AP Scores in College Admissions: Do They Really Matter

As you complete high school, you are looking toward college admissions. You may find high competition for admission to your dream colleges. Many times you will ask yourself – do colleges look at ap scores? You might try to find some extracurriculars, tests, and courses that might bring you an edge over other candidates during the admission process. 

When it comes to AP exam scores, you might wonder if colleges look up the AP scores or if you are wasting your precious time on AP courses; however, if you have already made efforts in studying, taking AP exams, and thinking that AP scores matter, then you are at the right place. In this article, we will discuss the various aspects of the scores and how useful they might be for securing a seat in a college.

What Impact will your AP Score Bring to your Application for Admission?

It depends on the college to which you are applying. AP scores are not the sole criteria to decide the admission of a candidate to the college. Some colleges have spaces in their application to self-report your AP scores which is mainly an optional requirement that might be asked in your application for admission. 

The college considering AP scores as the factor for admission might segregate the application according to the qualification of the candidates. Due to the high level of competition among the candidates who have undergone various courses and tests like AP exams will be considered superior.

In the case of AP scores, if you have a high AP score, then it might differentiate you from other candidates. If your AP scores are low, it may negatively impact your approval of the admission application, so you must not fill in your AP score in the application if your scores are low. 

Effect of Different AP Scores in the Application

Providing an AP score of 3 or higher will bring a surplus among other candidates and may also bring higher chances of approval of admission applications. If your app provided a very low AP score, like two or less than 2, then this will negatively impact your application, and your application might also get rejected. 

You might also be considered below the candidates who have not provided AP scores in their application. So, you must only report the AP score when they are really good (3 and above 3); if they are below 2, you must not report it in your application.

Order Benefits of AP Scores Despite Admission Procedure

There are many benefits of the AP score. Like other entrance exams and short programs, it adds a level of knowledge to you. In the AP scholar program, there are various honorary awards for the students with a particular grade for scoring 3 + in the AP exam. You get a national AP award. 30 overs may not make any difference in college admission. 

Still, it proves your overall academics. Some of the colleges allow you to receive college credits for extracurricular activities and taste scores like the AP exam also the AP scores are weighted heavily and also can improve your overall GPA some colleges in different states of rewards and other benefits for the students who have taken the AP tests sometimes you can also skip some prerequisite course with your score. As we said earlier, some of the schools may or may not use AP scores for giving extra grades.

Colleges that Use AP Scores for Placement and AP Scores for Giving Credits

Do AP scores matter? Yes, they do! And they will help you get admission to the given list of colleges that accept AP scores for admitting students to their campuses: 

College or University	Uses APs for placement	Uses APs for Credit
American University	Yes	Yes
Amherst College	No	No
Auburn University	No	Yes
Bates College	No	Yes
Baylor University	Yes	Yes
Binghamton University	No	Yes
Boston College	Yes	Yes
Boston University	Yes	Yes
Bowdoin College	Yes	Yes
Brandeis University	No	Yes
Brown University	Yes	No
Bucknell University	Yes	Yes
Caltech	No	No
Carleton College	No	Yes
Carnegie Mellon University	Yes	Yes
Case Western Reserve University	Yes	Yes
Claremont McKenna College	No	Yes
Clemson University	Yes	Yes
Colgate University	Yes	Yes
Colorado College	Yes	Yes
Colorado State University	Yes	Yes
Columbia University	Yes	Yes
Cornell University	Yes	Yes
Dartmouth College	Yes	Yes
Davidson College	No	Yes
Duke University	No	Yes
Elon University	Yes	Yes
Emory University	No	Yes
Fairfield University	Yes	Yes
Florida State University	Yes	Yes
Fordham University	Yes	Yes
Furman University	No	Yes
George Mason University	Yes	Yes
George Washington University	No	Yes
Georgetown University	Yes	Yes
Georgia State University	No	Yes
Georgia Tech	Yes	Yes
Harvard University	Yes	Yes
Harvey Mudd College	No	No
Haverford College	No	Yes
Indiana University	Yes	Yes
Johns Hopkins University	Yes	Yes
Lehigh University	Yes	Yes
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Yes	Yes
Middlebury College	No	Yes
New York University	No	Yes
North-eastern University	Yes	Yes
northwestern University	Yes	Yes
Notre Dame	Yes	Yes
Ohio State University	Yes	Yes
Oregon State University	No	Yes
Pepperdine University	Yes	Yes
Pomona College	Yes	Yes
Princeton University	Yes	Yes
Rice University	Yes	Yes
Scripps College	No	Yes
Smith College	No	Yes
Stanford University	No	Yes
Swarthmore College	Yes	Yes
Syracuse University	Yes	Yes
Texas Christian University	Yes	Yes
Tufts University	Yes	Yes
Tulane University	Yes	Yes
University of Alabama	Yes	Yes
University of California, Berkeley	Yes	Yes
University of California, Irvine	Yes	Yes
University of California, Los Angeles	Yes	Yes
University of California, San Diego	No	Yes
University of California, Santa Barbara	Yes	Yes
University of Chicago	Yes	Yes
University of Colorado – Boulder	Yes	Yes
University of Florida	Yes	Yes
University of Georgia	Yes	Yes
University of Miami	Yes	Yes
University of Michigan	Yes	Yes
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)	No	Yes
University of North Carolina	Yes	Yes
University of Oregon	Yes	Yes
University of Pennsylvania	Yes	Yes
University of Richmond	Yes	Yes
University of Rochester	Yes	Yes
University of South Carolina	Yes	Yes
University of Southern California	Yes	Yes
University of Texas – Austin	Yes	Yes
University of Virginia	Yes	Yes
University of Washington	Yes	Yes
University of Wisconsin	Yes	Yes
Vanderbilt University	Yes	Yes
Vassar College	Yes	Yes
Villanova University	Yes	Yes
Virginia Tech	Yes	Yes
Wake Forest University	Yes	Yes
Washington and Lee University	No	Yes
Washington State University	Yes	Yes
Washington University in St Louis	Yes	Yes
Wellesley College	Yes	Yes
Wesleyan College	Yes	Yes
William & Mary	Yes	Yes
Williams College	Yes	Yes
Yale University	Yes	Yes

Final verdict

AP can be useful in your Academics in many ways. If you have taken an AP test, your best score of three or more can be used for sale for the report if your college demand if you have to lose a score that is one or two, you must not report it if you are getting AP classes your showing dedication towards study it shows you are using your schedule which is considered as a quality which might be considered in your admission to selection Institute. If the college includes AP scores in the grades, you can also earn some college credits through it.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. In the college you might have applied for admission does not demand AP scores in their application form. How can you include my AP scores and report to them? Is it mandatory to have AP scores in the application?

Ans: If they are not demanding your AP scores and you cannot include AP scores in the application. It might be that the course you opted for in the institute does not require AP scores, as different courses have different requirements.

2. Is it compulsory to give the AP test in High School to take admission to colleges? Do colleges look at AP scores?

Ans: AP scores are not compulsory in taking admission to colleges. They are just taken as a deciding factor that differentiates you from the different candidates. If you have given the AP test and your scores are also good, you can include them to strengthen your application. If you have a poor AP score, you must not self-report it. If you do not have an AP score, then simply skip the space for filling in AP scores.

3. What are the different AP awards given under the AP scholar program?

Ans: The list of programs

1. AP Scholar – Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams
2. AP Scholar with Honor – Granted to students who receive 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
3. AP Scholar with Distinction – Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams
4. AP International Diploma – Awarded to students who display exceptional achievement across various disciplines.