<p>I was not able to participate in any clubs or extra-curricular activities freshman or sophomore year because I had to take care of my little sister while my mom worked. Junior year, my mom was able to quit her job and since I have joined many clubs and even gotten two leadership positions. Do you think that colleges will penalize me for this even if I have my guidance counselor address the situation in my recommendation?</p>
<p>It won’t help you, but it won’t hurt, I don’t believe, so long as you mention the situation in your application and make (made) the best use of your time after circumstances changed.</p>
<p>Some applications consider caring for a sibling “extra curricular”. If they ask for SCHOOL related ECs, that won’t count of course. But, hopefully on your application it allows you to speak to HOW you spent your time. From what I’ve heard/read…colleges, in general, consider this a PERFECTLY acceptable, indeed admirable way to spend your time. Now…if your day was spent on video games and Bedazzling your T-shirts…not so much. They know/understand these situations. Just gotta “get the information out there” somehow.</p>
<p>Very few colleges factor ECs into admission. The majority of colleges make admissions decision based only on students’ stats and state of residence. The few colleges that also factor ECs into admission are places like HPY, which regard similarly to strong ECs family obligations like having to care for siblings.</p>