<p>I have heard that AP scores are not looked at and I also heard they look impressive to admissions officers.</p>
<p>I have also heard that taking the AP course in high school is good. Also have heard that not taking the course and self studying to take the test is not recommended.</p>
<p>Can anyone explain what the truth really is? Would be great if you could find some legitimate sources if possible!</p>
<p>I was wondering the same. It seems like ap scores aren’t considered for admission. The sat 2 seem to be better estimators compared to ap tests. Ap tests are self reported. You don’t need to send them until after you decide where to go. So it seems like you take it just for the sake of taking it and passing. That’s all. I hope this helped.</p>
<p>AP scores are not required for admission by any college. If you want college to know of scores you just self-report on app or in essay (or simply send copy of scores to college to be included in your admission file). An exception is that there are a very small number of schools which actually accept AP scores in lieu of SAT or SAT IIs. One is NYU, which does not require AP scores, but for admission you can choose to submit three official AP scores and submit no SAT or SAT II scores.</p>
<p>For majority of colleges (not higher ranks) which accept majority of applicants, having or not having AP courses is not a matter of major significance as long as you are within their middle 50% ranges for SAT (or ACT) and rank for admission because you will most likely be admitted regardless of whether you have any APs. It is not that APs mean nothing but just that admission is not difficult even without APs, and if they help it is mainly for borderline applicants to those colleges.</p>
<p>For higher ranks, having AP courses and doing well in them is a favorable factor because it shows you are taking rigorous courses and doing well and when you get to the high rank levels things like that make a difference for the decision to admit. Test score is less important but if you score high it is info to provide as it can only help.</p>
<p>Don’t know about whether self-study for AP is recommended or not but real issue is that many who attempt self-study will ikely not succeed (many just never complete the self-study). If you do and take a test and score high, you can create a favorable impression for admission at higher ranked schools.</p>