Do AP 5's Matter for College Admission?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Given that they are self-reported, does it matter for college admission?
DD has had 5's, and I am happy for her as it means she is gaining knowledge and maybe can get some early credits. However, I wonder if all her 5's help in college admission? She is a rising senior and has taken 7 AP classes (this year was Chem, BC, Lang, Comp Sci). Next year will be another 5 APs, so she would take 12 total by graduation. |
Anonymous
|
It's a data point. It's a plus.
They will consider it in the context of her school. If it's rare, then she gets a bump. If there are many many straight 5 kids, then she is not standing out. This question cannot be answered without context. |
Anonymous
| Is this a real question or are you just here to brag about your kid? Are you really wondering whether all 5's on APs are going to help your child? Are you also wondering whether a 1550+ SAT will help in college admissions also, since in most cases SATs are self-reported also? |
Anonymous
|
Congratulations on such an achievement!
In a perfect world, it should be determinative, just like the SAT (or ACT) since the College Board is a national organization and thus AP scores can be used to compare candidates coming from very different educational systems. This is because GPA is hard to trust - so many public schools have grade inflation, and each school weighs advanced courses differently, forcing colleges to recalculate GPA anyway. And yet everything I've read seems to discount the importance of AP scores. I do not understand it. It's not really fair. Even if you hold that paying for APs is a factor of wealth and thus inequitable, that reasoning doesn't make any sense. By far the greatest injection of inequity is the extra-curricular category, that weighs so much in US college admissions. The cost of APs, by comparison, is negligible. So...? |
Anonymous
|
The self-reporting part of it doesn't matter, because if your child is accepted, they will ask for proof at some point. You'd better not lie, otherwise your offer will be rescinded.
|
Anonymous
| I don’t see how it is not helpful. If a kid has a 4.0, it helps show that grade inflation may not rampant at the school. If a kid has a lower GPA it can tell the story that grading at the school may be rigorous. |
Anonymous
Don't be so weird about this. It's a real question. SAT has an obvious bump if high, but I know kids who take AP classes but due to sports decide not to take the test, or doesn't do as well. If you are going to get offended, then maybe just don't respond. |
Anonymous
| We are in MCPS so grade inflation is obviously an issue, but it seems like many kids are also taking rigorous classes. So the non-subjective difference would only be AP scores, but I also wonder how important the scores are. You would think it should be given the other variables. |
Anonymous
| Yes it helps and it’s also an enormous boon once you’re at college, either in higher course placement or in actual college credit. If you’re at a state school you can graduate a year early or get a double or even triple degree. |
Anonymous
|
Of course 5s help. Just like a 4.0 vs a 3.5 helps. But as a pp noted, *how much* it helps has to do with how your kid stacks up relative to her peers and also what schools she’s applying to.
The fact that they are self-reported is irrelevant, and I think the way you opened your question is throwing people off. You make it sound like AP scores might not matter because applicants might not be honest or something? But you do have to send the official score reports and if they don’t match what you put in your application, that’s a huge deal, so I highly doubt there’s a great number of people lying about them. |
Anonymous
What does this comment even mean? SAT/ACT scores are also self-reported for most schools. Heck, all ECs are self-reported as well, with no "official reports" to be sent later to verify the claim. |
Anonymous
| Yes, it can help. AOs have said so. There is one poster on here who for years has shown up in almost every thread to say they don’t matter. Ignore them. |
Anonymous
|
I placed out of around a year of college even though I still went all 4 years. It didn’t help me with admissions bc my high school gpa came from a pressure cooker and it wasn’t a good environment for me at the time. I got into a good program based on my HS reputation. My SATs were high, I even took ACT and got really high. I had a mix of
4s and 5s on every AP I took (which was a lot I don’t remember the exact number). There were also SSATs that were subject specific I think? I did really well on those. I had a very clear picture of being a relatively privileged kid who could take tests well but didn’t apply myself in the classroom and relied on natural talent to muddle through. It was pretty accurate to be honest but I think the strong test performance both saved me and threw up red flags. So my conclusion is that as it fits in with the overall pattern it can confirm a profile (good test taker, good student, etc) but isn’t going to radically change trajectory. |
Anonymous
I agree. There is a high school near us that has an "AP for All" curriculum (meaning everyone takes AP classes - the non-AP versions don't exist). The school is known among parents for not being rigorous at all, almost no homework, and kids who take the AP tests, generally get 1's or 2's. But the college placements are amazing (Duke, Michigan, Cornell), because all the transcripts show 4.0s in 15+ AP classes. There really should be some check on this, but there isn't. |
Anonymous
No. College admissions aren't looking for AP scores and they don't ask for them. They aren't even available for senior year classes before colleges make their admissions decisions, and they don't make offers contingent on AP exam scores. |