Do colleges look at your senior year? Colleges like UCSD, USD, SDSU…
All the CSU/UC’s will look at your Senior year grades to make sure you took the classes listed on your UC/CSU application, if you passed the a-g courses with a C or higher but your Senior grades will not be used in the CSU/GPA calculation. SDSU does ask for a Mid-year transcript once you accept and enroll to make sure you are staying on track with your grades. The UC’s can ask for supplements which could include transcripts if you are a borderline applicant.
USD will consider your Senior mid-year grades and will ask for a transcript.
Some Cal States (IDK about SDSU) will ask for fall semester grades when they are trying to make their more difficult decisions… (Borderline cases) They also accept according to MAJOR, and in order of your eligibility index. Test grades can make a difference. Please check their web page for more details. There really is tons of information there.
UC’s mostly based on the 10/11th grades. I seem to remember they do sometimes ask for fall grades. But it’s only if they ask for them. Again PLEASE check the UC admissions web site. It has the answers to many of your questions.
CSUs do care about senior grades. However, it is pretty doable and you could potentially slack off. All you need to do is satisfy the a-g requirements, and that is it. I have never heard of a person getting rescinded for an extra a-g course, even at California Polytechnic State and San Diego State.
As for the UCs, each and every university has different guidelines. You need to make sure you thoroughly read you acceptance letter, if you get one. All of my friends who committed to California had to maintain a 3.0 UW GPA, but that’s all I know unfortunately. Try to do as best as you can if you are really wanting to go to a UC, they sometimes ask for 1st semester grades in senior year…UCLA and UCSD did ask me.
As for San Diego, I do not know since I do not pay attention to privates.
Good luck!
Here’s the link to the freshman profile for the University of San Diego, where the average admit had a GPA of 3.84:
https://www.sandiego.edu/facts/statistics.php