<p>I know they if you do badly it doesn’t matter much, but if you do well how much does it help? Is getting a 5 like getting an 800 on a subject test or does it matter much less? It just seems to me that its a great indicator of how accurate your grade is in the ap class you took so it seems to me like it should matter a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>AP scores are used more to indicate grade inflation/deflation at your school. SAT IIs are used to show “mastery” of the subject matter and hold more weight in that respect.</p>
<p>First off, this should be evident, but much depends on whatever colleges you plan on applying to.</p>
<p>I agree with 10iswarrior; although AP tests are meant to cover more material (SAT Subject tests require college-prep level classes at the minimum, or 2-3 years of a language), the curve is so generous that on some tests scoring well doesn’t mean much at all. Compare that with the SAT score breakdown, where the 200-800 scale provides a more accurate representation of your knowledge.</p>
<p>Short version: as long as your test score at least represents how well you did in the class or better, it will either have no effect or will be beneficial to you.</p>
<p>Lets see… most students accepted to HYPSM are in the top 10% of high schoolers in USA. Top 10%+ of students get 5’s on exams. </p>
<p>As such, most kids of Ivy caliber have all or close to all 5’s on AP’s. It really ceases to mean anything. Its mostly for class placement and college credit.</p>
<p>10isWarrior is correct.</p>