How do colleges look at GPA?

When colleges look at your GPA, do they look at the overall GPA throughout all 4 years (more like 3.5 years) or are some years worth more than others. I’ve heard 11th grade is worth more, but I don’t know how accurate this is. Also, how much does weighted GPA count in comparison to unweighted?

Depends upon the college. Each school has their own criteria for evaluating grades/GPA and course weighting. Some are very transparent on what they consider important and some are not.

I went to a parent workshop on “applying to private schools.” The presenter there said they recalculate GPA with just the core classes plus foreign language to determine your GPA. In other words the GPA boosters such as P.E., electives, easy classes were out. I agree each school is different but this is one method.

IMHO, I think what the schools like is consistency.

IMO Junior year is not worth more, per se, but if you had a rocky freshman/sophomore year and show improvement that will be considered. Most colleges don’t use weighted GPA because each HS has their own method and weighting