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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:
| Score of 3+ (passing) | Score of 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Language (Total Group) | 92.6 | 68.8 |
| Spanish Language (Total Language) | 88.5 | 19.5 |
| Seminar | 86.8 | 6.7 |
| Studio Art Drawing | 85.5 | 21.9 |
| Calculus BC Calculus AB Subscore | 85.1 | 48.4 |
| Studio Art 2-D Design | 85.1 | 19.3 |
| Spanish Language (Standard Group) | 83.7 | 15.9 |
| Calculus BC | 80.6 | 42.6 |
| Physics C Mechanics | 79.4 | 36.4 |
| Japanese Language (Total Language) | 76.9 | 45.1 |
| German Language (Total Group) | 75.5 | 23.0 |
| French Language (Total Group) | 75.4 | 17.0 |
| Computer Science Principles | 74.5 | 13.8 |
| Spanish Literature | 73.2 | 9.6 |
| French Language (Standard Group) | 71.8 | 11.0 |
| Studio Art 3-D Design | 71.6 | 12.0 |
| Italian Language (Total Group) | 71.5 | 18.4 |
| Physics C E&M | 71.4 | 31.9 |
| Chinese Language (Standard Group) | 70.3 | 21.8 |
| Research | 70.3 | 16.8 |
| Economics- Micro | 69.5 | 23.5 |
| German Language (Standard Group) | 68.9 | 9.7 |
| Government and Politics Comparative | 68.1 | 23.2 |
| Computer Science A | 67.0 | 24.2 |
| Italian Language (Standard Group) | 66.4 | 7.6 |
| Psychology | 64.2 | 19.1 |
| Biology | 64.1 | 6.4 |
| Physics 2 | 63.5 | 12.9 |
| Latin | 63.4 | 12.5 |
| Art History | 61.2 | 11.1 |
| Music Theory | 60.9 | 19.2 |
| Music Theory Aural Subscore | 60.7 | 18.7 |
| Japanese Language (Standard Group) | 60.6 | 17.9 |
| Music Theory Non-Aural Subscore | 59.9 | 19.1 |
| Economics- Macro | 57.6 | 17.4 |
| Calculus AB | 57.5 | 18.7 |
| European History | 56.0 | 9.3 |
| English Language | 55.0 | 9.1 |
| World History | 55.0 | 8.5 |
| Statistics | 54.3 | 13.6 |
| English Literature | 52.6 | 6.8 |
| Chemistry | 52.4 | 10.1 |
| United States History | 50.9 | 10.8 |
| Environmental Science | 49.4 | 9.5 |
| Government and Politics United States | 49.3 | 11.1 |
| Human Geography | 48.9 | 10.7 |
| Physics 1 | 41.9 | 5.4 |
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.