letter of activities - do I go in depth about family problems?

College Essays
1

<p>I am applying to another university as a transfer applicant and they require a letter describing my activities if I have had a gap year. Over the past year, though, my family has been dealing with a lot of issues because of the illness and subsequent death of one of my extended family members. This, culturally, left us with a lot of obligations that has spanned for over a few months (and is still ongoing), leaving me to take care of my father and the house while he works.</p>

<p>I don't want to go into too much detail about this, but I feel like my acceptance is contingent on how reasonable my "excuse" for not having had a job or attending courses during that year is. </p>

<p>Any and all advice would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Simplify the problems. It’s reasonable to say you’ve been home helping family members as a caregiver. The essay isn’t so much WHAT you did, but that you can explain it and it was meaningful.</p>

3

<p>Yes, you should talk about family obligations and with the cultural context explained it will be easier to understand the extent of what obligations are on you. But I agree simple and direct is good, without obfuscation. Excessive vagueness like you describe above here doesn’t work too well, imo. I would take it as an opportunity that gives context to your life and culture.</p>