in the class, not the score.
Cupcakemuffins will your son’s school accept APs for credit or placement? I know he opted against Amherst for financial reasons but in my experience at most schools of that caliber AP exams are irrelevant. To be honest most kids i know including mine haven’t even checked their scores for that reason. Congratulations to him.
Glad you are finishing senior year on a high note after all the self described disappointment of not getting the financial support you had hoped for and having to select his ssecond choice. 15 5s is impressive!
He only took these AP courses as his school encourages advance students to take honors courses in middle school to keep them engaged and in high school AP is just natural progression. He is happy that he can pick as many interesting courses he wants in college without a worry for not finishing college in 4 years.
He didn’t take any extra AP exams to collect credit as he likes to use his free time for extracurriculars he enjoys. However, some of his advance friends did self study for few APs as they were competing for val/sal and in future want to be done with both bachelors and masters in 3-4 years. They have as many as 18 AP under their belt and will save time and money. They don’t nessesarily have all 5s or fun ECs but they too are happy with their paths so more power to them.
Anyway, it seems private schools and colleges are dropping all “measurable merit” criteria including SAT, ACT, PSAT (by ending NM scholarships), AP, LSAT, SAT essay, SAT II, class rank, weighted GPA etc. One starts to question value of these tests, specially for kids who don’t naturally cruise through but have to work harder, pay to tutors/prep places and sacrifice fun experience of EC. Among that group, dozen APs are very common. I guess in time public institution will follow the trend.
@Nocreativity1 Thank you. He isn’t not the type to dwell on disappointments, I’m. He was heart broken about Amherst but he has moved on. Being who he is, he doesn’t like to announce his accomplishments but of course, he is happy that he maintained a healthy balance in highschool and hopes to do the same in college.
@Nocreativity1
I’m curious what you mean when you say AP scores are irrelevant to schools of a certain caliber. I did a quick check online, and although Amherst will only use the AP score for placement, Princeton, Yale, Wash U and Georgetown all accept AP credit. It seems like it would be a good idea for your kid and his/her friends to check their scores and check the policies at the colleges where they’ve been accepted.
Princeton:
The advanced placement policy at Princeton is designed to give recognition to college-level work prior to matriculation and to allow you to pursue your studies at a level appropriate to your preparation
You can use advanced placement in the following ways:
- to enter upper-level courses;
- to fulfill the foreign language requirement;
- to become eligible for graduation in three years or with three and one-half years of study (advanced standing);
4. to fulfill B.S.E. general requirements in math, physics, and chemistry.
Yale
For an AP test score to earn acceleration credit, you must have taken the test while you were in secondary school.An acceleration credit, the equivalent of one course credit, may be used to complete the bachelor’s degree in fewer than eight terms. Acceleration credits may be awarded on the basis of AP test scores. The Table of Acceleration Credit gives the specific criteria for the award of acceleration credit based on AP scores.
Wash U:
A maximum of 15 units of pre-matriculation credit may be counted toward any undergraduate degree. These units will count toward graduation but will not meet general education requirements.
No department at Washington University offers absolute credit, without further study, for scores lower than 4. In French, German, and Spanish, a score of 3 confirmed by a course here earns additional credit; see listings below.
Georgetown:
Georgetown participates in the College Board Advanced Placement Program and awards course exemptions and college credit to entering students with qualifying scores (see policies below). Applicants who seek advanced placement because they have taken one or more of the Advanced Placement Examinations should authorize the release of their scores to Georgetown University during the summer prior to enrollment.
@CupCakeMuffins
Congrats to your son on his superb performance! I’d also be curious to know what percentage of AP test takers nationwide have received a score of 5 on 14 exams. You could probably email someone at the College Board to find out. It would be nice to know just for fun. Given his amazing performance, does your son have any advice for a student about to take her first AP course via Independent study? Is there a particular brand of study guide that he’s found helpful? My D21 attends an IB school and they don’t offer any AP classes. She’s taking AP Psychology because she’s interested in the subject. Once again, congrats to your son. =D>
GoldPenn apologies. I was extrapolating based on my unique situation.
My son who is going to a school that has no core curriculum does not intend on using his senior year APs to place out. He will be using several APs from junior year for placement. He is fully up to speed on the schools policy.
He has been on a community service trip the last ten days and hasn’t accessed scores because he doesn’t intend on submitting them. In his words “I will check when I get home, who cares”. That is what I meant.
“Advanced Placement exam scores are not eligible for course credit at XXXX, but students may use certain AP scores to enroll in higher-level courses and/or to satisfy concentration requirements. In other words, AP credit will not increase your course credit total”.
Thank you. He didn’t take AP Psychology but for others, he used my Amazon account to order workbooks so I can tell for sure, Barron and Princeton Reviews were ordered every year but not touched until week before the exam.
As he only took AP exams for the courses he took so there wasn’t any need to prep for tests and his ECs kept him too busy to spend any time on test prep. I think ability to focus in class, doing assignments religiously and their school’s practice to constantly throwing pop quizzes at them is what helped most.
@Nocreativity1 In his crowded public school, AP courses kept advance students engaged and enriched their minds. Most of their peers in AP classes were more focused so there was less chaos in classes. Even if some students went to colleges with no AP credit hours, they are better prepared for college and can get out of basic or required courses so it wasn’t a loss for them.
Cupcakemuffins makes perfect sense as you describe. Sounds like he made the absolute most of the opportunity. Sounds like he will be well prepared for a rigorous freshman year.
@CupCakeMuffins Curious what state you are in. I think in some geographic areas, there is competition in schools as to how many APs the students can tally. Students in these areas can sometimes start AP courses as freshmen, and tally up 14-18 AP by graduation.
In other areas/states, there are prerequisites for AP; students cannot take them until Junior year, fewer APs are offered (schools determine which are the best courses), etc. In those areas, the top students may only end up with 6 APs, 8 at the most.
^^^^This is an excellent point and the reason why any “data” on the number/percentage of students who score 5 on 14 APs is meaningless. Not comparing apples to apples.
“Anyway, it seems private schools and colleges are dropping all “measurable merit” criteria.” No. Not dropping all measurable criteria.
And merit is more than the measurables.
It’s high time, btw, that CC quits mixing up AP for college credit versus rigor/AP courses and scores, for adcom purposes. And for that, remember, it’s not who has the most AP.
@sunnyschool These policies vary from district to district, as well as from state to state. However, colleges usually compare you against your own school’s profile and your own classmates. If its not the norm for your school, they don’t hold it against you.
@lookingforward Indeed. Academics are just one part of the puzzle.