<p>Okay, so I think I will end up with a 3,3,4,4,5 (if lucky, 3,4,4,5,5) on my AP exams - will these scores keep me out of said schools? I have heard that AP scores are used “only” for placement purposes, but I am disinclined to believe that…Given that all my other factors are great, 4.0+, 2250+,750+ on subject tests, etc…</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>bummmmppppp</p>
<p>Yes, it’s good to disbelieve what you have “heard”. The problem with a 3 on an AP score is that it devalues your course grade, i.e., that ‘A’ now looks inflated against another applicant who might have a ‘B’ on his/her transcript but yet earned a 5 on the AP test. However, strong subject test scores show academic strength in those discilpines.</p>
<p>In short, any adcom will give you the stock, politically-correct answer: we look at the WHOLE application, yada, yada, yada. The only thing you can do is apply. If Columbia is your #1, go ED. Good luck.</p>
<p>eh, I wouldn’t consider Columbia to be my first choice, but thanks anyways.</p>
<p>I guess another way to ask this is - has anybody seen an applicant with similar AP scores as mine get accepted to these schools?</p>
<p>Just a heads up—D never sent a score report for any of her APs—and not one of the colleges she applied to ever asked. She had gotten a 2 in Physics and a 3 in US History junior year, so she would rather have not promoted that. No one asked. She got accepted into Barnard, Brandeis, NYU, GW, American, Muhlenberg and Binghamton. Good luck.</p>
<p>i got a 3,4,4,4,4 on my tests, and it didnt keep me away from Dartmouth, UChicago, or Duke.</p>
<p>I doubt that will be a deciding factor in keeping you out of HYPS and Columbia.</p>
<p>APs are not that important in the college admissions process. Good colleges know that they are easier than college courses anyway . . .</p>
<p>The brutal competition is your worst enemy, not one statistic.</p>
<p>^ explain…?</p>
<p>^ ^ There will be people applying that have the exact same scores + gpa as you, but may have beaten you on the AP tests, which would then give them the upper hand. Basically, you want to be at the top for most everything since you will be competing with people who are the best at everything…</p>
<p>I have a friend who got into Princeton with scores similar to those, so you certainly aren’t out of the running. Just make sure your essays are really good.</p>
<p>I got all HYPSM with worse (couple 1s). Don’t worry…
However if “all my other factors” are simply scores as you’ve listed, then you have a problem.</p>
<p>Your AP scores definitely won’t keep you out.</p>
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<p>well, I did say…</p>
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<p>I wasn’t going to make this into a chances thread…</p>
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<p>Whoa nice! Did you report all of them? I’m just curious because so many people are dishonest and want to try and trick the adcoms, but you must have some other amazing activities.</p>
<p>My question is, why did you even ask this question if you were already disinclined to believe the most common answer that is passed around on this board (and the one that is generally cited as the true one)?</p>
<p>AP is short for “Advanced Placement”. The entire point of the test – the reason it, and the courses, were designed – was to give students the chance to earn college credit in regular high school courses taught by their high school teachers. It was not designed for admissions purposes and is generally not used by admissions committees for admissions purposes.</p>
<p>You don’t even have to report your AP scores on the application. That’s not being dishonest, and it’s not “tricking” the adcoms. And scoring a 3 on the test and an A in the class doesn’t necessarily mean you look inflated. Think about the way college courses are graded: it is entirely possible to get a C on the final exam and still pull a B or an A in the class. Likewise, it’s also possible to get an A on the final and still get a C in the class. So it is with AP scores – it’s even MORE possible for a student to get an A in the class (which is an entire semester or year’s worth of work) and still get a 3 on the test (which is a high-pressure event that only takes 3 hours tops). It doesn’t make your A look any less deserved.</p>
<p>In addition to that, admissions committees look at your entire package. One small thing does not “keep you out” of anything. If you have a 4.0, near-perfect SAT scores, great SAT II scores, and the rest of your package is tight…do you think a school will decline you based on one 3 (especially when by the AP rubric a 3 means “qualified” as in “qualified to do higher-level college material in this area”?</p>
<p>Juillet, you came off a bit strong, but thanks for that clear-cut answer. Just what I needed - not many people provide such answers, which was why I asked the question in the first place.</p>
<p>May I suggest you consider what a college counselor (and former Dartmouth admissions officer) has to say on this topic for unhooked applicants:</p>
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<p>Source: Acing the College Application</p>
<p>^Really? Actually that is the first time I heard that type of response. Everyone has told me that SAT, SAT II are more important than AP and IB because AP and IB has a lot to do with the teacher that you have in school/resources your school can provide you for this test. For example, there are many schools in which the teacher doesn’t even cover everything on the test and the student is forced to learn it by themselves…so it is unfair to compare this student to someone that goes to a top school.</p>