Search "AP Scholar Award" and you'll still find guides describing National AP Scholar and State AP Scholar as real, current honors worth chasing. They aren't anymore. College Board discontinued both years ago -- and if you're planning your AP schedule around one of these titles, it's worth knowing exactly which tiers are still real before you build a strategy around a recognition that no longer exists.

The three tiers still active today

Per College Board's own current published criteria:

  • AP Scholar -- scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.
  • AP Scholar with Honor -- an average score of at least 3.25 across all AP Exams taken, with 3 or higher on four or more of them.
  • AP Scholar with Distinction -- an average score of at least 3.5 across all AP Exams taken, with 3 or higher on five or more of them.

Note what "average across all AP Exams taken" actually means: it's calculated from every AP Exam score on a student's record, not just a cherry-picked subset -- a weak score from freshman year counts in that average the same as a strong one from senior year, unlike the separate, optional decision of which scores you actually send to a specific college.

What's gone: National, State, DoDEA, and International AP Scholar

College Board's own AP Central page for educators lists these as discontinued, along with the exam cycle each was last based on:

  • State AP Scholar -- last awarded based on 2019 AP Exams.
  • DoDEA AP Scholar -- last awarded based on 2019 AP Exams.
  • International AP Scholar -- last awarded based on 2019 AP Exams.
  • National AP Scholar -- last awarded based on 2020 AP Exams.
  • National AP Scholar (Canada) -- last awarded based on 2020 AP Exams.
  • National AP Scholar (Bermuda) -- last awarded based on 2020 AP Exams.

State AP Scholar required the highest average score (at least 3.5) among the male and the female student in each state with the most 3-or-higher scores. National AP Scholar required a 4.0 average across all exams taken, with a 4 or higher on eight or more -- a genuinely demanding bar built around volume. That's the direct explanation for why it's gone: College Board's own stated reasoning is that these awards "encouraged students to take a large number of exams," and discontinuing them was a deliberate move away from rewarding sheer AP volume.

What's left in that "elite" tier

There's still one surviving award built for students who go well beyond the standard Scholar-with-Distinction bar -- but it comes with an eligibility restriction most domestic applicants don't expect. See what the AP International Diploma actually requires, and why most U.S. students can't qualify for it before assuming it's the direct successor to what National AP Scholar used to be.

What this means for you

  • Don't build an AP strategy around chasing National or State AP Scholar. Neither exists anymore -- any guide describing them as an active goal is working from outdated information.
  • The three active tiers reward breadth and consistency, not volume for its own sake. Scholar with Distinction only requires five exams at a 3.5 average, not the eight-exam, 4.0-average bar the old National tier demanded.
  • Know that your average includes every exam you've ever taken, not just your best ones. A rough freshman-year score stays in the calculation through graduation.
  • If you already earned one of the discontinued awards before it was phased out, it's still real and still appears on your official score report -- discontinuing the award going forward didn't retroactively erase past recipients' recognition.

Sources