Should I include this in my ED app?

Narsira
Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:55:33 +0000

So, I’m applying early decision to SEAS. Here are my stats, just for reference:

Female, Middle Eastern/WASP
Religion: Jewish
SAT: Reading: 800 Math: 770
I attend a huge public high school in Arizona. It’s not very competitive- everyone goes to either ASU or community college. Much more effort is put into dealing with crime than funding AP courses.
I’m in the top 6% of my class.
National Merit Semifinalist
I’m president for the third year running of my FRC robotics team, which is a joint team between my school and a nearby charter school.
I’m also involved in Model UN, Key Club, Swim Team, and Book Club.
Last summer, I participated in a sister cities program and spent five weeks in rural Ireland.
AP Scores: 5 on Art History, 5 on US History, 4 on World History, 5 on Lang/Comp

Here’s my problem: my junior year grades basically decimate my chance at acceptance. My freshman and sophomore years, I got straight As. However, near the beginning of my junior year, my mother was arrested on drug related charges, and my younger brother was arrested for destruction of property two months later, and once more later in the year. My mom spent some time in jail, followed by two months in rehab. She’s still on probation. For essentially the entire year, my house and family were in a state of violent, unpredictable conflict. My grades weren’t exactly what I was most concerned about.

I got mostly Bs, a few As, and some Cs. I stayed in the most challenging courses my school offers in addition to my zero hour orchestra, but it still looks quite dismal.

I understand that many students have endured much worse in terms of trials and tribulations, and that my family problems are no excuse for my academic performance, but I can’t help but wonder if it would help the admissions committee understand my circumstances if I included an explanation in my application.

What do you think? As far as I can tell, if I were to include such an explanation, it would best fit under the section of the common app labeled “Additional Information: Please upload a document here if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.”