Mostly applying to UC campuses where AP Lit exam will not get me anything more than my AP Lang score earned me last year. Therefore, considering not taking the AP exam for AP Lit in May ‘27. But, if I list it on my UC application that I plan to take it, then I think I must. So, I’m trying to figure out if I don’t list the AP Lit exam as planned for May ‘27 will the UCs care? Targets are UCLA, UCB, UCSD.
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UC’s will not care. There are a very small handful who say they care - I’m looking at you Princeton - but there have never ever been repercussions for not taking IME.
If the university doesn’t give credit/placement, and the HS doesn’t require the exam to be taken, there is zero reason to take unless you plan in transferring out later.
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Most colleges will not care if you skip an AP exam after senior year, but you should check to see if any of the schools you are considering might give you credit or let you skip a requirement or place higher in English. Some schools give credit for AP Lit but not AP Lang.
If you say that you plan to take the exam, that doesn’t really mean you must. I’m not encouraging dishonesty, but there are all kinds of things that happen last-minute to upend AP testing plans. This year, my S27 couldn’t take his AP Lit exam because we had a snow day, and then the make-up days offered did not work for his schedule. He might have placed out of intro English classes with a 5 on the exam (which was certainly a realistic goal as a score), but it would not have gotten him college credit, and he didn’t care enough about placement to make the make-up dates work. So we took our partial refund and moved on. His college didn’t care.
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If you don’t need the score like to pass out of a college introductory subject or to qualify for some AP Scholar award, then don’t bother. You have plenty of other exams to prepare for.
Let’s say you said you planned to take, you get in and got a 1. Same thing. Unless you get an admissions letter noting you must take, then you won’t need to.
Stanford says this - and you won’t have taken by when you apply:
“AP exams are not mandatory; however, if you have taken any AP exams, even if you self-studied for them, you are required to self-report all your AP scores in your application.”
Gtown says
“If you wish to receive credit for any AP examinations, official scores must be sent to Georgetown University through the College Board. “
You brought up UC. They say this. But unless their admission is conditioned on taking the test, you should be ok. If I read this, I might call your campuses to be sure. I wouldn’t say I’m taking it - and then not take it. And after reading this, I wouldn’t assume I don’t need to without validation. That’s me.
Good luck.
From UC
“We recommend that students who complete Advanced Placement courses complete the related AP examination to demonstrate subject mastery. Similarly, International Baccalaureate scores and A level exam scores can be used to showcase academic mastery. In order to receive unit credit toward the baccalaureate degree, students must submit an official copy of their AP or IB scores or A level Statement of Results directly from the testing agency or exam board. This must be done in the summer prior to enrolling at a specific UC campus.”
While the college may not, our HS does not give AP credit unless you take the AP exam, so it would just be listed s Honors on your transcript which may be a discrepancy from the schedule you reported.
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Reminder to please keep responses focused on the OP and their question. While we allow for conversations to wander in the Cafe, it isn’t appropriate elsewhere.
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At UCB L&S, AP English literature 5 gives more subject credit than AP English language 5:
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Just confirming that at UCLA & UCSD, the other two UC targets for diegodavis, the advanced credit eligibility is the same for Lang or Lit, as indicated.
UCLA:
UCSD:
However, UCB engineering only gives credit for one of the two. In general, this can vary depending on the college within a university.
@diegodavis are you a HS senior, or a college student transferring, or a parent? I was looking at your post history just to see what majors you were thinking about, and seeing your prior posts, it’s hard to know. (I’m guessing maybe you are the parent?)
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