Twins can be read as a possible “two-fer.” But usually when both are quite highly accomplished, equally compelling for an admit. For both of you, a tippy top college will be a reach. I was in touch with one of the quads, early on and the the sorts of things they were involved with, the actual challenges they took on, the level of accomplishment, was very high, including some ECs that are themselves very competitive.
Her uw gpa and AP 3 scores are an issue, set her behind the competition for an Ivy or other tippy top. For both of you, the non-profit and history finalist are not tips, not the extent of the ECs many of your competition will have. The fact your family is very international is a fact, not a challenge you took on or an accomplishment. Nor are knowing several languages or getting a scholarship for a university sunmer program.
It will help to be better informed about what your targets look for. Be realistic and make the right choices.
Best wishes.
My daughter played a sport, and we ran into many twins on other teams, more than would just be a coincidence. They obviously were recruited together and of course there is no way to tell whether one was more talented athletically and the other academically, but it was clear that the schools/coaches knew they wanted to stay together.
There are twins playing for Navy, recruited together. Often there are sisters a year or so apart who were recruited together too. We had siblings commit to our team but when one didn’t make the academic cut, they both went to another team. Together.
I think for the OP, it is unlikely being a twin would be enough to bring the lower stat applicant up. If they are recruited athletes? Maybe. If they have some other unique quality the school wants? Maybe. Just being a twin isn’t enough, but it may be enough to get the twin looked at where otherwise the stats just aren’t there.
Half the battle for applicants is to be interesting, and being a twin is interesting. Many twins end up going to college together. It’s not surprising, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Our twins will not be going to school together because their goals are different enough that fit led them to different choices - though half the scools they applied to were common to both. They had already decided they would not room together under any circumstance to ensure their continued independent development.
Unlike OP and her twin, mine were not looking at the most selective schools - and we never considered trying to somehow tie the applications together (or avoid doing so). In OPs case, their background is somewhat unique, which certainly won’t hurt. I don’t see how being Hispanic wouldn’t help, regardless of SES. Since the sister’s early record was affected by “personal difficulties”, she may very well have potential on par with OP.
Since the top schools are reaches for almost everyone, I do agree with others who suggest compiling lists that make sense for each twin, although I suspect there are many schools that would do well for either.
My husband and his twin were high performing candidates. It’s not a hook. Both applied to different schools given what and where they wanted to study. Both got into their Ivies. If anything I think it was their individuality that helped their apps.
I completely agree that URM status is not simply a Y/N , checkmark or x on an app. While my family is not low-income, we are the first generation to have lived in the US (our family moved to the US when I was 3 years old ). My dad was born and raised in Belize, and his whole family still lives there + my mom was born and raised in Mexico, her family still lives there.
I am not counting on a “hook” like URM status or twins or whatever as being the thing that gets me or my sister into an ivy. I think I am a competetive applicant base on my academic achievement and passions (stats, ECs, essays, etc).
HOWEVER, I recognize that in the face of such astronomical odds of getting admitted, I think anything that makes the admissions officer look at your profile for a minute longer is beneficial - I just don’t know if this could be that.
@RandyErika The more I read about the Ivy League + top 10 schools, the more I believe that half of the battle is catching the eye of whoever is reading your app; getting them to sit up a little and think twice about you
I wouldn’t bank on being twins as the one thing that ensures us a 100% chance of getting in, but we’re considering it being a potentially interesting essay to address our shared ECs as evidence of our ability to work well together and then emphasize our different passions + solidify our individuality.\
To be clear, I don’t think just being twins is interesting on its own. But do you guys think a good essay that addresses our shared ECs as evidence of our ability to work well together and then emphasizes our different passions + solidifies our individuality could stand out?
^ Would it stand out in a pile of essays about diversity/ identity/ overcoming failure in debate or other overdone topics?
This is not what I mean when I used the statement first generation. I mean first generation as the first generation of students to attend college -anywhere. Even then, being first gen is a tip factor usually combined with students who are low income and attend underperforming schools with little access to college access.
You each have to write your own essay. I’m not sure that sharing an essay topic will be impressive to top colleges. How would you make them different?
You have a limited number of words to tell colleges about you. What institutional need does the ability to work well with your twin fill? I don’t know if using a chunk of your essay to talk about your twin is going to effectively show how you’re a fit for elite schools.
“…evidence of our ability to work well together and then emphasizes our different passions + solidifies our individuality could stand out?”
The ability to get along with your sibling isn’t one of the factors a tippy top is looking for. The ability to get along with a broad range of people, sometimes working with them, other times, for their benefit, is a good aspect. See the difference? One is turned inward/the ‘best friend’ angle. The other is a broader atttribute or skill.
And be sure you understand what the essay is meant to convey. Choosing to emphasize your shared activities (or even a few differences,) could leave them wondering if you’re joined at the hip, have a limited pespective. (Similar to kids who write an essay about not wanting to leave a younger sibling. What’s that show the adcoms?)
The quads are close, but each was his own unique self, first and foremost (as far as their apps.)
It’s true that there are no package deals, and that this isn’t a hook in any formally-defensible way, but there’s definitely a pattern with Rice - not just with multiples but also with sib-groups entering in different years. Also, while it’s a tough admit, it’s not as far out of range for your sister as the HYPSM type schools. I agree with what was stated above - if you want to stick together, calibrate your applications to her stats, not yours. The difference between her match-schools and yours isn’t a true difference in quality-of-education anyway.
What do you both want to study? And do you want to run XC in college? And if so, are you fast enough for D1, or should you look at D2/D3 options? (Which also includes some top-tier schools like WashU, JHU, UChicago, the Claremont Colleges, etc.)
“And also URM males are the real the hook on the college landscape because AA and Hispanic females attend colleges at a higher rate than their male counterparts (black males are the lowest represented population on college campuses). In your case, being from Venezuela is not a hook.”
Good point, not all URM hooks are the same, I did not know the info on AA and latinx females they’re not as compelling a hook as AA males.
