All About APs and Subject Tests
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Apr 7, 2009 Posted by Ned Johnson
You've taken the SAT once, maybe twice. You've got a great set of scores. You're beginning to page through those thick college books and get excited. What now? The good news is that the two most important factors in college admissions are grades and SAT or ACT scores. Done. The bad news is that AP and Subject Tests are looming. Keep your cool, use your time wisely, and the spring of your junior year just might be doable!
SAT Subject Tests are a great opportunity to show that you're ready for the rigors of college course work. Not all Subject Tests, however, are for everyone. If you've got a college list together, check with individual schools for their requirements: some don't require any, some require one or two, and very few require three. You should take only those tests for which you are the most prepared. Just because your math teacher has covered all of the topics on the Math Level 2 test doesn't mean it's for you. The idea is to reinforce strong SAT scores - not undermine them. June is the perfect time to take a history or science - especially if you've just taken the AP course. If you need to put off a test until the fall consider making that one Literature or maybe Math. In all cases, take some practice tests to see where you stand. If you feel that you will need many weeks worth of preparation to get ready - you're likely taking the wrong test.
So raise your hand if you or someone you know is near the point of melting down about AP exams this month? At the risk of invoking the ire of every AP teacher from here to California, I offer this advice: AP scores don't matter as much as other things or as much as you think. AP exams are not a required admissions criterion for college. Repeat the mantra: "Grades first. Grades first." Grades are what matter most to the colleges you hope to attend. That you take AP courses matters; it demonstrates rigor. That you do well in those courses matters; again, grades come first. In contrast, the scores you get on your APs are secondary.
A solid AP score can only strengthen your college application. Once you are in college, AP scores will matter if you hope to opt out of a 101 course and tackle the harder stuff early on, if you want to graduate early, or you plan to double or triple major. However, if you study like a maniac to get a top score on the AP and, as a consequence, bomb a test, quiz or paper in that or another class, you have made a bad trade-off.
Ideally, you've been preparing all along, have a light workload in your other classes, and will do fabulously on your APs. But, if your life is harried, you're buried in work and you are stressing out, remember: grades first. You can get into the college of your dreams with lower AP scores in a way that you cannot with lower grades. Grades first.