I’m a freshman and embarrassed to ask about GPA. I know my school lists semester grades on their transcripts. What I don’t know is if the GPA is averaged for semesters. We don’t have our second semester grades yet and I’m trying to figure out what my GPA might be. So if I have a 96 first semester, its an A worth a certain amount of points because its an honors but its not an A plus which at my school is worth more (and A minus is worth less). If I get a 92 second semester – are the 96 and 92 averaged for an A toward my GPA? Or does that A minus for second semester show up and count as such and they just tally up all the semester grades?
Ask your guidance counselor as transcripts are presented differently from school to school. Good chance that there is a final grade shown as well.
Does your school offer courses that are only one semester long? If so, then it’s probably semester grades that are tallied up for all courses.
Most are year long courses with midterms and finals. But I have two classes out of 7 that were only one semester
Thanks!
Your transcript will likely show both. It will break out each semester and show the grades per class, with a note of what kind of class it is (honors, AP, DE, regular etc).
You should then see GPA by semester and cumulative for all years combined. The transcript should show what you school grading scale is and how they weight, if they do as well as class rank, I’d they rank.
As a freshman I wouldn’t worry about it one way or another but you can request a copy of your transcript in the fall so you can see what it looks like yourself,
I’ll bet they are by the semester, especially if there is an end of semester “final exam”. Eons ago my HS had end of year finals covering the whole year except for a few semester long courses (what a pain to refresh your memory on
September material in May). Son’s HS gave final grades by the semester that were on the transcript. Quarterly report card grades did not make the transcript/permanent record.
btw- some colleges (eg Stanford) do not even look at HS freshman grades. Most schools will ignore earlier years’ grades if there is steady improvement, or a blip in an otherwise good record.
Relax and do your best. Your future is not determined yet. Do figure out what made the difference in the two semesters. Was it a strong start last fall with a gradual slide, or a better first semester followed by the current one? Take a bit of time to figure out how/why your gpa changed. Then you can use that information for a fresh start next fall. It could be different approaches or study habits will help you.
Your overall gpa will average in each semester. Junior year grades count the most as they are the last full year colleges will see- they will notice improvement or slipping trends.
Sounds like you are a good student. Let this year be history and do your best again next year. Relax and enjoy your summer.