Do colleges care about AP test scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my kid's HS (not dmv) students are required to take the AP test if they take the class. Free/reduced lunch kids pay $15 and everyone else pays the full amount, nearly $100/class.

Absolutely this is an equity issue. While I have no problem with low income kids getting a break, this is another example of donut hole families getting the shaft, especially at a time when you are saving every penny for college.

I guess one of the few perks of DCPS...AP tests are free for everyone regardless of means. I suppose the flip side, is that if you enroll in the AP class you are required to take the AP Test (since they have to pay for the test at the beginning of the school year).

[Anonymous]

I don't know where this myth about top colleges not giving credit for AP scores came from. There are many that do, but depends on the subject and the score (5s and sometimes 4s in some exams).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes also you want the credit

My son took probably six AP classes but his university basically didn’t give credit for them. They liked to see the academic rigor, but in some ways it made the APs seem bogus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know where this myth about top colleges not giving credit for AP scores came from. There are many that do, but depends on the subject and the score (5s and sometimes 4s in some exams).

The myth comes when they don’t give credit for them. My son got 4s and 5s, didn’t matter. It is not a myth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a shame that they consider the scores. There are some kids at my DDs school that can’t afford the test and are too embarrassed to ask the counselor for a fee waiver. I think equity issues can be blown out of proportion but paying for application, sat and AP fees makes it harder for poor kids who now have to jump through hoops and ask for financial help. Should be automatically free for FARMS kids.

AP tests are given in school and free for all DCPS students. That is the best way to handle it and makes it a no issue

Free FCPS too. Where is the PP from? Obviously not from around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a shame that they consider the scores. There are some kids at my DDs school that can’t afford the test and are too embarrassed to ask the counselor for a fee waiver. I think equity issues can be blown out of proportion but paying for application, sat and AP fees makes it harder for poor kids who now have to jump through hoops and ask for financial help. Should be automatically free for FARMS kids.

AP tests are given in school and free for all DCPS students. That is the best way to handle it and makes it a no issue

Free FCPS too. Where is the PP from? Obviously not from around here.

Not free in MCPS

[Anonymous]

My DS scored 4s and 5s . Still retaking some classes for major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a shame that they consider the scores. There are some kids at my DDs school that can’t afford the test and are too embarrassed to ask the counselor for a fee waiver. I think equity issues can be blown out of proportion but paying for application, sat and AP fees makes it harder for poor kids who now have to jump through hoops and ask for financial help. Should be automatically free for FARMS kids.

AP tests are given in school and free for all DCPS students. That is the best way to handle it and makes it a no issue

Free FCPS too. Where is the PP from? Obviously not from around here.

Not free in MCPS

In PG County, free for free and reduced lunch kids, and for everyone else the first three are free each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a shame that they consider the scores. There are some kids at my DDs school that can’t afford the test and are too embarrassed to ask the counselor for a fee waiver. I think equity issues can be blown out of proportion but paying for application, sat and AP fees makes it harder for poor kids who now have to jump through hoops and ask for financial help. Should be automatically free for FARMS kids.

AP tests are given in school and free for all DCPS students. That is the best way to handle it and makes it a no issue

Free FCPS too. Where is the PP from? Obviously not from around here.

Not free in MCPS

In PG County, free for free and reduced lunch kids, and for everyone else the first three are free each year.

Correction - I wrote it backwards -- you have to pay for the first three each year. If you want to take more than that, it's free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they care. Taking the class tells them you're ambitious with your education, which is good. The score tells them about the rigor of the course and how well you learn material at a fast pace and high level of expectation. That's even more important.

Hopefully this won't be the deciding factor in whether to take the course, though. If a kid is getting a C in a class and practice AP Test scores that indicate they're likely to get a 3 on the exam, but they're loving the course and feeling empowered, they should stick with it. They're getting a C in a college-level course that's taught at a level that many very selective schools are willing to give credit for. That's really good for a high school student and will make them a stronger student when they get to college, wherever that may end up being.

I don't think they care as much for the scores. The class, yes.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a shame that they consider the scores. There are some kids at my DDs school that can’t afford the test and are too embarrassed to ask the counselor for a fee waiver. I think equity issues can be blown out of proportion but paying for application, sat and AP fees makes it harder for poor kids who now have to jump through hoops and ask for financial help. Should be automatically free for FARMS kids.

URMs do not have to submit AP scores to top schools, if that helps you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know where this myth about top colleges not giving credit for AP scores came from. There are many that do, but depends on the subject and the score (5s and sometimes 4s in some exams).

Posters do not want to name schools here, for obvious reasons. Some parents take offense at other kids' chosen college.

If you are interested in a particular school, you basically know what they are asking for - and you submit every last thing they require - no matter how much they require to be considered for admission.

Other schools don't require much, and that is fine.

[Anonymous]

This question is unanswerable. Each AO opens a file and looks at what it there. If there are more good things then that is a positive. So being able to have 5s is a positive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you save the PDF of the common app application, you can see the scores listed in there when you self-report.

How can an admissions officer not look at that?

DC reported 5 test scores -two 5s and three 4s.
He didn't list AP Scholar with Distinction on awards

...and even if they didn't care, DC worked really hard to get those scores, which will provide college credit.

Only state schools or low tier colleges will give you “college credit” for AP scores. And guarantee the college course in that subject your kid “worked so hard” for a test score in is much better actually taught at a college by a professor.

Already checked with the T50 school that he already committed to.
Getting credit for 4 out of the 5 AP exams taken so far. That's 12 hours of course credit

What school? Public or private?

Public. In some of the courses, they only give credit if you get a 5. Some courses will take a 4, but no lower than that.
Kid is aiming to get all 5s on the 6 AP exams he's taking in the Spring. Already mapped it out with his intended major- in some of the courses, he only needs a 4. He had already talked to the admissions office as well as current students on how they used their AP credits.

Good to have credits, but we also know that some will count for elective credit only, and you don't really know how helpful/not helpful those are until later- also depending on the major. He took the AP courses because he wanted the rigor. Getting credit was secondary, but when he saw how much it could possibly save on tuition (by graduating early) and the potential of having a more flexible college schedule (by not having to take 15 credits every semester), he will take the opportunity to take the exams.

There was another public, lower ranked school that we looked at that will take as low as 3s for credit.