Been hearing about the AP Scholar awards and just found out there's something called an 'AP Scholar with Honor'. What does this mean and what do I need to do to get this award? Is it about the number of exams or the scores? Does it provide any perks during college applications? Eager to hear your thoughts, thanks!
The AP Scholar with Honor award is a recognition given by the College Board to students who have exhibited exemplary college-level achievement on their AP Exams. To qualify for this particular award, you need an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
In terms of perks for college apps, this award can definitely be a nice gold star to have on your application, especially at more selective schools, but is unlikely to be a determining factor in admissions. Colleges generally care more about awards that reflect accomplishments that took place over a longer period of time, like being named all-state in your sport, rather than those based on your performance on just a handful of tests. With regards to APs specifically, earning high grades in the courses themselves generally matters more than your performance on the exams.
Of course, being an AP Scholar with Honor certainly won't hurt you, but do make sure to still invest in the other key areas of your application, and if you aren't named one, don't stress - there are plenty of other ways you can showcase your strengths.
To learn more about how AP scores in general are evaluated during the college process, I'd check out this blog post from CollegeVine: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-important-are-ap-scores-for-college-admissions/. The guidance also roughly applies to the AP Scholar with Honor award.
I hope you find this overview helpful!
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