<p>On the day of my final midterm exams, my grandmother, with whom I was very close to, passed away.
I honestly couldn't think of anything else but my grandmother at the time...I ended up completely bombing the exams.
Three of the classes dropped to B's, and one, which I was already struggling in (the final was my chance to bring the grade up) dropped to a C. </p>
<p>My grades before this were all A's. My grades for 2nd semester will likely be A's as well.</p>
<p>I definitely feel as though the grief I felt during this day was a strong cause of me bombing the final...but I feel like I'd be using her death as an excuse if I mentioned it.</p>
<p>You should, however, discuss the effect of your grandmother’s death on your midterms with your guidance counselor, and see whether he or she would be willing to address this point in his or her letter.</p>
<p>Stanford uses the CommonApp, and there is an area to insert “Additional Information.” However, for the Class of 2018, I know that CommonApp is doing some changes to the application and the Additional Info may limit what you say. I don’t know; it’s just a rumor I heard but I know that there is an AI area.</p>
<p>In most schools, finals only comprise 10-20% of their grade. I don’t think you should include this unless you failed. It might be considered an “excuse”…suffice it to say, whether you justify or not, it will have minimal effect on your admission. </p>
<p>There are so many students who go through potentially other life crisis…and honestly from the admit committee’s perspective, a couple of low grades here and there may not make a difference.</p>
<p>And yes, if you absolutely feel compelled to justify, do what @Sikorsky suggested</p>
<p>I would suggest that this circumstance be in some way reflected in your application. Admissions officers look at what you achieve given your circumstances. I’d ask your counselor to mention this in your rec letter if I were you.</p>
<p>No. You are just looking to play the sympathy card to get some extra points. The night before I wrote my honors math final, my grandpa phoned me and told me that my grandma had a heart attack. Thankfully, it turned out to be a false alarm, but imagine how my test went. I didn’t play the sympathy card.</p>