Receive Scores and Recruit Students
Once you have established clear policies to recognize AP in admissions and/or course placement, it will be important to clearly communicate those policies to prospective students, and to instruct them on how to submit official scores to your institution. Additionally, College Board can support your recruitment efforts by connecting you to our worldwide population of AP students and schools offering AP courses and exams.
Receiving AP Scores
Step 1: Set up a Score Send Code
Students who have taken AP Exams are able to have their official score transcripts sent to universities. Before your university can receive AP and SAT scores from students, you’ll need a College Board Score Send Code. Instructions for establishing a Score Send code can be found here. It is recommended to include your Score Send code on your website and in recruitment materials for students. Although students have the ability to search by name, using a Score Send code will ensure that they can easily distinguish between institutions with similar names or multiple campuses.
Step 2: Access Scores
Only official scores sent from College Board can be verified and trusted. Mail delivery of paper AP score reports has been discontinued, and scores are now available on the AP Higher Ed Score Reporting portal. Staff at colleges, universities, and scholarship programs will be able to access AP student score reports sent to their institution in .txt fixed-width file format and in PDF format in the new portal. Please reference the AP Higher Education Score Reports Portal guide to learn more and secure access for your university.
Students should be directed to the Sending AP Scores page for instructions on how to send their scores to your institution.
Recruiting AP Students
The millions of students around the world who have taken AP courses and exams are highly motivated and academically prepared for the rigors of postsecondary study. College Board can assist you in more effectively communicating with these students and making them aware of the opportunity to use their exam scores in the admission process at your institution.
Communication Best Practices
University-bound AP Exam takers say that AP entry requirements and recognition policies are highly influential as they make their decision on where to enroll. To maximize your reach to the millions of students around the world who have participated in AP:
Make entry requirements involving AP easy to find on your website. They’re visible to students around the world, not just those from the U.S. Remember, students in nearly 140 countries are taking AP courses and exams.
If your institution offers clear information about your recognition of IB, Cambridge, and other programs offering students university-level rigor in the classroom, ensure that you’re doing the same for AP.
In your outreach materials, encourage students to submit official AP score reports to your institution. You can direct them to the Sending AP Scores page for guidance.
Recruitment Best Practices
The AP Program is a powerful channel through which you can identify and communicate with highly motivated, academically qualified university-bound students.
College Board can help you:
Understand where AP is offered in your target markets globally and find new schools to recruit.
Make early outreach to high-achieving students who have taken AP in years 9−11 of secondary school.
Recruit to specific courses: AP students tend to apply to disciplines related to the AP Exams they’ve taken.
We make the following resources available to assist you in meeting your enrollment goals through the use of AP:
The AP Course Ledger lists secondary school courses offered worldwide that are authorized to include the ”AP” designation when listed on students' transcripts.
The AP Couse Ledger provides valuable information to help universities:
Identify schools that offer AP in target recruitment geographies.
Locate students who are taking particular AP courses, in support of recruitment to specific majors or courses of study.
Gain context during review of applications for admission by better understanding AP offerings at students’ secondary schools and the extent to which a student challenged themselves in their studies.
The ledger is updated annually and can be accessed here.
College Board Search and Connections
AP is an important channel for international student recruitment. College Board makes it possible to connect with millions of students around the world who have taken College Board assessments like AP and SAT or engaged with our college planning tool, BigFuture®.
College Board Search
College Board Search (Search) offers institutions unparalleled reach. It helps you connect with millions of high school students each year. Search allows you to strategically engage students based on the qualities you value and build meaningful relationships with students to create a pipeline of best-fit prospects. Use Search to communicate with nearly 6 million students in the United States and nearly 500,000 students in over 200 countries worldwide.
The tool enables you to be strategic in your outreach by using criteria such as the following to communicate with the students best qualified for success at your institution:
Precise geographies in which you want to search.
Student participation and performance in individual AP Exams.
Graduating cohorts with whom you want to communicate.
Learn more about Search.
Connections
Connections™, a complement to Search, is a student-centered recruitment tool that helps you reach students taking specific in-school digital tests like the SAT and PSAT-related assessments in the U.S.
This privacy-forward approach complements Search by:
Enabling recruitment and admissions teams to reach students who take in-school assessments.
Streamlining recruitment efforts and segmenting students into audiences for tailored messaging.
Connecting you with students on the BigFuture School mobile application, a 1-stop shop where students can view their scores and get information on topics such as colleges and careers.
Learn more about Connections, such as new customized direct mail options with Connections Print.
You can request more information, view webinar content, and ask for a consultation to explore Search and Connections here.