Navigating the College Board Transcript Request Process for AP and CLEP Exams

For students navigating the college application process, understanding how to send Advanced Placement (AP) and College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) scores is crucial. The College Board facilitates the sending of these scores to colleges and universities, and knowing the procedures, deadlines, and fees involved can streamline the process. This article provides a comprehensive guide to requesting transcripts and sending scores through the College Board.

AP Score Reporting: A Comprehensive Guide

The College Board offers several options for sending your AP Exam scores to colleges, universities, and scholarship programs. Understanding these options and associated deadlines is essential for ensuring your scores are received in a timely manner.

Free Score Send

Every year you take AP Exams, you are entitled to one free score send. This allows you to designate one college, university, or scholarship program to receive your scores at no cost. To take advantage of this free score send, you must make your designation by the June 20 deadline. Designating a recipient by this deadline ensures that your scores are received by early July.

Additional Score Reports

If you need to send additional score reports or miss the June 20 deadline for the free score send, you can order additional score reports online for a fee. The fee is $15 per report, and scores are typically delivered to the designated recipient within 3-5 days.

How to Send AP Scores

To send your AP scores, follow these steps:

Decide which college or scholarship program you want to send your scores to.
Click "Send AP Scores" on the College Board website.
Follow the instructions provided to complete your request.

Understanding Your Score Report

Your AP score report includes all your scores from all AP Exams you have taken in the past. Unless you choose to withhold or cancel any of your scores, your entire score history will be sent to your designated college, university, or scholarship program.

When you view your online score report, it's important to check that it’s complete. Some scores may take longer to process due to later testing dates or other circumstances, such as the late arrival of testing materials or extra time needed to match records. If you notice any discrepancies or have a multiple account issue, contact AP Services for Students. Note that during score release in July, AP Services for Students may experience longer than usual response times.

Deadlines and Delivery

When you designate a college or university using your free score send by the June 20 deadline, your scores should be received by early July. If you order additional score reports for a fee, your scores will be delivered to your designated score recipient in 3-5 days.

To confirm whether your scores have arrived at your college, you can check your personal online account on the college’s website, if available. Alternatively, you can contact the college’s admission or registrar office directly. The AP score reporting system shows you what date your scores were sent to an institution, but it won’t tell you when the scores arrived or if the institution has processed the report data yet.

Sending Scores Strategically

If you are taking AP Exams as a junior or sophomore and know you will be applying to a specific college, it is advisable to use your one free score send to designate that college as a score recipient. You have until the June 20 deadline to use your free score send online. You can also request additional score sends online for a fee.

Read also: Phoenix Suns' New Center

If you are a senior entering college in the fall, it’s crucial to check your college’s deadline for receiving AP scores. In general, you should send your scores no later than July of your senior year of high school. Some colleges may not accept AP scores after you have arrived on campus as a freshman.

Withholding or Canceling Scores

The AP Program offers options to withhold or cancel AP Exam scores. Withholding a score means it will not be sent to a specific college or scholarship program. The fee to withhold a score is $10 per score per college, which does not include the cost to send your score report to the designated institution. You may later remove the withhold by sending AP Services a signed written request.

Canceling a score means the exam will not be scored, or if it has already been scored, the score will be permanently deleted from the records. There is no fee for canceling a score, but your exam fee is not refunded, and archived scores cannot be canceled. For scores not to be sent to the college or university you designated using your free score send, AP Services for Students must receive your cancellation request by June 15 of the year you took the AP Exam.

AP Numbers and IDs

If you last took AP Exams in 2019 or earlier, you received an AP number, an eight-digit number that served as your official identifier for the exam administration. Your AP number can be found on the downloadable PDF version of your score report in AP Scores for Students. In 2020, the AP number was replaced by the AP ID.

Who Receives Your Scores?

Your scores are automatically sent to you, the college, university, or scholarship program you designated using your free score send, and educators in your school and district, including your AP teachers. You can also submit an online order to send your scores to additional colleges and universities for a fee. Your parents do not have access to your scores unless you have given them your College Board account login information.

Read also: About Grossmont Community College

Colleges, universities, and scholarship programs that you send your scores to may use your information to contact you about admissions and educational, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities. The College Board also shares with your school and district the names of the organizations you choose to send your AP Exam scores to.

Archived Scores

If you took your last AP Exam before 2018, your AP scores are no longer viewable in the online score reporting system. These scores are archived.

How Colleges Use AP Scores

Colleges generally want to see that you are taking the most rigorous coursework available to you. While admission policies vary, AP Exam scores can play a role in the admission decision. Furthermore, colleges will only use those scores that meet the minimum required score to receive credit or placement.

Kentucky Residents

If you are a resident of Kentucky, your AP Exam scores will automatically be sent to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA). If you do not want your scores sent to KHEAA, you must send a request to AP Program, Educational Testing Service, 1425 Lower Ferry Road, 29Q, Ewing, NJ 08618. Your request must be received by June 15 of the year you took the exam.

CLEP Score Reporting: A Step-by-Step Guide

In addition to AP exams, the College Board also manages the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), which allows students to earn college credit for knowledge acquired through independent study, prior course work, on-the-job training, professional development, cultural pursuits, or internships. Understanding how to send your CLEP scores and transcripts is essential for receiving the appropriate college credit or completing your college application process.

Sending CLEP Scores

When you register for your CLEP exam, you can send your scores to two institutions for free. If you need to send scores to more than two institutions, you can request a transcript. It’s important to note that CLEP scores for exams taken on or after July 1, 2022, will be available for 10 years from the test date.

Resending Scores

Individual scores with a "Sent by CLEP" status can be resent one time, starting 21 days from the "Sent date" and up to 6 months following. To see if your score is available for a resend, log in to the My CLEP student portal and follow these guidelines:

Go to the "Scores" tab.
Click "Read More+" under "My Score Wasn’t Received" within the Common Questions box.
A "View Scores for Resend" link will appear if you have any scores eligible to be resent for free.
Follow the guidance provided.

A score resend will be sent to the designated CLEP contact we have on file.

Ordering Transcripts

For non-military transcripts, which cost $20 each, use the secure checkout process:

Log in to the My CLEP student portal.
Go to the "Scores" tab and select "Send Scores" located within the Request Transcript box.

Acceptable forms of payment for transcript orders are debit or credit cards.

Military Transcripts

Military personnel who take DANTES-funded CLEP exams don't order their transcripts through College Board like most test takers. To get a transcript for DANTES-funded CLEP exams, use the Parchment Transcript Ordering Service. The cost for military transcripts is $30 each.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

Deadlines: Pay close attention to deadlines for free score sends and college application requirements.
Score Review: Always review your online score report to ensure it is complete and accurate.
Strategic Sending: Consider sending scores early if you know which colleges you'll be applying to.
Withholding/Canceling: Understand the implications and deadlines for withholding or canceling scores.
College Policies: Check each college's specific policies regarding AP and CLEP credit.
Contacting Support: Don’t hesitate to contact AP Services for Students or CLEP customer service for assistance.

tags: #college #board #transcript #request