It’s sad when I meet with students and their families for the first time after one or more AP exams scores are in the books, and they regret to discover how important 4s and 5s can be in today’s college admissions game. When so many applicants take advanced courses across the nation and globe, AP scores of 4s and 5s are a great way to stand out and convince admissions committees of a student’s academic excellence and college readiness at even the highest undergraduate level.
As a career high school educator, I don’t object to the academic weight AP exams carry. Unlike today’s major college entrance exams, the SAT and ACT, AP exams provide much more direct measures of the academic expectations at competitive colleges. University professors weigh in heavily on course content— that is, the specific knowledge bases and skill they’re looking for in their students—and the design and content of the actual exams. Most colleges accept an AP score of 3 or higher as fulfilling a college-level prerequisite course, in some cases earning students credit, and ALL of them accept 4s and 5s.
Any college-minded AP teacher—that is, one invested in helping students present their best academic selves to admissions committees—spend at least some class time discussing, practicing, or otherwise preparing students for the big exam at the end of the course. For some AP courses, teachers can and do access student-produced answers on portions of AP exams and count them toward final grades. Nevertheless, many students report after the fact—even some who had done well in the class—that the exam was rarely mentioned and they found themselves ill-prepared.
The good news is that it’s not too late to get to work toward scoring a 4 or 5 on any AP exam, still five or six weeks away, irrespective or your class, your teacher, or even your commitment and performance to date. There are many prep books available at all major book stores (Princeton Review’s are consistently excellent), and motivated students can adequately self-study from them. It will require some real sweat equity in some cases, but a 4 or 5 is still within any AP student’s reach.
For students who want to bolster their confidence in getting a 4 or 5, CPE offers private tutoring and Review Classes (designed in the spirit of college-readiness as cram sessions ;-)) for the most popular AP courses. Our English Language & Composition and US History classes have consistently helped students feel better going into their exams and reach their exam goals.
I say again, hopefully catching you in advance, for college-bound students who have worked hard all year in an AP course, and even those who’ve been earning A‘s all year, it’s important for college admissions to demonstrate your accomplishments in that class on the AP exam. 4s and 5s alongside any grade support academic excellence at the college level.