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I am in the same boat. DD got into almost everywhere, inlcuding every HYPS school she applied to. Son has many of the same schools on his list. He's very bright in his own right - in fact he edged her out on scores just a tiny bit -- but he is not the writer she is; her essays were the kind that brighten an admissions officer's day. While some may question the wisdom of applying to some of the same schools (some are different), it's also not fair to tell him he can't aim high and/or have similar interests. I am concerned thought about how he'll feel if he is rejected at the schools she was accepted to. I know he'll get into somewhere great, but I know in his own mind that he compares himself to her. They have a good, supportive relationship, but it is really hard to follow that kind of sibling and there really is only so much parents can do. Some things have to be worked out by the kids themselves. It's a little bit like when the kids are little and the team loses a soccer game and all the grown ups say, "oh well, you played well and had fun, etc." Try saying that when they are 16. You can't because they do care about winning. They have to learn that some disappointment is part of life. I think if kids are basically OK, basically feel good about themselves and have a good relationship with the other sibling, it will be OK. It will hurt but once they are where they are going to be and finding their own niche, it will be OK. By the way, I have always said there was an element of chance. I've said it about DD, not because I didn't think she was a strong applicant but because I saw this day coming and wanted my son to know that it could just as easily been different for her than it was in terms of acceptances. I've emphasized that a lot. But it won't lessen the sting should there be one.
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