Getting a 4 on AP Exam: What Does It Mean?

Read this article to find out more about what constitutes a good AP score and whether or not a high score will help you get into college.

The scores for AP exams range from 1 (low) to 5 (high). Get a 4 or higher, and you may be able to earn college credit without paying college tuition! Here is all the information you need to know about AP scores, whether you recently received your AP results or are thinking about enrolling in an AP course.

What Does Getting a 4 on AP Exam Mean?

If you score a 4 on your AP® exam, you should be pleased with yourself. Earning a 4 indicates that you put in a lot of effort to learn the material by heart and put it to use. For these reasons, a score from the AP® program like a 4 looks fantastic on your application.

More prestigious colleges will start accepting your AP exam scores if you receive a 3 or higher. A score of 4 is deemed by the College Board as “well qualified”, meaning that you know the material and could do well in the college class. If you converted the number to a letter grade, it was predicted that you would get a B in the class.

Colleges like Penn State, Franklin, Marshall University, and numerous others accept a score of 4. You should be proud of yourself if you receive a 4, and many colleges and universities will honor your efforts.

What is a Good AP Score Compared to Other Test-Takers?

A 3 or higher is typically regarded as a good AP score. Comparing your AP score to the mean for that test that year, however, will give you an even better idea of how well you did.

For instance, the typical score for AP Biology in 2021 was 2.83. For that test, anything higher would be regarded as above average. The average score varies from test to test because AP exams come in a variety of levels of difficulty. A 3 is a below-average score for AP Calculus BC while it is an above-average score for AP Chemistry.

While some AP exams may be challenging, others might be simpler. For instance, the exams with the highest pass rates overall are AP Calculus BC, AP Spanish Literature, and AP Physics C: Mechanics.

Credits, Credits, Credits

After being accepted into a college, you can choose your major right away. You need not be concerned if you don’t. If your college accepts the credits you earned through taking the AP exam, you will still receive them even if you haven’t declared a major.

You’ll notice that if you already have AP® credit for an introductory course, you won’t need to take it when selecting your classes for your first college semester. You won’t have to take Biology 100 in college, for instance, if you receive a 5 on the AP® Biology exam.

By taking into account the program you are enrolled in, colleges determine how many credits each AP® score is worth. The college may require you to retake calculus if it has a stellar calculus program that covers more material than AP® Calculus AB or AP® Calculus BC.

Understanding Your AP® Scores

The five numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are used to assign scores to the AP® exams. Students can see where they stand since a score of 1 is the lowest and a score of 5 is the highest.

AP® Score of 1

This is not preferred because a 1 is the lowest score that can be obtained on an AP exam. Thankfully, not many students receive a 1 at the end of the exam unless they have to leave due to a test-related issue or they are attempting to pass the exam without having studied the required material.

In fact, on the AP® rubric, a 1 is described as “no recommendation”. No college in the United States or abroad will grant you college credit for an AP® score of 1 for this reason.

AP® Score of 2

If you were to get a 2, then the College Board has determined that you are “possibly qualified” to pass a college-level class of the same subject level. Colleges typically do not accept this score unless there are exceptional circumstances.

A 2 indicates that although you may have prepared thoroughly and studied diligently, something may have gone wrong during the exam. It’s possible that you misunderstood or didn’t properly apply the information.

AP® Score of 3

A respectable score is an AP® score of 3. The College Board designates a 3 to be “qualified”. That indicates that you were able to comprehend and apply the material to the point where you could pass the college course. Although you didn’t get the best grade in the class, you did pass. As a result, many state colleges accept a 3. A 3. wouldn’t be accepted by some colleges with higher admission standards, like Harvard or Yale.

A 3 has been designated as the average on AP® exams because it is the most typical score. Your essays might not have been up to par, or you might have omitted too many multiple-choice questions, which could be why you didn’t receive a higher grade.

AP® Score of 5

The highest you could have achieved on the AP exam was a score of 5. Congratulations if you got a 5 on the test. A 5 indicates that you have studied and worked more for this exam than anything else.

Your essays were excellent, and despite the fact that you might have gotten a few of the multiple-choice questions wrong, you still gave the impression that you were familiar with the material from your AP® course. Your degree will be accepted by any college that accepts AP® credits.

Conclusion: Getting a 4 on AP Exam

Colleges are generally looking for a 4 (“well-qualified”) or 5 (“extremely qualified”) on the AP exam, but some may grant credit for a 3 (“qualified”). These results indicate that you have demonstrated your ability to complete the work in a college-level introductory course.

On most colleges’ websites, you can find information about AP credit. If your exam result qualifies for the credit, self-report it on the college application and send the official report via the CollegeBoard.

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