I saw an old post about this but it was from 2023, not sure if guidance is the same for the 2026 application cycle.
My senior is planning to apply to a few UC schools. She is applying to different majors depending on the school.
Political Science for UCB, International Studies for UCSD, Business for UCD and UCI. Communications at UCSB. UCLA is still unknown. (Yes, I know this is all over the map!)
Because UC is one application, she doesn’t know if she should report her AP scores. Can you please advise if she should report? She has only taken 4 AP classes so far. She received A’s in AP US History, World Hist, Chinese. She got a B in AP Biology.
AP US History: 5
AP World History: 4
AP Chinese: 4
AP Biology: 3
When you submit partial (only 4-5), they may create wonder - why not bio?
But it appears a 3 in ‘accepted’ for benefit at various.
I’ve read where some students have provided 3s and gotten in and others have submitted none and gotten in. Given grade inflation, if nothing else, it could be seen as a validator and the scores are fine. Worst case, even if they don’t help, they certainly won’t hurt as all are good.
Good luck.
UCB says this: - I didn’t see anything in the FAQs of other schools.
Q: Will UC Berkeley use scores from SAT subject test, AP test, IB test, etc. in the application review process?
A: Yes. UC Berkeley will continue to accept additional subject test scores that will be used as “value added” in the review process. These subject tests are not required but can be submitted to demonstrate advanced proficiency in an academic subject.
I recommend that most students submit all passing AP scores of “3”, “4”, & “5”. Same advice for senior year AP exams post-high school graduation for possible credit/placement.
In the latter case when one is matriculating to a specific college, the student can know exactly what credits, subject credit, and advanced placement can be gotten from each AP score.
In some cases, an AP score may give credits but not useful subject credit or advanced placement. For UCs, this is not a problem, but there are some other universities where having more “general” credits can be financially disadvantageous if the student is not intending to graduate in fewer than eight semesters. For example, some universities charge higher tuition when reaching junior standing by number of credits.
This is absolutely true. However, the majority of new incoming students submitting AP scores are looking to save time & money through credit & placement, even if it’s general. Students usually aren’t aware at this stage if they will be switching degree programs or pursuing a second major by junior year.
Here is a link with a list of states with excess credit hour policies. Students should definitely be fully aware of these policies if applicable to them.
Let me redirect us back to helping the OP and their child. Michigan isn’t one of the target schools here. Checking the OP’s original list and the subforum topic would help keep the discussion relevant to what they actually asked.
Looking at the past thread, if truly interested in business, and wants to stay in state, I would hope she’s applying to UCR. That would likely produce a better outcome than UCB in communications (says a former communications major) or at least more likely an outcome in the area they want to work long term.
I know kids peer pressure (and you noted on the other thread) dictate UCM and UCR are pariahs. And yes, they are easier to get into.
If you want to study something, go to a school where you can.
Too many look at US News or other rankings. Well there’s many rankings and they rate different things. “The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings focus on how well colleges set their graduates up for financial success.” US News has figured out how to doiminate the space but do people look at what they rate? Usually, it’s irrelevant to the students.
For what it’s worth, the WSJ ranks UCB #7, UCD #13, UCM #14, SJSU #17, CSU Stanislaus #21, CPP #22, CPSLO #28, Fresno State #32, USC (you had mentioned) #37, UCSD #41, Long Beach #43, UCI #48, Northridge #52, UCR #57 and Chico Applying to College
Major, moreso than school, will likely direct initial success.
Career wise, UCB only shows 2 Communication and Media Studies grads over 3 years (23-25). 1 working and 1 went to school. I’m sure they have more but not a good knowledge rate. If they were interested in communication and not sure what level, but ASU would likely be a much greater choice. Yes, it’s not in CA but close. Or SDSU to stay in state.
Your student (in my opinion) should choose the major over school name.
All that said, make sure she knows it’s about what is best for her, not best to satisfy peer pressure.
It’s often a hard thing for a 17 year old to separate.
Thank you all for your input! She is concerned about AP Biology because she got a B in that class and an AP score of 3 is not going to help make that look better in admissions. She is on the fence and is leaning towards reporting all or none, because as you mentioned, omitting one AP score is going to make the AO wonder. But will that AP score of 3 hurt her admission chances at selective UCs?
For additional context, her UC Capped Weighted GPA is 4.07 and that is below the 25% of admitted students’ GPA for schools like UCB, UCLA, and UCSD. It’s right along the 25% for UCD, UCI, UCSB.
She has pretty solid ECs, held leadership roles in 4 clubs and made a significant community impact in a couple of them.
She ended up taking Precalc her Junior year and is taking Calculus I at a community college dual enrollment. Her math rigor is not very strong and she was advised not to major in Economics. She’s taking AP Micro/Macro Econ this year and does not think she will enjoy studying that in college anyway.
She already applied to a few in state non-UC schools with Early Action as a Business major and we are hoping for the best. She is also planning to apply to SJSU, SDSU, SLO as a Business major.
Because most UCs do not have a Business undergrad major, and she does not want to major in Econ, she’s ok majoring in Political Science and perhaps minor in something that leans towards Business. She has a lot of evidence in her ECs for Political Science and she’s interested in that area, but her first choice is ultimately majoring in Business.
The Communications major at UCSB might change to Political Science, she is still researching and deciding.
I would leave this decision up to her. Plenty of students don’t take AP tests for many reasons, even if they took some others…so I don’t see risk of an AO inferring a bad score. Seriously, some students miss the test because they are sick, they had a time conflict with another AP test, they already were out of school and left for camp, etc etc etc.
IMO reporting a 3 won’t make her app stronger at selective schools, so why report it? It’s highly likely that whether she reports the 3 or not, that is not going to be a critical factor in the admissions decision. If she ultimately attends a school that gives credit for the 3, she can report it at that point. (IMO she could/should report the score at high acceptance rate schools.)
I am not an adcom but given UCB gives credit for a 3, I don’t see why she wouldn’t report it. I don’t personally see how it can be a negative but I can understand that sending in none of them could be, although there are people who have said they’ve done that and gotten in.
I would advise my student to submit - but none of us truly know because none of us are on the various UC admission committees - but guessing it makes zero to a slightly positive difference.
The fact all the UCs accept a 3 in bio - leads me to wonder - why would it be bad to submit? Surely many that are attending UCs don’t have perfect scores. In fact, there are many UC profs upset with the lack of math proficiency from the student body, even when they’ve taken APs.
I am not an adcom or reader but I would find it suspicious to include some, not all. Others, of course, feel different, as you’ve just read. I think the 3 validates that she did fine in the class. I also think a B is a good grade, even though people think it’s the difference between UCB and community college (it’s not). Kids attend the most prestigious universities that didn’t get straight As.
In the end, she has to make a decision and live with it - and it’s unlikely to heavily move the needle one way or another.
I think she can make a decision and be happy with it, without looking over her shoulder about what if.
Like most, if she doesn’t get in - she’ll never know why - whether rigor, PIQs, popularity of major, or otherwise.
They all accept an AP score of 3 for credit units toward the 120 semester units or 180 quarter units to graduate, but subject credit and advanced placement will vary by campus and major. For example, UCB Letters and Science and Business divisions do not accept AP credit for their breadth requirement: Seven-Course Breadth | L&S Advising
I wouldn’t stress about the Biology score. Three strong results and one 3 make a solid set of AP scores. I’d report them all and focus more on the overall application.
Thank you all for your valuable insight! I’ll forward this thread to her and let her decide. At this point in time she is more concerned about the 3 being the make or break decision for admissions, but it sounds like it won’t carry that much weight. We have not even started looking into whether these AP classes will count for credit, because she is focusing on getting that application done first! =p This is the first time we’ve heard of Seven-Course Breadth and we’ll do some research about it. We truly appreciate all of the responses from the experts on this forum!
I would submit the bio score. Tell her to focus on her PIQ and Activity & Awards. Those are going to have more of an impact on her admission chances than an AP score.
In general, colleges are looking for why they should admit you instead of why they shouldn’t.
@LiveLaughLove9: @ucbalumnus , @tsbna44 and @maijem11 have all given the same advice I would give OP. If the UC’s accept AP exam scores of 3 or above, then I would report them. It is my understanding that the AP exam scores will be used to verify/confirm the AP course grades but they have little impact on the overall application review. The grades in the AP courses are more important. Reporting a 3 score on a AP exam will not be the reason any student is denied admission at a UC.
