Is senior year used for calculating GPA?
I don’t know about all the schools in the US, but i think for those on a quarter system, first semester ends around december, which is usually too late for most apps. If your school factors in grades into your GPA every quarter, that would work for RD, but ED and EA don’t get to see your new GPA. Colleges however usually request to see what grades you got first quarter, just to see how well you’re doing in your senior classes.
