I got my AP scores back and saw that I got a 2 in AP Chem and a 3 in BC calculus. These are surprising as I got a B in chem and an A in calc. I go to an extremely rigorous school so the scores are incomparable to any of the other students at my school. I was planning on applying to a couple of Ivies. Will they ask to see my AP scores, or can I opt out of submitting them?
What type of school? Public or private? And did you study for the AP exams?
Private college prep school, and yes I studied a lot for them. I’m very surprised by my scores.
Not likely, you do not HAVE to report them. That said if you are looking at elite schools those are gonna hurt.
What year are you? You could retake them next year, if time permits (ie, don’t bother if you’re a senior; and if you’re a junior you may have others to prepare for, so a matter of priorities). I’d only worry about the Chem, and only if you are interested in STEM / science majors. You don’t get credit at most highly selective schools anyway; you just place out of a class if you have a 4/5 (sometimes 3). But at competitive schools, you may not want to place out anyway. I know people that did that with Calc and Chem and then were getting D’s in the next level…not a great way to start freshman year, esp in their cases as Pre-Med.
Have you taken any others, with higher scores? AP Chem and Calc BC are 2 of the hardest AP exams, from what I’ve heard.
@ suzy79 - I saw that you posted on the Yale thread asking if there is any “advantage” of applying as a computer science major. Your GPA will matter more to AOs than your AP scores, but 46% of students who took the Calc BC exam this year received scores of “5”, so your score is relatively low for a prospective CS major. If you have a good GPA of 3.85+ and high SAT or ACT scores, great letters of recommendation, essays and ECs, that might counterbalance your AP scores, but AOs at Yale and other ivy league schools will expect to see AP scores that support/correspond to your course grades. Also, I think you meant to ask if your AP scores will “affect” not “effect” your admission chances.
They really shouldn’t affect admission, but you should send the scores as not sending will raise suspicions.
No college has publicly said they use AP scores as a part of their evaluation of a student’s academic portfolio. And anecdotally I know students with 4s and 5s rejected by the ivies and those with 3 or less get in.
Here are the percentages for each score for each AP exam. Calc. BC had almost 50% get a 5 on the exam.
https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2016-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php
Actually, according to College Board, 42.4% of students taking the Calc BC exam received scores of “5”: https://apscore.collegeboard.org/scores/about-ap-scores/score-distributions
Fret not…colleges are much more concerned about your grades in those classes as opposed to the AP tests.
Why is that?
- Doing well in a class shows you can learn over the year and work hard over a period of time. That is what they want in college.
- Not all HS have many APs.
- Many people take AP tests senior year which is too late for admissions
For example, Stanford says:
Students currently enrolled in AP courses are not required to submit AP scores as part of our admission process. AP scores that are reported are acknowledged but rarely play a significant role in the evaluation of an application. Grades earned over the course of a term, or a year, and evaluations from instructors who can comment on classroom engagement provide us with the most detailed insight into a student’s readiness for the academic rigors of Stanford.
http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/prepare.html
Where does this leave you?
- It tells you that you cannot place out of those classes in college…you will need to take them in college like many many other people do.
- Do not self report your scores
Sorry, but that’s why selective colleges like AP tests – as they are a national yardstick for how well you have absorbed the information in a rigorous class taught across state lines AND how well your high school has prepared you for the exam. FWIW: Every student I know who has been accepted to HYPSM has scored a 4 or 5 on their AP exams. Unfortunately scoring a 3 (or 2) is just NOT a competitive score.
If you have achieved those AP scores with an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ in the classes, that is a “red flag” as Admission will most likely think your high school has grade inflation.
I’ve posted this in the past, but I think it bears repeating:
"Sorry, but that’s why selective colleges like AP tests – as they are a national yardstick for how well you have absorbed the information in a rigorous class taught across states lines AND how well your high school has prepared you for the exam. FWIW: Every student I know who has been accepted to HYPSM has scored a 4 or 5 on their AP exams. Unfortunately scoring a 3 (or 2) is just NOT a competitive score.
If you have achieved those AP scores with an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ in the classes, that is a “red flag” as Admission will most likely think your high school has grade inflation."
So you are directly contradicting the Stanford (and other colleges) website? It clearly says you don’t have to submit and rarely has it played a significant tole. I agree with you on the grade inflation but Stanford also knows a lot of tutors exist for doing well on the AP test and many teachers teach the test in the class as opposed to fundamental subject matter. And as someone pointed out earlier, there is too much unevenness among high schools wrt APs, some offer a ton, some just a few, some maybe none. Some only allow students to take it senior year, some don’t allow any freshman year. I know a lot of students who got rejected from Stanford who had 5s on every AP, like 10 of them. There’s no correlation, much less causation.
^^ @theloniusmonk: YES, with regard to Harvard, I’m disregarding what Stanford has posted. To wit: https://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/harvarddean-part2/
From everything I’ve read, Harvard is looking for confirmation in the form of top AP scores to confirm a students grades in the classes they have taken. If a student chooses NOT to submit AP scores, but those AP classes appear on their transcript, Harvard will assume the worst. IMHO, that is reason enough for Admissions NOT to move a student’s application forward. Therefore, applicants need to pay attention to what is written “between the lines” in statements from Harvard’s Admissions Office.
I haven’t taken any others. So will colleges be concerned as I have only taken 2 and done poorly on both?
Percentages of 5s on a give test shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum. You also need to look at how many kids take each of the tests and what types of students take them. Will tend to be taken by the best math students. You are advanced in math even to get to the class. And its beyond what many schools require. Per the AP data for 2017 (linked above though you need to click the 2017 tab), 133,000 kids took the BC exam. 317,000 kids took the AB exam. 509,000 kids took the US History exam. 55,000 kids to the Physics C mechanics exam.
@suzy79 - The fact that you were able to take BC Calc in your junior year of high school is really impressive! What math class do you plan on taking next year? If your school doesn’t offer many AP courses and the majority of the high-achieving students in your class/school don’t take more than a handful before they graduate, then you shouldn’t worry about (only) taking two APs classes during your junior year. If you do well on your SAT II Math and other subject tests, the AP scores shouldn’t matter too much. But I do think you should report all your scores. It will demonstrate to AOs that you are honest and capable of handling minor academic disappointments.
Next year I will be taking Discrete and Linear Algebra. I got a 770 on my SATII math, is that score competitive enough?I achieved a 670 on my chemistry SATII.
Those are both good scores - what percentile are they?
The 770 is very good! The 670, not so much. What Subject tests will you take in the fall? If you practice for Math II over the summer you could take it in October, giving you time to re-take if necessary. Have you taken the SAT or ACT yet?