To make a long story short, my mom has had severe schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental and physical health issues since I was about 5. Because my dad has to work A LOT to support the family and pay for medical bills, I’ve been the main caretaker for my mom for pretty much my whole life. It’s a pretty time consuming task. I have to do most of the household tasks, such as chores, paying the bills, etc. and she needs lots of supervision to make sure she doesn’t do something potentially damaging, such as spending an irrational amount of money or hurting herself. I also have a severely disabled sibling who I watch part time (he lives somewhere else for part of the week). As you can imagine, this takes up most of my free time and I don’t have a lot of opportunity to do extensive activities outside of school. I already struggle trying to keep up with an AP course load and I can’t imagine adding on other extracurricular activities besides band and music. Will I be disadvantaged in the college admissions process compared to students who had less responsibilities and were able to pursue as many extracurricular activities as they wanted? Any suggestions for something substantial I can add on that will not take up huge amounts of time (I’m only a junior btw)?
When we went to a " Lehigh in your area" event, we were told that they look at situations like yours favorably- meaning that they know you are working hard to help your family. They do not hold it against you and they view it as a positive- it shows enormous responsibility.
This past year, a coalition of colleges called for exactly this time of “community activity” (community = responsibilities to family/home) to be considered more in college admissions. Meaning, schools are aware this is a reality for many students, and they think it should be taken into consideration. If you demonstrate these circumstances on your app, most schools will not ding you for lack of ECs. I would write your essay about it (focusing on yourself/keeping it positive), and talk to your counselor and make sure they mention your extenuating circumstances as well. Or, alternatively, write your essay on something else and cover this in the “Additional Information” section.
Just be sure your situation is clear. They don’t care whether or not you’re president of the French club. They care that you’re using your non-school time in productive and responsible an significant ways … not just sitting on the couch surfing the home shopping network. You can list your home responsibilities as one or more of your activities.