I was told that your fall semester GPA is the only one that UC’s care about and that they won’t look at your subsequent terms. Is that true?
In the sense that all decisions are based on fall semester grades and any classes prior to that, it is true that UCs do not consider your spring semester grades.
But it is important to note that it is not that they do not care about spring semester - it’s just that they make their decision before spring semester grades come out. If you end up failing your spring semester, your admission will likely be revoked if you were accepted. You have to send in your transcripts following spring semester so they will see those grades.
It’s true they make a determination based on fall, but then if accepted, your Provisional Contract will spell out the minimum grades they expect for winter/spring. You’re not off scott-free.