Important College Question re: APs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if you get B's but then get a 5 on the AP test?

Lots of kids who get 5s get the College Board to send the scores in as part of the application. The AP scores aren't needed for the application. But sending them in can help prove that your A at a middling school wasn't a fluke of easy grading, or that your B might have been at a really rigorous school.

I hate to say this, but the PP who wrote that it's best to get As in AP courses was right -- at least for the most selective colleges. I think Penn takes something like 12% of applicants. That wasn't a non-answer--at least for colleges like Penn. Schools in Penn's range have plenty of applicants who took AP classes and got As in them. To make the cut at a place like Penn and the schools that take less than 10% of applicants you don't need As in every single AP class, but you need As in most because you need an unweighted GPA of 3.8 or 3.9. (Don't shoot the messenger.)

The trade-off between class rigor and GPA becomes more important at the wide range of great colleges that are somewhat less selective. At most of these schools, my understanding is that it's better to take a more rigorous class and get a B.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if you get B's but then get a 5 on the AP test?

Lots of kids who get 5s get the College Board to send the scores in as part of the application. The AP scores aren't needed for the application. But sending them in can help prove that your A at a middling school wasn't a fluke of easy grading, or that your B might have been at a really rigorous school.

I hate to say this, but the PP who wrote that it's best to get As in AP courses was right -- at least for the most selective colleges. I think Penn takes something like 12% of applicants. That wasn't a non-answer--at least for colleges like Penn. Schools in Penn's range have plenty of applicants who took AP classes and got As in them. To make the cut at a place like Penn and the schools that take less than 10% of applicants you don't need As in every single AP class, but you need As in most because you need an unweighted GPA of 3.8 or 3.9. (Don't shoot the messenger.)

The trade-off between class rigor and GPA becomes more important at the wide range of great colleges that are somewhat less selective. At most of these schools, my understanding is that it's better to take a more rigorous class and get a B.

Good analysis. Spot on.

[Anonymous]

strength of schedule is key - they want to see your kid pushing self. ap classes, tough languages, advanced math / science.

It's better to shoot high (unless the kid cannot handle and that is diufferent story)