@Sally_Rubenstone I haven’t taken the Subject test, mainly because it has E&M stuff on it I haven’t learned yet. I did take the Chem one (760). Thanks for your advice! 
@Sally_Rubenstone what if your not self reporting any AP scores and applying with a fee waiver… can they
(in theory) just assume that you didn’t take any?
If you didn’t take the AP test for some reason, it probably makes sense to note that on your application, perhaps under additional information. Why let the school assume you did poorly?
@verizonwireless -While I can’t pretend that I can climb into the head of every admission official, when a student who is apparently low income (due to the fee waiver) shows AP courses on the transcript but does not report AP results, the admission folks are far more likely to suspect that the student did not take the AP exams due to cost than if the test results are missing from applications of students who are clearly more advantaged.
BUT … if the admission rep is familiar with the student’s high school, he or she may know that this high school REQUIRES the AP exams for all AP students and will cover the cost of the test for those who can’t afford it. This is the practice at some high schools … and thus perhaps at yours.
If your transcript will show AP classes but you really did NOT take AP exams because you could not pay for them, it would be worth mentioning this in an email to the regional rep at all your target colleges.
@meaa7130 -You’re welcome. Your chem score will help you if you are applying to engineering programs and hopefully you’ll do as well on the physics, too, when you’re ready to take it.
Thank You @sbjdorlo , will take again this year!
I am in a sticky situation @Sally_Rubenstone. I have pretty bad ADHD to the point where I was granted extended time on my ACT. However, I did not send in my request to the College Board in time for them to grant me extra time for my AP tests. So my scores were as follows:
AP US History: 4
AP World History: 4
AP English: 4
AP Physics 1: 3
I know I could have done much better for all of the tests… for most, I didn’t even finish the last part of the test. I don’t want to come off weak on my college applications, but I also don’t want to seem like I am simply blaming the College Board for my low scores. I am also not sure if I should tell them I have ADHD to begin with…
I have a high ACT score and high GPA, and I have been looking at schools like HPYS as my early admission choice. What do I do in terms of my AP scores and explaining them??
@nattyy305-My vote would be not to mention the ADHD and send the scores as they are. Colleges are far more concerned with your courses, grades, and SAT/ACT than with AP scores. The AP scores can be a “tie-breaker” but at the most selective schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Stanford, you will need to have something ELSE on your application of great interest to them, too. So all of that comes before AP scores. And your scores weren’t terrible … just a bit below the norm for the colleges you named but hardly a deal-breaker.
Just my 2 cents:
I bombed the AP Calculus BC Exam my Junior year due to a bubbling error, and ended up recieving a 1. All other APs ranged from 3-4. Despite this, I was still accepted to Wash U, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech for engineering. Will be attending Vandy in the fall 2015 (near-full ride scholarship, and I like the school best).
Thank you, Dr. Boss (and congratulations!). Do you have any hooks like being a super athlete, an Intel competition winner, URM or first gen to college?
@dowzerw Thanks man! Here are my stats:
GPA 3.9 UW
ACT 33
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian) May have actually helped at Vandy due to less diversity there
First Gen, (parents did not attend college in India before immigrating to U.S., my family is pretty low income)
Math 2 SAT 2: 710
Chem SAT 2: 700
Rejected: Notre Dame, MIT, Stanford
Waitlisted: Duke, Princeton, Northwestern
Accepted: Georgia Tech, UCincinnati, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Tulane, USC (California)
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
I played Varsity Soccer and Lax in high school, but wasn’t looking to be recruited for college. I did win awards in an accelerated math program called Kumon and tutored others there a lot. I was editor-in-chief for our school newspaper.
Also won awards in Model UN. Honestly, I credit my admission to these schools as a combination of Faith ( I am Christian), hard work, solid commitment to ECs, leadership positions, test scores, and my essays. I sent in all AP scores even my AP Calc BC score of 1 and AP World History Score of 2, a few 3’s, only two 4’s, no 5’s and still got accepted with decent FA packages from UCincinnati and Ohio State, and amazing packages from Vanderbilt, Wash U and Wake Forest. Honestly, if everything else looks good, at least from my experience, low AP scores are NOT a dealbreaker.
Congrats @DrBoss! Actually, I’m curious too. I got a 5 in Calculus AB and BC in my sophomore year. Does that hold any extra weight on my application, especially now that I am enrolled in IB HL Mathematics? Thanks in advance guys!
Also just realized that @JuicyMango had the same question in Post #30.
Which I answered in post #37; the answer is still the same - no.
Since the question is about Elite Colleges, of course low scores are not good for your application.
Now is it a deal-breaker? Depends on the strength of the rest of your application.
If you have an application that is better than those that have 5’s on their AP’s it won’t matter as much.
If you have an average application, it will hurt you, maybe even enough to put your app in the reject pile.
If you have a below average application, it will just be another straw that breaks the back.
@DrBoss you seem like a good guy. Faithful brother :-c
Of course it does. It is certainly better than getting a 3 or not taking it all all.
But the application consists of many things that add (or subtract) weight - this is just one of them.
There are many things like @skyoverme said. AP scores is just one of them.
I realize that this a different situation. D1 chose not to take her Statistics AP test so she could study for her AP Physics C test. Granted she was a senior and had already been accepted to where she was going to attend. For her it was a no brainer since her school wouldn’t give credit for stats but if she did well on both sections of her Physics exam she could have all of her necessary Physics credits. It worked out. She was really glad later as the students she knew taking Physics at her college called the courses the place where GPAs went to die.
It’s a bit different for seniors; your D’s reason was valid although it never hurts to call the admissions office to ensure that it won’t be a problem skipping the exam. (FWIW, I did call, and they laughed at me, but I covered my bases. 
) Juniors, sophomores, and, and freshman have no idea what school they will be attending, so that “excuse” does not work.
thanks a lot for info