I don’t believe that schools care. Period. S19 took AP Comp Sci A sophomore year and decided not to take the test. He didn’t tell any schools that he didn’t take it or why he didn’t take it. Junior year, he took all of his AP tests and he self-reported those scores. So, on his CA, they could see he took that Comp Sci course and could also see he didn’t report a score. They would never know if he took the test or not. Come senior year, he took four APs and only two tests because the other two weren’t going to help him at all. He didn’t tell his schools, none of them, all 14. Come the end and he had his school send his final transcript to Bowdoin and we sent all of his AP scores. Not a peep. They didn’t care that he didn’t take two of his senior APs either. MAYBE Princeton is an exception if someone has real knowledge of that then someone should call to confirm if they need to know.
Every school is different with how they view AP exams, even schools within the same state college system.
UCSD
UCLA
Berkeley
Some schools care, some do not. Some admission officers will assume an unreported score was a failing grade, some will not. Proceed at your own risk.
Not true. We went to an event with reps from Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Bowdoin, Carleton, and Princeton. They all said that they do not assume anything when they look at an application. If someone reports some AP scores but not others, they do not assume the info that is not there - meaning they have no information on why the student did not report the score. He could have been sick that day and scored poorly or didn’t even make it to the test. Or he just chose not to take it. They do not assume that the score is bad. The Dartmouth rep was asked directly (in front of a parent/student group of maybe 400 people) and that’s how she answered. Then the moderator went down the line of all of the reps and they all agreed.
And I would take that with a grain of salt, along with the “subject tests are not required, just recommended” line routinely given in these events. That really only applies to some.
@roycroftmom they were asked about that as well and, yes, each school responded differently. Dartmouth and Princeton both say that they recommend subject tests. In fact, it was our S19 who stood up in front of all of those people and asked. His question was “are subject tests truly just recommended or recommended with a wink”. He got a smattering of giggles for that.
The Dartmouth rep said they are truly optional. And, indeed, we do know kids who got in who did not take them. The Princeton rep said that, if you were at this meeting, you lived in a neighborhood that knows about these tests and they expect to see them. They said they are just recommended because there are kids out there whose schools are not familiar with the tests and those kids get a pass.
I know we don’t have a 2022 but I really don’t like it when posters give info that scares applicants. Kids just need to ask the right questions about the specific schools they are applying to. Do their due diligence and ask the schools directly. S19 picked up the phone quite a bit and asked admissions offices questions like this. Or he would ask them when he met with reps at school or at interviews. And, really, this level of specificity is really only for the top top schools.
“Proceed at your own risk” is a bit much.
I agree in that you have to evaluate the source. The admissions reps who go on road shows should, but don’t always, share the most accurate information. We’ve heard different admissions reps from the same school contradict each other as to the importance/impact of interviews.
In general, AOs are looking for academic competency before they move onto other holistic factors. Top grades with standardized tests that don’t substantiate or validate the grades could raise questions. Top grades and top SAT, several top APs and maybe good subject tests might be enough to leave one or two AP exams off of the application. The question is, do any of us know what, in their eyes, is enough?
@lkg4answers true. At many top schools, apps get two reads before a decision so, that helps when it comes to the evaluation. S19 had top grades, 1540, 5s on the three AP tests he reported. He got to the point where he thought that was enough. Those were the things on his app that showed him in his best light and proved he could do college work.
With his ECs that were very time consuming, he wanted to be done with testing. So some schools that required SAT2s were just eliminated from the list. Everyone has to make their own decisions. He just reached a point where, if it was more important for a school to see an 800 on Math 2 instead of a 5 on BC Calc, then he was ok taking a pass on that school. It doesn’t even make sense since Math 2 is trig and maybe pre Calc so why would they need that if the student can show mastery of BC Calc? Everyone is on their own journey here and has to decide if the stress of more testing will make any difference whatsoever in their results.
According to their websites, they don’t all agree.
Dartmouth
Vanderbilt
Princeton
Bowdoin - test optional
Carleton - Doesn’t mention how they evaluate AP scores but does describe how standardized tests factor into their evaluation of an applicant.
It is one of the few schools where I have seen it stated explicitly that subject tests can negatively impact an application
I think the biggest factor for the class of 2020 is that, this year, the College Board is making students register and pay for AP exams before Nov 15. If you are like @ShrimpBurrito 's kid and know that you aren’t going to take all of the exams, that is one thing but I think most kids don’t decide on whether to take tests until the spring. Maybe that is why College Board changed the registration deadline.
I need some opinions on pushing DS to apply for the Honors programs. He of course has no interest, and I’m not really knowledgeable on it at all, so I was thinking more work/harder (which is probably what he’s thinking), but I was looking at the program at Duluth and they give 6K scholarships to the students in the honors program towards a semester abroad (2K for the short trips over breaks). That sounds like a pretty nice perk! Iowa State said the honors classes weren’t harder, but he might be in a class of 30 instead of 400 (no hiding in the back).
I don’t know. He’s a good student, but not a very motivated one when it comes to going above and beyond. He seems to know the minimum he needs to do to get an A in a class and be satisfied with that.
I’m glad you asked that, @cshell2 because I don’t really understand the honors colleges. My S20 has no interest.
@NYC2018nyc @cshell2 - My D17 is a junior in the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. She has really enjoyed the experience of having smaller classes in the big school. They also get priority housing, registration, etc. I asked her if the Honors classes are harder - her answer was “They are supposed to be, but I can’t compare, since I’m not taking the non-Honors version.” 
I was just reading through some of the perks, like nicer dorms, getting to register first, smaller classes (Iowa also says with better instructors, :neutral: ). The auto scholarship for study abroad really caught my eye though. I’m just not sure how much additional work it is and if DS would care about the perks. Looks like you just take so many honors courses and seminars while you’re there. Duluth has community service requirements. Then the final project which I’m sure would totally turn him off, but you could be in honors and not actually graduate with honors right?
Not sure about that, @cshell2 - I guess you’d have to ask about how it is at a specific school. D17 is taking a seminar this semester to prepare for her Honors thesis that she will do senior year.
@cshell2 - It probably depends on the school. My oldest has been in the honors program all along but never planned on completing University Honors or doing the final project. She did take a couple classes that were Honors but mostly her University Honors courses were met by the Business Schools honors program classes. She will complete the business schools honors just not the University Honors. The university Honors gave her priority registration her entire 4 years however so it was worth the couple classes
My older kids were all in the honors program but only to get priority registration and nicer dorms. None of them stayed in the program through graduation for various reasons. I suspect D20 will but we’ll see.
@cshell2 each school’s honors program is different. Is there a forum for Duluth on this website where you can ask people who are familiar with the program?
@lkg4answers - No Duluth forum. Iowa State has one though, so I can ask about it there. Actually, Iowa State has an awesome Parents Facebook page. I’ll bet I can get tons of info from those folks.
@cshell2 my S18 is in an honors program and the two big perks for him has been priority registration and smaller class sizes. Plus he prefers the discussion style of the smaller classes vs large lecture classes. A friend of mine with a daughter at another school’s honors program got $4,000 towards a summer session in Spain (I think it was three weeks) and that was an awesome opportunity.