Why a 4 on any AP exam is basically the same thing as a 5

Why a 4 on any AP exam is basically the same thing as a 5 for top college admissions. Even if it's related to your major, even if you are applying to a top 20 college, even if you are applying to an Ivy League university, it is still a very good score and basically the exact same thing as a 5 from a college admissions point of view. Right off the bat, college admissions officers do not really care that much about the exact AP score that you get. AP scores are meant to provide more context on the high school in which you come from. For example, it can help them understand if your high school has grade inflation or grade deflation. The number of AP exams that you are allowed to take or that you actually do end up taking can also provide context on your course rigor. If your high school offers 20 AP exams for example and actually allows you to take that many AP courses to begin with, which is pretty insane, and you only take two or three, then that's not going to look that great. But the actual scores that you get on those exams don't matter that that much. They know that the exact score that you get, especially the difference between getting a 4 and a 5, will depend very heavily on how good of a teacher you have or how closely your high school actually follows the AP curriculum. In addition, obviously, to how much effort you put into the course and how well you actually understand the material, but it is a combination of all of these different factors. This is why I always say, regardless of the college that you are applying to, always self-report all three, fours, and fives. These are good scores and will help your application.