The College Board grades AP exams on a scale from 1 to 5 with
each grade meaning the following:
5: Extremely well qualified
4: Well qualified
3: Qualified
2: Possibly qualified
1: No recommendation
In practice, most colleges require at least a 3 and many of
the more selective universities demand a 4 or 5 before granting
credit.
Who Sees Your Scores?
In July, AP grades are sent to you, your high school, and the
college you designated when you signed up for the test. For a $10
fee, you can receive them by phone on July 1. These transcripts
contain the scores from all the AP exams you have ever taken—this
year's results and the results of exams you may have taken in
previous years.
You can have your transcript sent to as many additional
colleges as you want for $10-$20 each. Or you can have your
scores withheld or even cancelled if you contact the College
Board before July 15. Generally speaking, if you are a senior,
you do not want to cancel; most colleges have already made their
decisions.
If you are a junior and are certain you did not do well, you
might want to cancel the scores and take the test again during
your senior year. If you do not cancel the score, you can still
take the exam again, but both scores will show up on the
transcript.