How to Form a College List for Twins TKG

How to Form a College List for Twins When one of our writers was a kid, she and her sister looked exactly like the Olsen Twins. This was in the early days of Full House when the toddler Twins were all the rage. Our writer’s mother would dress the girls alikeâ€"they even had the same blonde bob. Inevitably, most weeks, someone would approach them with an “OH MY GOSH, YOUR TWINS LOOK JUST LIKE THE OLSENS!” Often times, people would just assume they were the Olsens. Eventually, her mother stopped fighting it. “Yup. Those are the Twins.” Except our writer and her sister are not twins. They are, in fact, nearly three years apart. For the purpose of applying to colleges, pretend that your twins are not twins, but rather, two different-aged children. Any likening or comparing one to other would be as odd as parading two siblings, or even unrelated children, around as the Olsen Twins.   Respect the Individual or Be in Big Trouble, Mister You should treat each kid in a vacuum, as though they are in different grades. Start with a list of 15 or so for each kid. The good news is, your kids share DNA and grew up in the same environment, so they will most likely have some overlaps, but either way, assume one kid wants to study Physics and the other Art History. One kid is probably more extroverted than the other. One might be more into a big school with football and Greek life and the other, a liberal arts college. Often times, one kid has better test scores and grades than the other. We have had a lot of twins come through our doors at TKG. One pitfall we have seen time and again is how parents subconsciously prioritize the kid with the better scores. Just because one twin might be a great candidate for Yale, it certainly does not mean that the other should be touring and applying there, too. They will not, by virtue of trickle down or magical twin powers, get in just because their sibling did. Avoid this mistake at all costs, or else, run the risk of seeing one kid get into their dream schools an d the other scrambling to find a suitable backup mid-year. Family Boarding? You Got It, Dude  When developing a college list, the urge to kill two birds with one stone can be really tempting. Treating them like two kids in different grades could mean two separate sets of college visits. Simply put, it can be really inconvenient. We get it. You’re busy. You’ve worked extremely hard to provide for two kids at once. You’ve navigated the treachery of having two kids going through terrible twos, puberty, and driver’s ed at the same time, and when they leave the house, you will have to deal with twice as much Empty Nest Syndrome as most parents. To make it a little more manageable, start visiting colleges and building lists at the end of your kids’ sophomore year. That may sound aggressive, but what’s more aggressive is having to visit eight colleges in the same week instead of four. That’s why airlines let passengers with small children board first, because otherwise, your toddler would end up spitting-up in the middle seat into some business person’s briefcase instead of on you.  You will have to start early and spread it out or it’s not going to work. Besides, kids should really start touring colleges at the end of their sophomore year anyway.     Need some help determining where your kids are qualified to get in? Contact us here.