I am currently a high school student. I am planning to take as many AP courses as possible. 1 AP class in 10th grade, and 5 AP classes in 11th grade and the rest of the classes are all regular classes 7 periods each. If I calculate the best gpa I could get when I take 7 periods each, in 10th and 11th grade, it is 4.39. But, if I take 6 periods in 10th grade and 7 periods in 11th grade, the best gpa I could get will be 4.42. ( getting rid of 1 regular course in 10th grade ). The college I want to go to is UCLA. Should I have a free period and raise my gpa or should I not have a free period. I am not sure how selective colleges will look at free periods.
I’ve signed up for a free period during my senior year next year and it’s bumped up my predicted GPA quite a lot. Honestly, if you think that you are on track to finish all the relevant coursework that are related to your interests and future college/career goals, and you’re on track to complete your graduation requirements, there’s nothing wrong with taking that free period. In fact, it frees up more time to make sure you study for your AP classes, which are probably going to give you a lot of work. Therefore, you have more free time to do extracurriculars or sports or have some down time at home. 
However, I would NOT recommend taking the free period if you are willingly skipping out on potentially taking a course that interests you or is necessary to fulfill graduation requirements.
UCLA only uses 10-11th grades for their GPA calculation so having a free period Senior year will not impact your GPA at least for the UC’s.
UCLA will consider your HS course rigor and most applicants will have well above the minimum a-g course requirements completed so having a regular class that is an a-g course will be more beneficial than having a free period. It also depends upon which AP classes you will be taking Senior year. If having a free period allows you more study time to get A’s in the AP classes you are taking than it may be worth it also.
I would not base my decision for a free period on a GPA bump.
Gah! Use this time in your life to take free electives and learn interesting things. No other time in your life can you take a free photography or art or music class.
I wouldn’t stress about it. UCLA won’t reject you because of a free period in your senior year. Take the free period if you think you need it to take care of other classes, not because of a GPA bump for senior year that likely won’t even be looked at. The UC app has 20 slots for awards/EC/activities and such. I would focus on filling those with meaningful things.
GPA recalculations for UC are not affected by 12th grade course selection. It is a known phenomenon that GPA calculations or recalculations could result in a lower GPA by taking a course (particularly one not eligible for weighting) instead of a free period before 12th grade.
A free period in 12th grade would look less rigorous to an admission reader than the same schedule with an academic course instead of the free period. Of course, you do not want to overload yourself if you need the time for other courses, extracurricular activities, and/or college applications.
A .03 difference in your weighted GPA doesn’t sound like it’ll make a huge difference in your admissions results, even if your senior year courses are taken into account.