<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I really screwed up this semester when it came to grades and ended up getting only 1A 5Bs and 1C.</p>
<p>I was really depressed this semester (for reasons which I don't feel like disclosing in a public forum), and I decided not to do any of my schoolwork and slept on average of 14 hours a day. As a result, my grades slipped tremendously as you can see. Previously, I had only gotten 3Bs in high school while taking the hardest courses possible. This year, I am still taking the hardest curriculum possible, but I screwed up really badly here. </p>
<p>I am applying to a lot of prestigious universities which include among them Princeton and Yale (my two dream schools), Emory, Duke, UChicago, Harvard, and Columbia. I am genuinely and sincerely very remorseful over my actions, but I do believe that I have changed and learned from them. I have really regained the spark that was in me before, but my colleges will probably not know that. So, I was wondering if there is any way I can mitigate these mistakes. This semester is a huge outlier in the scope of my academic career, but I fear that it'll scare too many college. </p>
<p>So, what should I do? Should I write an essay explaining these circumstances or should I get my counselor to speak on my behalf? Or is there something else that can be done?</p>
<p>I don't want my entire college admittance decisions to be decided on the time when I was at my lowest.</p>