AP Scores and What They Mean For Ivy League Admissions

AP Scores

AP season is just around the corner, and for many students, that means the start of intense anxiety. How do I know what a “good” score is for each of the tests? How will this impact my chances of college admissions? Can I get college credit for these tests? Let’s discuss AP scores and what they mean.

These are valid questions, but they are certainly no cause for fear or worry. In this post, I will attempt to give you a sense of the perceived difficulties of different AP tests, and grapple with how these scores are considered by college admissions offices.

Let’s look at the data

As for the perceived difficulty of each test, I offer the following table, drawn from the College Board report on Student Score Distributions 2017, to summarize:

What your scores mean

Then, in terms of how these scores impact your college admissions process, I will offer some information. In a 2009 New York Times article, the Dean of Admissions at Harvard responded to questions as to the relative importance of AP exams, noting that “the best predictors at Harvard are  Advanced Placement  tests and  International Baccalaureate  Exams, closely followed by the College Board subject tests.” Predictors of college success make up a large portion of the college deliberation process, so in this sense, it seems that Harvard has considered AP exams as relevant to their admissions process. Reasonably, it could be presumed that many other schools of similar caliber might hold AP scores in similar regard.

Remember…

That being said, though it seems that schools consider AP exams predictors of collegiate success, the scores are not definitive indicators of an applicant’s likelihood of acceptance. In reality, schools consider a wide range of factors when looking into an applicant. At elite schools, when most students have some degree of numeric evidence for their capability (e.g., GPA, SAT, ACT, AP scores), “intangibles” come to matter quite a bit. This may take the form of an essay, supplemental material, or compelling aspect of a resume.

Overall, though AP season can seem quite overwhelming, it is worthwhile to bear in mind the reality of college admissions. APs can be held as predictors of collegiate success, but by no means do the encompass the whole student. For more help with college admissions, visit Empowerly.