i havé an immense course rigour and it’s like all maxed out and everything i have a predicted 4.75W GPA and 4.0UW, i took ap bio and ap stats with literally no study just for fun and i thought i’d get like 2 or 3 but i ended up with two 4s and now i’m not sure how to feel, any benefit in submitting them or would it only detract from my application?
At the HYPSM level schools I think a 4 is a neutral that won’t move the needle in either direction.
I’m more concerned for you because in your other thread you said you were applying to top schools in the UK and those 4s will be a problem there.
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No. It won’t hurt your application. But a self-study 4, or even a 5 for that matter, won’t add to your application
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The thing that will hurt you for top US colleges is your punctuation, grammar and English skills. Maybe you are just using your phone for your posts, but your supplemental essay writing needs to be a lot cleaner than what you have shown here.
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Admission officers are more interested with performance in a classroom setting rather than the ability to cram for an exam.
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This is largely correct in the US. And therein lies the unfortunate irony as it is not the case in the UK where the poster also plans to apply and where, as momofboiler1 points out, 4s will be detrimental.
Once again, taking AP exams without taking the class is generally a bad idea.
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i wasn’t planning on submitting my APs for the UK since I already have 8 A+s ready to submit for the UCAS which should be more than enough
My understanding was that all scores needed to be reported but I defer to other posters with more knowledge with the U.K. system.
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I had always believed, as many people do here, that AP test scores do not matter to admissions in the US. On my more recent college visits, including one HYPSM, getting a 5 on an AP test was described as doing something positive for an applicant during the admissions process. In other words, it tipped the scales toward an admit.
Not sure if this is a covid/test optional evolution, but it is worth noting the talk-track at info sessions.
@oj_panda7 my advice to you is to take all aspects of the college process seriously going forward.
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Tipping the scales is probably overstating. Or reading too much into the response. It may tip the scales when all else is equal, but all else is never equal
This really needs more context. Asking an AO, “Do you like 5’s?” Isn’t going to elicit a response of, “No, we prefer 2’s”
Certainly true for Oxbridge
One example… The MIT admissions person opened with a story of how people think you need a 4.0 and 1600 to get in, but admissions opened (in a very packed room) of how they have used 5’s on BC calc to make up for B’s in math classes. Proves knowledge level in their opinion.
See above. I didn’t need to clarify. It was that clear.
I know you like MIT. Since the story was likely canned, ask @MITChris.
I think AP tests can be a selling point these days.
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It certainly seems as though all scores need to be reported to UCAS. While the UCAS instructions don’t specify APs specifically they talk about other international qualifications:
Please fill in your current educational qualifications. This includes GCSEs, A Levels and BTECs for UK applicants, or their equivalents in other countries from high school or college onwards. You must enter all your qualifications from secondary education onwards, which includes any previous and current academic study, qualifications you have completed, qualifications with an unsuccessful grade, or qualifications where you’re still awaiting results.
(The bold is in the original.) Learn all about filling in your UCAS application for uni
The declaration section notes that you can have your application disqualified for not reporting scores:
We may take any necessary steps to check with you and other parties, including universities, colleges and examination and awarding bodies whether the information you have provided is accurate and complete if we, or a university or college, have any reason to believe that you or your referee have:
- left out any relevant information, including any previous academic study, qualifications you have completed, qualifications with an unsuccessful grade or qualifications for which you are still awaiting results
-given false or misleading information
We have the right to cancel your application without refunding your application fee if we determine (having carried out any necessary checks), or have reasonable belief, that your application contains false information.
One of the consultant websites is clear that all includes APs:
Exam scores: Any applicable exams, such as A-levels, IB assessments, and AP exams, go here. You must list all the exams that you have taken or will soon take, even if you don’t yet have your score report.
You can also check by each university. Skieurope has already noted Oxbridge require it. By way of another example here is UCL:
You should report all AP scores on your UCAS form, along with any other relevant qualifications and classes.
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We are talking about two different things here.
@skieurope is saying (I think) that we don’t “like” AP 5s for their own sake. That’s true. There are too many people applying to MIT with lots of 5s for it to be any kind of selection directive or preference, and it is not in fact either of those things.
My colleague that @michaelcollege saw said that “if you have weaker grades or SAT scores, a strong AP score can provide confidence and competence in preparation.” That is also true, and a separate point, because it is evaluated at the threshold level of preparation for MIT, and then no longer evaluated past that as a selection directive.
You have to think about the admissions process sequentially — what proves preparation, and then what we select for above that bar.
for OP, we would require them to submit all AP scores, and I would recommend they just say basically what they said in OP, i.e. that they took them somewhat on a lark (with no self study) and here is what they got.
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I think we need to put MIT in its own category, not least because they effectively require you to report all AP scores.
That really goes back to holistic review. Because let’s be real — if you don’t have a 5 on BC (if you took the exam) and/or an A in calc, MIT might be a struggle if accepted.
And as we were writing at the same time, I’ll defer to @mitchris
I mean, for a trade school, it’s not bad. 
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I note what MITChris explained is similar to what I have seen other AOs explain as well.
It is not that AP scores could never matter to Admissions. And sometimes they matter quite a bit, specifically when there is some specific question or concern Admissions has that a high AP score could address, and the lack of a high AP score will leave unaddressed.
Indeed, not to overrely on anecdotes, but my S24 got a good enough overall score on his first ACT test, but his Math subscore was not quite what it could have been, largely because this was supposed to be just a trial test and he really did not refresh enough on some older math subjects. I asked his very experienced feederish-HS-provided college counselor if this was an issue, and she basically laughed in my face (as politely as she could, but still). She explained because he had gotten a 5 on the BC exam as a junior, and was going to be taking MVC, DiffyQ, and LA as a senior, it was extremely unlikely a college was going to be concerned about his ACT Math subscore.
Anyway, with this context in mind, back to the OP specifically . . . I actually don’t feel like I have enough information from just this thread to fully answer this question. I definitely don’t think a 4 would hurt for US admissions, but I think there are some situations in which it could actually help. Like, if you did not have other advanced science qualifications at all (which I understand can happen in some non-US university prep curriculums), could a 4 in AP Bio, Chem, or Physics help? I think maybe! Same with a math AP if it was your only advanced math qualification, or so on.
As it happens, though, we know from a prior discussion that the OP actually has advanced qualifications for both Math and Chem thanks to their university prep curriculum in Australia. In that context, I am thinking it is unlikely self-study 4s in Stats and Bio are going to be really addressing any important questions. So in this context, I would guess it simply does not matter.