"Off Year" in College Forum

[Alyosha_Karamazov]

So I went to State University and my grades were generally a mix of As and Bs (overall GPA is 3.3) but in my Junior year my grades weren't all that good. I received mostly Bs and B+s in all but one class (A-). Obviously this ran down my GPA. Now at the time I was charged with taking care of my brother who had just suffered a complete mental breakdown and was promptly kicked out of the same university I was attending. This obviously dragged me down quite a bit emotionally (my motivation waned, I was concerned with his mental health, etc). Now I would say that I was his primary caretaker during this time as I made sure he ate, woke up, saw his doctor, etc. My parents were in complete denial the entire time (who wants to admit their child is now a paranoid schizophrenic) and did nothing to address to the issue. My question is, should I write an addendum detailing why my grades dropped off and the nature of the stuff I had to deal with during this year or should I just let it go? I'm inclined to the former as I'm absolutely certain I would have performed better had my mind been at ease (frankly I'm surprised I managed the B's).

Your thoughts?

Also, I haven't taken the LSAT yet so please don't try to factor that into the equation, but I am trying to get into a decent school.

[094320]

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[Alyosha_Karamazov]

Write the addendum, but don't approach the cycle expecting it to help. (Go in with a worst case idea that it won't).

That's probably going to be my thought process. I should also mention that after my job as my brother's caretaker ended, I was suddenly the primary caretaker of my cancer-stricken father! What a couple of years...

[alexanderhamilton]

Definatley addendum and if you can incorporate it into your personal statement even better.