Mention reason for poor semester?

juillet
Fri, 11 Dec 2015 00:37:51 +0000

Yes, and yes. You can mention it briefly in one to two sentences in your personal statement, explaining that a family emergency caused your grades to dip but pointing to an upward trend in performance or your excellent performance beforehand or whatnot. ANd yes, you can ask your recommender to cover it in his letter - lends it more credence.