<p>i go to a public highschool in california, im a senior. the first semester grades are finalized at around December 20, whereas private school applications (USC, Loyola Marymount, etc) are turned in around January 15.</p>
<p>I was curious if those schools will be looking at my senior year first semester? Like, does that calculate into the GPA?</p>
<p>Some schools ask you to submit something called a “midyear report” for your grades in the first semester of senior year. The midyear report is usually due around February— check the website of each college for the specific deadlines and whether a midyear report is needed.</p>
<p>In those cases, the first semester senior year grades do not have to be on the transcript that is sent initially with the application.</p>
<p>Most schools (all that I know of) will ask for your first semester grades/recalculated GPA during the regular decisions process. During early admissions, they can’t ask for your first semester grades when making the decision but they will ask you to update your grades with them even after you find out you’re in or not.</p>
<p>So for the Jan. 15th deadlines, yeah they will almost certainly be looking at your first semester grades (though I don’t know the specific policies of USC, Loyola Marymount, etc). For me, my school doesn’t calculate first semester grades until late January - after deadlines to most schools. However, they still accept transcripts submitted “as soon as they become available”.</p>