Do AP Tests Matter in College Admissions?

AP scores serve as critical differentiators on the college application. Rampant grade inflation means that half of college applicants apply with straight As, so admissions departments are looking for outside indicators of a student’s academic capabilities.

Like IB exams — and unlike SATs and ACTs — AP exams test knowledge gained in a particular subject area. It’s impossible to fake your way to a 5 on an AP test.

Therefore, AP scores give the admissions department a benchmark for comparing students. For some context, a top exam score of 5 is achieved by roughly 10% of students, though this differs by the exam.