Anonymous wrote:I’m choosing to believe the admissions officer who told my kid to her face that they look at AP scores when they don’t have SAT/ACT scores. That was last fall, less than a year ago. If your idea that AP scores don’t matter is older than that, maybe be open to the idea that this is a new development for the TO era.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the time a senior applies they will have 3 YEARS of grades and ECs, they will have test scores, letters of recommendations, and essays. Let’s say they also have UW 4.0, a rigorous course load and 1550/35+ In holistic admissions, with all that information, why on earth would an admissions committee look at how student performed on a single exam they took in a couple of hours on a day they may or may not have been at their best and scored a 4 vs a 5 as indicative of anything meaningful that overrides all the other data.

Aside from contextual insight, I don’t see how AP scores add much analytically (notwithstanding Yale’s text flexible approach) All the other info matters far more.

“This student is wonderful….but they got a 4 in APUSH when they were 14 or 15 years old…if only I didn’t see that score….sigh”.

I don’t see that happening.

I can tell you why they look at it. For kids who have an A+ in AP Chemistry and then get a 2 on the AP Chem test - well, that puts the students entire transcript in doubt. So would a 3. Would a 4? Yes, imo.

Now, an A- in AP Chem and a 4 on the test makes sense. And if the kid is applying to college as a History major, who cares anyway. But if they're applying pre-med and this is a T10 school - then the college will wonder what hope this kid has in Organic Chem, where half their A/5 kids struggle.

If the kid has a 1550/35+, why introduce any of this doubt?

If you're talking about a T50 school, then sure.

My top private school kid got an A- (actually a 91.3) in AP Chem and scored a 4 on the exam. She's applying pre-med to a top 20 school, and will send her scores. She has a 35 ACT and 4.3 weighted GPA (they don't provide unweighted GPA in her school, and I don't want to calculate it right now. I have no doubt she has a very strong chance of admission to this school based on Scoir (which shows it at 40% admission rate). Not sending the score is more suspect than sending a 4. Like another poster indicated, the assumption would be that was a 3 or below.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the time a senior applies they will have 3 YEARS of grades and ECs, they will have test scores, letters of recommendations, and essays. Let’s say they also have UW 4.0, a rigorous course load and 1550/35+ In holistic admissions, with all that information, why on earth would an admissions committee look at how student performed on a single exam they took in a couple of hours on a day they may or may not have been at their best and scored a 4 vs a 5 as indicative of anything meaningful that overrides all the other data.

Aside from contextual insight, I don’t see how AP scores add much analytically (notwithstanding Yale’s text flexible approach) All the other info matters far more.

“This student is wonderful….but they got a 4 in APUSH when they were 14 or 15 years old…if only I didn’t see that score….sigh”.

I don’t see that happening.

I can tell you why they look at it. For kids who have an A+ in AP Chemistry and then get a 2 on the AP Chem test - well, that puts the students entire transcript in doubt. So would a 3. Would a 4? Yes, imo.

Now, an A- in AP Chem and a 4 on the test makes sense. And if the kid is applying to college as a History major, who cares anyway. But if they're applying pre-med and this is a T10 school - then the college will wonder what hope this kid has in Organic Chem, where half their A/5 kids struggle.

If the kid has a 1550/35+, why introduce any of this doubt?

If you're talking about a T50 school, then sure.

Anonymous wrote:At the time a senior applies they will have 3 YEARS of grades and ECs, they will have test scores, letters of recommendations, and essays. Let’s say they also have UW 4.0, a rigorous course load and 1550/35+ In holistic admissions, with all that information, why on earth would an admissions committee look at how student performed on a single exam they took in a couple of hours on a day they may or may not have been at their best and scored a 4 vs a 5 as indicative of anything meaningful that overrides all the other data.

Aside from contextual insight, I don’t see how AP scores add much analytically (notwithstanding Yale’s text flexible approach) All the other info matters far more.

“This student is wonderful….but they got a 4 in APUSH when they were 14 or 15 years old…if only I didn’t see that score….sigh”.

I don’t see that happening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think I’d submit the 4s if you’re at a known, well-regarded private like Sidwell. If you’re at a pretty unknown or not high caliber private, then I probably would to some.

Really? Why? Is a 4 that bad?

A 5 is not viewed by AOs as different from a 4. A 3 yes. But a 4 or 5 is viewed exactly the same even for those that care. There is no boost from a 5 that a 4 will not get you.

Do you have a source for your assertion? We know that Sara Harberson discusses seeing a kid rejected from Penn because he has a 4 not 5 in his “field.” I’m interested in what your source is.

Anonymous wrote:I’m choosing to believe the admissions officer who told my kid to her face that they look at AP scores when they don’t have SAT/ACT scores. That was last fall, less than a year ago. If your idea that AP scores don’t matter is older than that, maybe be open to the idea that this is a new development for the TO era.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the AP class is on your kids transcript, they should send a 4/5 or the school will assume they got a 3 or lower.

This. My kid will submit 4s for 2 exams. The top 10 ED school he will apply to accepts 4 on comp sci A for credit so clearly they think it's a good score, and he is proud of his 4 on the physics exam. All other ap exams are 5s including Calc BC, Lang, APUSH, Stats, Macro, Micro. He has nothing to hide.

But that is two 4s and a ton of 5s. Easier to send the 4s. My DC has four 4s and one 5. Not as easy with this ratio.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the AP class is on your kids transcript, they should send a 4/5 or the school will assume they got a 3 or lower.

This. My kid will submit 4s for 2 exams. The top 10 ED school he will apply to accepts 4 on comp sci A for credit so clearly they think it's a good score, and he is proud of his 4 on the physics exam. All other ap exams are 5s including Calc BC, Lang, APUSH, Stats, Macro, Micro. He has nothing to hide.

Anonymous wrote:If the AP class is on your kids transcript, they should send a 4/5 or the school will assume they got a 3 or lower.

Anonymous wrote:My private school kid just took APUSH as a 9th grader and scored a 4, and I thought that this would help her with admissions later on- is that not the case? I had no idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think I’d submit the 4s if you’re at a known, well-regarded private like Sidwell. If you’re at a pretty unknown or not high caliber private, then I probably would to some.

Really? Why? Is a 4 that bad?

A 5 is not viewed by AOs as different from a 4. A 3 yes. But a 4 or 5 is viewed exactly the same even for those that care. There is no boost from a 5 that a 4 will not get you.