Both my twin sister and I are both in the midst of applying to college. For two people who’ve grown up together, college applications are pulling us apart.
Although my twin and I have always been compared to each other, we are very different people. She is an amazing athlete who loves hanging out with her friends, and I’m an introverted nerd.
We have gone out of our way to avoid competing or being compared with each other. But the college application process is all about rank, scores, and achievement.
Both of our parents went to very selective schools. To them, it means a lot to have their children follow their paths into what they perceive as success. Now that they’re steering us towards schools that they perceive as “superior”–it’s hard to avoid interpreting acceptance letters and sibling superiority
I just want both of us to be happy at the schools we choose. But the topic of college has become so contentious that I avoid talking about it at all with her. Which is a shame, because there’s no one whose advice I value more than my sister’s.