<p>My transcript from the last three years has been decent. Almost entirely As. But my midyear report had a lot of Bs. I actually did fine the entire semester until the week before finals. Right before finals, I had a very personal family issue. I could not discuss it with anyone, not even parents, because it was extremely personal. All that I am comfortable enough to say here is that I found out about something that I thought could tear apart my family. It's not death of a family member or anything, but it did make me anxious. I ended up losing motivation and just interest in my finals - I was so anxious the entire time I couldn't calm down to write essays or read long paragraphs. So I turned in most of my finals half blank and received Ds on them. My grades in every single one of my class dropped 1/3 to 2/3 of a grade, and that is how I ended up with Bs on my midyear report.
During the winter break, I have been able to relax and deal with the issue on my mind. I still can't talk about it with my parents, but I have mentally prepared myself for even the worst case scenario. Now I just need to work on letting the colleges know. I understand that no matter what I do at this point can't make them overlook my midyear report. But all I ask for is that they take the special circumstance into consideration. So, what should I do?
Do colleges leave space on their applications for explanations like this? Or should I write it in the additional info section of the common application? I figured I am more comfortable sharing what happened with colleges because they don't actually know me or my family and therefore wouldn't leak any information. I was thinking about letting my guidance counselor know that something happened (no details), and write a short letter that says I have regained my focus when the progress report/interm grade come out. Because colleges are not going to get my grades second semester until after admission, so I have no other ways of proving I have let whatever distracted me go besides letting my counselor say something. Is that a good idea?
I know this is a lot to read. Thank y'all so much for your patience and help! :]</p>
<p>Your counselor will send a mid year report in mid-february. You have 6 weeks to get back on your feet and bring those grades up. Perhaps talk with your teachers, some may be understanding if you’ve been dedicated and serious - they may have wondered what happened if you got straight A’s and suddenly couldn’t answer questions or write paragraphs. :(</p>
<p>So I could ask my counselor to say a little something when he sends in the midyear report in Feb? That makes me feel a little better. Thank you! :)</p>
<p>First off, if you have mostly Bs, it’s not that big an issue. Not great, but not terrible. </p>
<p>Second, unless you can explain your reason, and it’s really something bizarre, colleges are unlikely to be very sympathetic - they probably get a million excuses from seniors about why grades dropped senior year, and quite frankly, they all sound like “the dog ate my homework”. Not saying yours isn’t sincere, but unless it involved you directly and/or involved something like being told a parent will suddenly die in the next few months, simply having an emotionally upsetting piece of news is not going to really gain you much sympathy about your grades. </p>
<p>Go ahead and try, but you might just have to eat this one and hope for the best.</p>