Twins have fascinated me ever since I discovered that they were real. How could it possibly happen, I would wonder, that a fortunate assortment of individuals got to exist in doubles? Luckily, there is a plethora of these pairs around Dartmouth, all of whom have interesting insights to share about twinhood. While there are some who purposefully came to school with their siblings, there are others who ended up here by coincidence, and still others whose twin attends a different university.
Choosing to go through the college process separately is a way to ensure that decisions are made based on individual preferences. In the case of the Dennis brothers, despite going through the process separately, both chose to apply early decision to Dartmouth. They both said that they were more influenced by the fact that their father is an alumnus of the college than by the other twin's preferences.
Kyle Dennis '15 found that having a brother to start college with made the transition much smoother.
"The process was new to both of us," Dennis said. "Having someone by my side was nice."
The Dennis brothers said that having a twin at school has helped expand both of their networks of friends.
"My brother's friends automatically become my friends and vice versa," Kyle Dennis said. "It makes me feel as if we stand out more."
Still, Casey Dennis '15 said he feels like he can be an individual at Dartmouth despite having many mutual friends with his brother.
On the other hand, Chiara Santiago '15 and Gaia Santiago '15 said they knew from the get-go that attending the same college was extremely important to them.
"We are those kinds of twins that did everything together since we left the womb," Chiara Santiago said. "On the [Common Application], we wrote that we would like to go the same college as our twin in the comment section."
The sisters ended up accepted, deferred and rejected by the exact same schools.
"The process shed a lot of light on how similar we were and how much we needed to differentiate ourselves so that we didn't fall into some sort of identity crisis," Chiara Santiago said.
Chiara Santiago added that while a lot of people refer to her and her sister as "crazy" in their similarities, they try to distinguish themselves through other means such as clothing.
"[It] is our medium of vocalizing our differences passively to the public," she said.
Anna Kikut '16 and Sara Kikut '16, members of the Dartmouth women's alpine ski team and women's track and field team, respectively, also chose to go through the college process together and applied to Dartmouth early decision.
"We are so alike and our interests are so similar that the best fit school for one of us was going to be the same for the other," Sara Kikut said.
The Kikut twins also recognized the academic advantages of going to school together, a luxury that us solo, "untwins" cannot afford.
"She does homework in one subject, and I do it in another, and then we tutor each other," Sara Kikut said. "It's how we have always done homework, and we always help each other in the same subjects."
However, the sisters acknowledge that at times, the constant association with one's twin can be frustrating.
"Athletically and intellectually, I 100 percent feel like an individual, but socially I feel characterized as the twin,'" Anna Kikut said. "It's not something that I can change or ever will change, so I might as well accept it and do my best to counter the negative aspects, because it has been like this my whole life."
Anne Strong '16, also a member of the ski team, attends a different university than her twin sister.
"I knew I didn't want to go the same school as [my twin]," she said. "I wanted to expand my horizons and have my own friends."
Strong said that although she appreciates the ability to have her own friends and to lead her life as an individual, rather than a twin, she misses her sister a lot while at Dartmouth.
"She's my best friend and sister," she said. "No one knows her better than me, and I can always count on her."
It is clear that regardless of how these siblings ended up at Dartmouth, they all have a true love and appreciation of the bond they share with their fellow twin. While reading one another's minds may not be included in the deal, I envy all twins even more, and am thankful that they gave me a fleeting glimpse into your unique and remarkable relationships.
Casey Dennis is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
