What it’s like being at Penn with your twin brother
‘Wow, you look EXACTLY THE SAME’
When my brother and I were both accepted by Penn, our parents were naturally thrilled.
Yes, it is obviously an amazing academic institution, but also the workload of having two children born at the same time was immediately lightened.
Let me explain…
My twin and I went to different high schools. What this meant was that there were two sets of everything. Two drop off locations in lower school, two graduations, two different college processes–you get the idea.
But now, after having been miraculously accepted to the same college, the concern of how they were going to be able to be present for both of us was completely eliminated from my parents’ mind.
Now they only had to attend one drop off, one parent’s weekend, and one graduation. Believe it or not, this is just one of many perks that comes with having your twin at the same college as you.
Having your twin on campus means being able to see them whenever you want. Penn is a big enough school where we’re not constantly running into each other, but they’re also only a text away if you want to grab coffee at Hub Bub.
When our parents come to visit we get to face all of their nagging questions (How were midterms? Do you have a boyfriend yet? Girlfriend?) together and back each other up when making up an answer.
Why yes, midterms went very well. Later, we can complain together about the whole ordeal. Having a twin at college also means you essentially have a permanent study partner.
Luckily, my brother and I are both in the same level of Chinese so I know I can always count on him for any notes or study guides (and vice versa).
One of the more interesting things about going to school with your twin is the reactions you’ll get from anyone who finds out about it. It’s a familiar wide eyed, gaping, stare, followed by a few common and annoying questions:
“You have a twin brother?! Are you guys identical?”
Well, no. He’s a guy, so naturally that’s biologically impossible.
“Did you guys decide to go to school together?”
No. Deciding to go to Penn was not based on the fact that there was a chance we would get to go together. It just worked out that way.
“Can I see a picture?”
The “showing” of a picture of my brother is then naturally followed by comments like:
“Wow, you look EXACTLY THE SAME.”
Obviously we look similar. Did you miss the part where I said that we’re twins?
When my friends meet my brother for the first time they become very intrigued and perhaps even a little confused. “Woah…is this the…” Yes; this is the twin brother.
After having met him my friends will start sending me a plethora of Snapchats: selfies with my brother, photos of him that are clearly zoomed in from afar with the caption “spotted.” The Snapchats are funny, but at the same time we both came to college with the idea in mind that we would become our own independent individuals.
Because we went to such small high schools, we were constantly grouped together. But here at Penn, I’ve definitely enjoyed being known as my own person, rather than just constantly being related back to brother.