Bad Grades Due to Coronavirus(Special Situation)

I got really unlucky at the start of virtual school and my mom was seriously ill. At the time, they thought she had cancer and this affected my mental health a lot. In addition to this, my two sisters (one of which is much younger) were stuck home due to the coronavirus and I needed to watch them as well as my mom while my dad was working. This meant that I was constantly forced to leave class in order to change diapers, prepare food, and calm my sister when she was crying. Even outside of school I didn’t have much time to study or do homework because I still needed to take care of my mom and my sister. Because of all these factors, my grades dropped hard the 2019-2020 school year and I got 2 C+'s as well as a few B’s.
This continued through the first semester of the 2020-2021 but my grades have gone up since my mom got better and I went back to in person school. I didn’t get any C’s but my grades still aren’t even close to my freshman year grades.
On top of this, basically the entire guidance department of my school has left which means that it will be tough for me to get good recommendation letters.
I have a good SAT score already as well as a few unique ec’s. I also have taken 1 AP class sophomore year, 3 junior year, and will be taking 4 senior year and the majority of them are the “hard” AP’s. I got 2 B+'s and 6 A’s freshman year and if I get around the same or better senior year, is it possible for colleges to overlook my drop in performance? Is there any way I can make up for my grades or explain them without sounding whiny or complaining? I have basically given up on my dream schools but I still hope to go to a good school.

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You should have had accommodations for this situation. Was anyone at your high school aware?

I would not give up on any dreams. Explain these special circumstances, please. Your guidance counselor could do it, under normal circumstances, but if that is not going to work, your parent or you can write it. Just write what you wrote here.

Many students had grade drops ONLY because of virtual learning and the impact of COVID. You had a mother who was very ill and young siblings to care for as well. That is a LOT. I would mention the ages of your siblings in whatever you write.

By the way you can write about these circumstances in the supplementary essay that asks what else the college should know about you that is not covered in the application.

You are not alone in having a grade drop this past year, believe me, but you have far more reason than most-and I think colleges will understand.

You are a good son and sibling- your care of your family counts a lot as a positive, not just as a reason for the drop.

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Don’t know where you live but THE UC’s do a calculation that only looks at the summer after 9th all of 10th the summer after 10th all of 11th and the summer after 11th when calculating your GPA. This may be something to look into. But above all your had a ton of very real very hard obstacles to overcome and face. Your essay will focus on that and maybe one of your letters of rec can too.
Best of luck to you and your mom!!!