Sorry I posted this on the wrong forum 
Anyways here is the original post:
Hey there, I was wondering how colleges view this situation. I plan on explaining to them that I was limited in my volunteering and ECās because Iāve had to watching a younger brother and sister since freshman year of high school due to the fact that my father became absorbed by his work and a mother who committed a lot of her time to my other brotherās fencing career.
I donāt want to downplay my parents, they are great people, but will colleges see this as an excuse? I would like to think this is a legitimate reason as to not participating frequently in the community but I was wondering if any of you think that it is not legitimate.
I would plan on using this on the additional comments portion of my application (for UCās)
Honestly, it counts. Colleges respect dedication to anything.
You could probably wrote your essay about it if you wanted. The relationship you have built with your siblings and what youāve learned from them
I didnāt plan on writing essays about our relationship, but now I might consider it.
Honestly I would have questions. If you were economically disadvantaged and needed to provide free or low cost care so your parents could work (and were applying for aid, yes I know need blind but schools can tell if you are in that situation or not) absolutely. This does not sound like that. Was your brother traveling all over the country? Why can your mother not bring your siblings, does one of them have an issue that would prevent this (anxiety fear of crowds, a physical limitation, compromised immune system). Why were your parents willing to let you make this sacrifice so that your brother can succeed? Is he a champion fencer, did he get a free ride ro college or the olympics? Sorry not trying to critise you or your parents. However, something is not sitting well with me. Your brother gets an EC and you do not? If that is the real truth then maybe you can make an essay about how your benefited in ways you never anticipated and turned a disadvantage into a benefit. Otherwise you just come off as realizing too late that you did not spend enough time on ECs.
Working is an EC and if you really did babysit all that time, it counts for something. However my school has ECs at all different times and so you can do one during lunch. Finally 15 hours for an EC is fine but I spent more than that on ECs. They also did not have to be just at school. Can be on weekends with worship, research projects, charities that are outside of school. Maybe you could bring your little siblings to volunteer with you if that is ok with your parents and the charity.
To me watching your siblings is basically a part time job. That is an EC.
Every college will respect the fact that some students have responsibilities and circumstances which intruded on their ability to participate in extracurricular activities. If you are applying to colleges that request a counselorās letter of recommendation, you should speak with the counselor about incorporating your situation into that letter. If you are applying to large public universities that do not accept letters of recommendation, then find a suitable place to include this. It wouldnāt necessarily be in your personal essay. There is usually space for describing or explaining āotherā activities or items in the application.