I recently found out that family activities can be reported on the Common App (whether under activities, additional info or essays or whatever). I have a mother who suffers from heart conditions like arrhythmia as well as chronic fatigue (nothing super life threatening, although she does have a much higher chance than normal of having a heart attack according to her doctor, which really freaked me out), which makes her unable to care for me and my younger sibling as much as some other parents might. My father also does not live with us. Because of these circumstances, I often had to take care of things like meals, transportation, and chores (like washing dishes or throwing trash etc.) myself for the past several years. Do you think this counts as family responsibilities that could help colleges see what kind of a person I am as an applicant? Would it help? Thanks.
I don’t think you should be thinking “will it help?”. If you think it’s an important part of your story, then find a way to include it.
Be careful not to belabor it though, or make it a “woe is me” topic. There are lots of kids with two healthy parents who do all the things you mentioned (meals, transportation, chores), so while I am sure there are added stresses/time involved for you, you should focus on clear, regular responsibilities. Example as an “activity”: Family responsibilities: because my mom has some chronic medical issues, I drive my sibling to soccer practices/games and I plan & cook dinner at least 4x/wk.
I definitely think it is important to tell colleges this part of your story. Colleges understand that some students have family responsibilities that prevent them from being involved in other activities, and they want to know this information.
If you’re concerned about time committed a year or something like that, I’d say on aberage I spend at least 1-2 hours daily on stuff like preparing meals, doing most of the house chores, etc. ever since my dad left which was when I was in middle school. It’s not like my mom gets lazy sometimes and doesn’t wash dishes once in a while or something. She’s almost consistsntly bedridden.