What AP scores should I submit to top colleges?
Out of all the AP courses I have taken, my top two scores at the moment are both 4s. However, considering the competitive schools that I am applying to, I am not going to report these scores since they are relatively bad for the type of student that usually applies. However, if I only submit these 4s, the admissions officers will know these are my highest two scores out of all of the scores I have received, and this may reflect badly on me. What should I do? Should I just not report them to be safe, only report my 4s, or report all of my scores? (think in context of schools with acceptance rates of 15% and less please!)
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2 answers
I'm assuming that if you are taking a total of 9 APs from your previous post and that maybe you've taken 4-5 already something like that.
So if you don't report and AP scores than there is the possibility that your application reader will think that you are deliberately not reporting any scores because they are low scores like 2s and 3s. So you can't really second guess what they will think if you don't report your AP scores.
But if you report the two 4s then that is certainly a respectable score regardless and I would think that an application reader would like to see those 2 4s versus imagining what the scores are since they are not being reported. If you don't report, they assume you didn't get 5s. But I'm not so sure they are assuming you didn't get 4s. Most likely they are assuming they are 2s and 3s. Therefore, it might serve you best to report the 4s.
Of course, this is completely up to you.
AP scores mean very little in the context of college admissions. They matter more after you've been accepted, for credit or placement purposes. If you've taken a lot of APs and only submit two scores, it will look a little strange. I'd actually not submit at all, as the two 4s won't boost your application, and may only draw attention to "missing" scores.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have more questions!
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Thank you! This is very helpful :) Have a great day!!