<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>My Junior year and Sophomore year weren't so hot. I actually got a C- in Chem AP,which I dropped 2nd semester of Junior year, and a C/C+ on Algebra II my sophomore year.</p>
<p>However, my father was diagnosed with life-threatening Cancer at the beginning of Sophomore year and grades started to tank as life at home became more difficult.</p>
<p>My brother, who has major ADHD/bipolar disorder, started misbehaving so much we had to call the police on him and send him to a specialized boarding school at the end of Soph year. Junior year, my dad nearly died in chemotherapy twice.</p>
<p>In al this hostile climate, my grades dropped a bit in all my classes, but even more so in the classes in which I have more difficulty.</p>
<p>Will colleges rule me out for getting Cs in extenuating circumstances? Should I write an additional essay highlighting my personal difficulties or will counselor rec mentioning them be enough? It was really a hell of a struggle, and I am truly sorry I under-performed. Will it be more difficult for me to get into college? I have 3.74 UW GPA and a 32 ACT btw.</p>
<p>Thanks for replying. I'm really freaking out about this, because my dream schools are Columbia (ED) and Michigan (EA, IS).</p>