I am applying to a Masters Program at a top university. I already have a Bachelors and a Masters degree, in addition to work experience. I have strong letters of recommendation and my Masters degree grades (both quant and social sciences) are excellent (all A's). Unfortunately, during my bachelors degree I had some serious personal issues with a parents health, which resulted in me not being able to handle the course load for a couple of semesters, resulting in some poor grades (few Cs and a D). My overall GPA still ended being well above average and majority of my grades were still A's.
Should I explain this in my application or simply focus on the strengths of my application? I will not be including this in my personal statement but there is an option to provide additional info. On the one hand, I feel like these poor grades are a blot on my record (some poor grades sprinkled among As) and not a good reflection of my potential. I basically went through a tough time where my life was so uncertain that I couldn't properly plan my course load or withdraw from courses on time. These courses were quantitative, which is relevant to the program I am applying to. At the same time, I feel like adding this info in my application might draw attention to the negatives or make it seem like I'm shirking responsibility.