Many students, especially juniors, wonder if it is worth it or not to submit to colleges a score of three that they got on their AP exam. Yes, it is considered passing, but is it good enough for colleges?
The minimum requirement for college credit at some colleges is a three because a three is considered passing the AP test, but not every college will accept it. Most of the top schools will only accept fours and fives for credit.. Princeton, Yale, and MIT are examples of schools that will only accept fours and fives.
“I believe that students should submit the AP scores if they are a three because even if they don’t get academic credit, they can get elective credit,” AVID teacher Sherry Lockie said.
Many schools will not accept a three in place of a required class, like biology, but they may give general credit toward graduation, saving time and money towards finishing a degree.
“Regardless of scoring a three you should still submit your scores to the college because you can get some general ed credit towards graduation and it shows that you have taken the test. A three is a passing score, so I would say to submit those scores,” AVID teacher Karen Kawasaki said.
Some people are concerned that a three will make them look bad and hurt their chance to get into college. Submitting a three to colleges does not harm someone’s chance of getting into their desired college and will open up more opportunities and help for them according to counceler Blanca Arreguin.
Most colleges are more interested in the course grade.
“Typically colleges do not penalize you when you get a three, but you know what score they want up front and most colleges value the total grade more than one day, four hours taking the test because your grade throughout the trimester says more about you than one day,” counselor Blanca Arreguin said.
