Since all Ivys use a holistic approach to admitting students, it's entirely possible that someone with a good reason could get admitted with a C or multiple Cs.
I think the reason has to be substantial, like having to leave school temporarily to take care of a parent who is a Stage 4 cancer patient at the end of life or being in a car accident which left you in a coma for a month where you had to get serious rehab prior to returning to the classroom.
I don't think that excuses your Cs because the pandemic's effect on your mental health is reason enough because let's face it 3 million HS seniors had some form of mental health crisis because of the pandemic. Yes, there is a big difference between being mildly depressed versus being institutionalized into a psychiatric ward because of depression but you only have 300-500 words to explain your trauma on the common app and no one reading those has the time or energy to validate every claim of pandemic induced issues that affected so many of us.
I'm on the fence about how fruitful the optional Pandemic essay was for applicants on the common app or supplemental essay questions this cycle because if you look at it from the lens of the application reader, they want all the best survivors, not all the kids that are still suffering. Why? They don't need the liability of something happening on their campus on their watch. It's a safer bet to take the applicant that had a tragedy that bounced 100% back versus someone who is still struggling.
The other 2 points.
-If you come from a marginalized background/race, I feel that AOs are more empathetic to a few poor grades as long as the coursework rigor and GPA show an upward trend. So they like applicants that had a GPA run like this....3.3, 3.6, 3.9, 4.0 versus 4.0, 3.9, 3.1, 3.4. If that makes any sense. The latter implies that as course rigor got hard and the pandemic struck, this applicant had a hard time coping and keeping up. I don't think you get the same pass if you are Asian, East Asian, or White.
-If you are a recruited athlete, development candidate, or legacy, you might get a pass on 1 bad grade as well. I think such candidates are mulled over with a fine-toothed comb so if the net benefits to the college are in the plus column they will make and offer to the student.
Hope that helps.
