It is a question that we get from students all of the time! They know that a 3 is a solid score, and shows mastery of the material in their AP class, but is it worth sending it to colleges? And if they don’t send it, will the college assume that they got a 1 or a 2? Like many things in the college application process, it depends!
According to the College Board’s charts, AP score distributions vary widely. For example, fewer that 5% of students taking the AP Literature and Composition scored a 5, while over 38% of students earned the same 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam. The numbers are even higher for some of the World Languages and Cultures exams.
The first thing that you should do is check the AP Score credit policy for the colleges that you are applying to. If they will give you credit for the 3, then by all means report it! On the other hand, if they only give credit for a 5 on that exam (not even for a 4), you may want to hold off.
The other thing to take into consideration is the selectivity of the college itself. As a general rule, the more selective the institution, the more applicants they will have with stellar AP scores. Think about how you will compare and make a call with that it mind!
The bottom line is to remember that a 3 is a very good score! Congratulate yourself for taking on the challenge and doing well!
