Overall High School GPA increased but CSU/UC GPA decreased??

Pre-College Topics High School Cafe
1

I recently met with my counselor to get a new transcript printed. My CSU/UC GPA on the last one (without my first semester of senior year factored in) was a 3.59. The new transcript lowered it to a 3.45. I’m really unsure as to why that is?? My overall high school GPA increased to a 3.73

My first semester of Senior year was pretty decent. I earned a 3.8 weighted GPA. I took four APs so the course rigor was there, but not anything major. The semester before that, I took the same amount of APs and got a 4.2 weighted GPA. Could the change from a 4.2 to 3.8 be the reason for the decrease of the CSU/UC GPA?

Will this GPA change affect the admissions process negatively?

2

Perhaps the high school is applying the 8 semester course cap on honors courses regardless of the number of applicable semesters completed. As you complete more courses, this can cause your GPA to drop, although it is irrelevant since you will apply after completing 4 semesters of applicable courses.

Example, suppose in 10th and 11th grades you take 6 courses per semester, all honors, and earn all A grades. After 1, 2, 3, 4 semesters, your GPA with the 8 semester course cap on honors points will be 5.00, 4.67, 4.44, 4.33.