Can I sign up to retake an AP Exam? – AP Students (2024)

FAQs

Can I sign up to retake an AP Exam? – AP Students? ›

The short answer is yes, but there's more that you need to know before making a decision. AP exams are only offered once per year in the spring, but it is possible to retake an AP exam in a future school year.

AP Exams are only given once a year, but you may repeat an exam in a subsequent year. If you do, both scores will be reported unless you request that one be withheld or canceled.

You must not retake your AP exam only if you did not like your score. It is not the correct reason, considering the re-test can be pretty expensive – $ 94 per AP exam you want to retake. Along with the cost, there are numerous other things you need to take care of.

As for the impact on your college applications, colleges won't be informed if you sign up for an AP exam and don't take it, so there's no direct impact. Colleges primarily review the scores that you choose to send them. Though, it's important to reflect on why you chose to withdraw from the exam.

For a fee of $30 per exam, you may request to have your multiple-choice answer sheet rescored by hand. Fill out the Multiple-Choice Rescore Service Form and return it by October 31 of the year you took the AP Exam(s).

Generally speaking, a 2 is not a good AP score, as it is not considered a passing score by the College Board. If you get a 2 on your AP exam, it might be better not to submit that score to the colleges you're applying to.

A score of 3 is considered "qualified," which means you have demonstrated a basic understanding of the material. Most colleges and universities accept 3's for credit or placement, but this varies depending on the institution.

If you fail an AP exam, you will not receive college credit for that course. The good news is that a failed exam does not affect your GPA.

The most substantial consequence to failing an AP exam is that you will not receive college credit for the course. However, many colleges do not even offer credit for AP courses. So, you may not be missing out on an opportunity at all. Either way, you shouldn't look at this as a scary consequence.

Yes. We recommend taking the AP course before taking an AP Exam—but it's not required. We want to be sure homeschooled students and students in schools that don't offer AP can take AP Exams.

Does not taking an AP Exam look bad? ›

AP exams have very little weight in the admissions process - the courses are what matter more (as do your grades). It won't necessarily look bad if you don't take the exam, but you may miss out on college credit if you end up going to a non-Ivy (or equivalent school).

Colleges will not see that you registered and then skipped the exam, so it shouldn't have an impact on your college applications directly. However, if you do well on the AP exam, it can strengthen your application by demonstrating mastery of college-level material.

Interpreting AP Scores in Admissions is a Human Process

But there are no hard and fast rules, such as not submitting 4s or 3s, as some suggest because, in some cases, students should submit those lower scores since admissions officers will assume even worse if they withhold them.

Usually, a 70 to 75 percent out of 100 translates to a 5. However, there are some exams that are exceptions to this rule of thumb. The AP Grades that are reported to students, high schools, colleges, and universities in July are on AP's five-point scale: 5: Extremely well qualified.

Sending your AP exam score to colleges is optional.

If your exam score is eligible for credit, self-report it on the college application and send the official report through the CollegeBoard. Never report or send an exam score of a 1 or 2. They are not considered “passing” scores.

You can take an AP Exam each time it's offered. Exams are administered once a year in May. Your score report will include your scores for all the AP Exams you have taken unless you request that one or more scores be withheld or canceled.

Failing AP exam will not affect your grades. Passing an AP test or course lets you score significant credit before commencing your college degree. It also enables you to save time and money as you wouldn't need to pay for introductory classes in college. Hence, skipping it for the advanced level.

AP Exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Many U.S. colleges grant credit and/or advanced placement (that means they let you skip the equivalent course once you get to college) for scores of 3 and above.

Students who earn AP scores of 2 are well prepared to succeed in introductory college coursework. Compared to academically similar college peers who did not take the AP course, AP students who earn scores of 2 perform as well or better when they take those introductory college courses.