<p>Nah…I didn’t apply anywhere early 
since I was so darn lazy. But definitely Stanford is my first choice, but with their ultra-low admissions rate, I’m not betting on it. I would be super fine with UCLA, but they got 72000 apps this year, so that’s making me nervous :/</p>
<p>what are your stats other than GPA?</p>
<p>@TripleTime</p>
<p>Two ones? Your son sounds very bright; I’d be interested to know what happened there. I’m not sure we can say that totally refutes SilverTurtle’s statement. I mean, four fives is more than the vast majority of students can lay claim to; the fours are also exceptional, especially when added to the fives. What I’m getting at here is that your son’s clearly an all-star applicant, and SilverTurtle used the phrase “mix of 3’s and 4’s”, which would likely change the profile of an applicant at least marginally.</p>
<p>The only *possible * scenario where I can see top schools like Stanford taking in a student with two ones on an AP test is if those tests were taken senior year (and thus we not available at the time of admissions). Since no school rescinds due to low AP scores, I highly believe this is the case. </p>
<p>Getting a one on a single AP test is truly an anomaly for a student with the ability to get into Stanford, let alone two ones. The curve for AP tests are so generous that a student would literally have to know nothing on the subject. Perhaps it may be true that the teacher lacked an ability to teach the material; but taking an AP course would suggest that your son had the time to at the very least ‘self-study’ himself up to a ‘3’; you are sitting in on the class everyday for a year. </p>
<p>Personally, most seniors taking AP tests in their senior year knows that schools don’t rescind for low AP scores (they just don’t receive the credit), so they end up blowing the test and/or class off altogether.</p>
<p>Oh, by the way, texaspg, I wasn’t totally clear, but what I meant is that teachers’ AP curricula are usually audited every so often by the College Board, which ensures that “AP” courses are up to snuff. This, anyway, is what I’ve been told by my AP teachers in the past.</p>
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<p>The “audit” consists of little more than submitting the course syllabus … not much of an “audit” by any standards.</p>
<p>^Actually it’s a little more detailed than a syllabus. At least in physics, they wanted the full written curriculum and also a description of the labs. But in any case, it’s still not an “audit” since they never know if the document they receive actually reflects what you teach.</p>
<p>But that leads me to another question. Do you think colleges look at the high school’s overall results on the AP tests to determine the level of rigor at that school? It would seem to me that this would give them another way to get the information that they want from the SAT – does an A at this school indicate the same thing as an A at that school?</p>
<p>@hkopp7… I kind of regretted replying to the original post because I knew people would be skeptical but I did because I just wanted to let students know that they don’t need perfect scores to get into a great school.</p>
<p>I replied privately to another post because I don’t want to come across as being argumentative. So let me explain as best I can… My S took World History in 10th grade and got a 3… in 11th grade his scores were Calculus-5, Physics-5, US History-4, English-3, and Stats-1… he took 6 APs his senior year and once again scored 5s in Physics and Cal… he got a 1 in Eco I think. I asked him if his scores were sent to the schools and he said that they were because he figured that he was applying to the CS programs and that his 5s in Cal and Physics would help. He said that since he wasn’t a Liberal Arts major, he figured the other scores wouldn’t matter. I guess he was right because he got into 18 schools. Every school he applied to accepted him. </p>
<p>Now I think that schools look at other factors other than just scores. His stats teacher was a coach (no disrespect) who was thrown into the class. He had never taught AP Stats before and didn’t prepare the kids properly. Steven knew he had bombed it. He said he had no clue when he read the test. We also at that point didn’t realize just how important those scores were so he just left it at that. Auburn had offered him a full ride and we figured that he just wouldn’t get the credit. We just figured… Oh well. </p>
<p>In his Stats class, not one student passed the test. Also, when he got the 3 in WHistory, it was the teachers first time teaching it and he was one of three students who passed (out of 70ish). He also did well on other tests such as his ACT-34 and he was a NMScholar. We live in an economically disadvantaged area and while the National Average ACT score is a 21, in this area it is a 16ish. Most of the schools in the area (his included) are mainly concerned with graduating kids. His high school ranks in the bottom 25% in the nation. So when you look at all of these factors, he stands out as an exceptional student. Looking back I think that this must be considered. The Salutatorian from the year before is also at Stanford with very similar stats.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that AP scores don’t matter. I’m not the one making those decisions. I just know that when you look at all of these awesome kids posting incredible scores, it can be a little intimidating at times and even discouraging when you don’t have those incredible scores. I know that is what happened to my S initially. I just wanted to let other kids know that they have a chance. </p>
<p>I will say that his recommendations were incredible. I was humbled as a parent when I read one of them that his Cal teacher let me read. He said that my S was in the top 2-3 students he had ever taught. His essays were also VERY well written. I didn’t know he could write so well. So good luck to everyone as you endure the long wait for regular decisions to come out. S2 is a senior this year and is nervous so we are in the same boat again. Hope this explanation helps.</p>
<p>@Tripletime</p>
<p>Thank you for your in-depth response. It gives a little bit more context for all of those who are wondering about this issue.</p>