Does anyone know if colleges look at “total unweighted/ unweighted GPA (as in average GPA through the years I have attended the same high school)” or do they look at GPA from each school year? Thank you in advance!
They definitely look at your total unweighted GPA. They may look at each year if the cumulative GPA is lower to see if there is a strong upward trend or an aberration due to a traumatic event (death in the family, illness).
They see what gpa your GC tells them in that section, based on how your school calculates. But other than colleges that just admit by stats, they look at the transcript to see the real meat: courses and grades over each year.
Not all hs show gpa by year. But, by the time they’re looking at the transcript, what matters is those courses and grades.
Every college will get your full HS transcript and can look at it as they choose. Many colleges recalculate GPA based on their own criteria (ex. academic classes only, non weighted etc.)