Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 07:52     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Only report 5s on your college application, but you can submit 4s for credit once you enroll. 4s are seen as essentially Bs, Do you want to submit Bs into your testing profile?


LOL no. Just no. As others had said earlier, if you are required to take the AP and don't report, assumption is it was a 3 or lower. If three people are applying to a top school and two of them submit 4s for their APs and you submit none, do you really think this gives any advantage to you?


Sara on AN says don’t submit 4s that they weaken your application. She was an admissions officer at Penn and read a thousands of applications. Is she wrong and you are right? How many files have you read?


DP. I have flat out heard current admissions people at mit say you should submit all scores, and if they see you took an AP and did not submit an exam they can’t help but assume it was not a good score and these gaps should be explained in the additional info. So, it probably depends on the particular school and also the time period. When was Sara an admissions officer? Was grade inflation as rampant back then and were there as many applicants to top schools then as there are now?


I just checked her Linkedin and she left her last AO job in 2010. Hardly recent information and I would never go on just one person's opinion.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 07:45     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Only report 5s on your college application, but you can submit 4s for credit once you enroll. 4s are seen as essentially Bs, Do you want to submit Bs into your testing profile?


LOL no. Just no. As others had said earlier, if you are required to take the AP and don't report, assumption is it was a 3 or lower. If three people are applying to a top school and two of them submit 4s for their APs and you submit none, do you really think this gives any advantage to you?


Sara on AN says don’t submit 4s that they weaken your application. She was an admissions officer at Penn and read a thousands of applications. Is she wrong and you are right? How many files have you read?


DP. I have flat out heard current admissions people at mit say you should submit all scores, and if they see you took an AP and did not submit an exam they can’t help but assume it was not a good score and these gaps should be explained in the additional info. So, it probably depends on the particular school and also the time period. When was Sara an admissions officer? Was grade inflation as rampant back then and were there as many applicants to top schools then as there are now?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 07:36     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Only report 5s on your college application, but you can submit 4s for credit once you enroll. 4s are seen as essentially Bs, Do you want to submit Bs into your testing profile?


LOL no. Just no. As others had said earlier, if you are required to take the AP and don't report, assumption is it was a 3 or lower. If three people are applying to a top school and two of them submit 4s for their APs and you submit none, do you really think this gives any advantage to you?


Sara on AN says don’t submit 4s that they weaken your application. She was an admissions officer at Penn and read a thousands of applications. Is she wrong and you are right? How many files have you read?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 07:27     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Only report 5s on your college application, but you can submit 4s for credit once you enroll. 4s are seen as essentially Bs, Do you want to submit Bs into your testing profile?


LOL no. Just no. As others had said earlier, if you are required to take the AP and don't report, assumption is it was a 3 or lower. If three people are applying to a top school and two of them submit 4s for their APs and you submit none, do you really think this gives any advantage to you?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 06:42     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Only report 5s on your college application, but you can submit 4s for credit once you enroll. 4s are seen as essentially Bs, Do you want to submit Bs into your testing profile?


4's are considered A's/B's in the UK where they are used as equivalent entry reqs for A levels.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 06:33     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a T10. Got 3s and 4s on most AP exams. One 5. Did not submit them. But did submit the SAT since it was 99th percentile



That is pretty embarrassing. For someone aiming for T10, they should have gotten virtually all 5s

If you think your kid received a good education, they did not. They slipped in through the cracks to a T10 but have no business being there.


Colleges like to see you took the most rigorous courses available, and that includes AP classes. Colleges don't care that much if you took the AP exams, and IMO, they would rather you not get the AP credit so that you have to pay for that course in college.

My kid got a 1440 on their SAT, one 2 (CS that they absolutely hated), two 3s and two 4s on their AP exams. The 2 and 3s were from AP exams that DC took when they were a freshman and sophomore. The 4s were during junior year. Maturity may impact how well you do.



This exactly. The scores are for the student and for determining exemption for certain classes. Not for determining admissions.


Standardized test scores like APs absolutely can be used in admissions.
.

+1

This was the case 20 years ago (the fact that high AP exams helped). How could that have disappeared in an even more competitive environment?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 06:22     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Only report 5s on your college application, but you can submit 4s for credit once you enroll. 4s are seen as essentially Bs, Do you want to submit Bs into your testing profile?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 06:15     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.


Its mostly a given to report 4's as well as 5's. If for instance your kid to AP chemistry this year, you'll know that only 17% of test takers got a 5, so a 4 is not a bad grade.

If you don't report the 4 they will assume the grade was much lower.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 06:01     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Our freshman got an A in the class and 4 on the exam. As PP said, sometimes experience and maturity are a factor. If they start to get 5s on future exams do we just report the 5s? Do colleges care the year that they did the class? If they score lower on the harder ones we'll of course report nothing as someone suggested.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2025 05:55     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a T10. Got 3s and 4s on most AP exams. One 5. Did not submit them. But did submit the SAT since it was 99th percentile



That is pretty embarrassing. For someone aiming for T10, they should have gotten virtually all 5s

If you think your kid received a good education, they did not. They slipped in through the cracks to a T10 but have no business being there.


Colleges like to see you took the most rigorous courses available, and that includes AP classes. Colleges don't care that much if you took the AP exams, and IMO, they would rather you not get the AP credit so that you have to pay for that course in college.

My kid got a 1440 on their SAT, one 2 (CS that they absolutely hated), two 3s and two 4s on their AP exams. The 2 and 3s were from AP exams that DC took when they were a freshman and sophomore. The 4s were during junior year. Maturity may impact how well you do.


Those are very low scores. Your child did not learn the material. Where the heck did they go to high school?


Go away nasty cow


Not that pp but not nasty, observant. Scores of 2 are essentially a fail. Scores of 3 are the lowest possible accepted. At the UCs for example, you can gain a full class credit with 5s and 4's but only a half credit with a 3. There is value in higher grades and I mean in termsm of $$$ as well as kudos.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 23:21     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a T10. Got 3s and 4s on most AP exams. One 5. Did not submit them. But did submit the SAT since it was 99th percentile



That is pretty embarrassing. For someone aiming for T10, they should have gotten virtually all 5s

If you think your kid received a good education, they did not. They slipped in through the cracks to a T10 but have no business being there.


Colleges like to see you took the most rigorous courses available, and that includes AP classes. Colleges don't care that much if you took the AP exams, and IMO, they would rather you not get the AP credit so that you have to pay for that course in college.

My kid got a 1440 on their SAT, one 2 (CS that they absolutely hated), two 3s and two 4s on their AP exams. The 2 and 3s were from AP exams that DC took when they were a freshman and sophomore. The 4s were during junior year. Maturity may impact how well you do.


Those are very low scores. Your child did not learn the material. Where the heck did they go to high school?


Go away nasty cow
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 19:55     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a T10. Got 3s and 4s on most AP exams. One 5. Did not submit them. But did submit the SAT since it was 99th percentile



That is pretty embarrassing. For someone aiming for T10, they should have gotten virtually all 5s

If you think your kid received a good education, they did not. They slipped in through the cracks to a T10 but have no business being there.


Colleges like to see you took the most rigorous courses available, and that includes AP classes. Colleges don't care that much if you took the AP exams, and IMO, they would rather you not get the AP credit so that you have to pay for that course in college.

My kid got a 1440 on their SAT, one 2 (CS that they absolutely hated), two 3s and two 4s on their AP exams. The 2 and 3s were from AP exams that DC took when they were a freshman and sophomore. The 4s were during junior year. Maturity may impact how well you do.


Those are very low scores. Your child did not learn the material. Where the heck did they go to high school?
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 19:49     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a T10. Got 3s and 4s on most AP exams. One 5. Did not submit them. But did submit the SAT since it was 99th percentile



That is pretty embarrassing. For someone aiming for T10, they should have gotten virtually all 5s

If you think your kid received a good education, they did not. They slipped in through the cracks to a T10 but have no business being there.


Colleges like to see you took the most rigorous courses available, and that includes AP classes. Colleges don't care that much if you took the AP exams, and IMO, they would rather you not get the AP credit so that you have to pay for that course in college.

My kid got a 1440 on their SAT, one 2 (CS that they absolutely hated), two 3s and two 4s on their AP exams. The 2 and 3s were from AP exams that DC took when they were a freshman and sophomore. The 4s were during junior year. Maturity may impact how well you do.



This exactly. The scores are for the student and for determining exemption for certain classes. Not for determining admissions.


Standardized test scores like APs absolutely can be used in admissions.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 16:21     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a T10. Got 3s and 4s on most AP exams. One 5. Did not submit them. But did submit the SAT since it was 99th percentile



That is pretty embarrassing. For someone aiming for T10, they should have gotten virtually all 5s

If you think your kid received a good education, they did not. They slipped in through the cracks to a T10 but have no business being there.


Colleges like to see you took the most rigorous courses available, and that includes AP classes. Colleges don't care that much if you took the AP exams, and IMO, they would rather you not get the AP credit so that you have to pay for that course in college.

My kid got a 1440 on their SAT, one 2 (CS that they absolutely hated), two 3s and two 4s on their AP exams. The 2 and 3s were from AP exams that DC took when they were a freshman and sophomore. The 4s were during junior year. Maturity may impact how well you do.



This exactly. The scores are for the student and for determining exemption for certain classes. Not for determining admissions.
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2025 16:17     Subject: As and Bs in AP course but 2s and 3s on tests

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Everyone on this thread sounds too defensive.

Not all public schools are equal. Many have grade inflation and are not rigorous. Some are very rigorous, have high competition, and are not grade inflation. There are no generalizations you can make by using the word "public school".

Not all private/independent schools are equal. Several are not rigorous and do have grade inflation. Others are extremely rigorous and screen applicants for admission in 9th grade and do not inflate grades. So you can't generalize across privates either.

It's better to use "grade-inflating schools" (combo of public and private) and "non-grade-inflating schools" (combo of public and private).

The very selective, highly sought and rigorous private and public high schools in the US (you will know if your kid is at one) do not inflate.

Getting 5s on AP tests put you at around the top 10-15ile of test-takers in the US, similar to getting a 1300 or above on the SAT.

If your student gets As on the AP class and only a 2-3 AP score on the AP test that was created for that course and you did in fact study and try, it's possible you're at a grade inflating school (could be publlic or private).

If your student gets A/A-/B+ on the AP class and 5 on the AP test, your school is probably grading them appropriately and it's not grade inflated (could be public or private).





I think sadly, there is likely one generalization that applies to most public schools across the entire country. Under-funded. Or in the case of Moco, misdirection of funds.


In constant 2022–23 dollars, public schools in the United States spent an average of $18,614 per pupil in 2020–21, which represents an increase from $12,206 per pupil in 1990. Public schools in the US aren’t underfunded; they’re funded better than they have ever been.

As the pp stated, it's mostly misdirected funding.


These amounts are usually straight averages. Meaning they mostly account for wage growth and inflation and negate to account for the myriad of changes and increases such as the cost of curriculum, technology, Special Education, etc.