Submission of AP Chemistry score

[Aardvark12]

My daughter’s school, like a number of private schools, eliminated AP classes a few years ago and replaced them with “Advanced”. This has provided the school with greater flexibility in the curriculum. Despite this, students often still take the AP tests, especially in STEM classes, as there is still overlap in the curriculum.

My daughter took the AP Chemistry test and received a 4. There were definitely areas on the test that were not covered in her chemistry class (and the teacher told them as much). She could have self-studied for those, but she did not really have much time with all her other finals.

If she were an Econ or History major, I perhaps wouldn’t think twice about submitting the score. But she is interested in majoring science, perhaps Chemistry or Biochemistry. As a straight A student with a good SAT score, she will be applying to some highly competitive schools Top20 type schools in her balanced tiering. A score of 4 may not be viewed as very competitive for a science major, and I am not sure that it is reflective of her ability in Chemistry given the mismatch in curriculum.

Do you think she should submit? Does the answer change based upon the tier of the school?

[skieurope]

There is no instance where I would dissuade from submitting a single 4. It’s a very good score

@Aardvark12

Does the answer change based upon the tier of the school?

No

[helpingthekid73]

So this is discussed often and everyone gives opinions but it is rare that someone talks about direct experience. If this is her only AP score and she is applying tohighly selective schools and ddnt even take the class, does a 4 ad to her application? I would say probably not but I would love to have reports of students with 4s that were submitted and then accepted to top 20 school. My s24 did not submit his AP scores.

[Knope21]

Our school also got rid of APs and this is clearly explained in the school profile that is sent with applications. Therefore, any school she is applying to will know she wasn’t taught the full AP curriculum. And if you think of it that way, it actually makes the 4 more impressive than if she had taken the full class.