Whenever College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Patrick Wemmer is feeling stressed or missing California, he just visits his twin sister Camryn, a sophomore in the School of Hospitality Administration, at her apartment. There, the two relax and reminisce about high school and home.
‘It’s like having your best friend going to college with you,’ Wemmer said. ‘We’ve had each other our whole lives.’
Many other Boston University students are attending college with a sibling. Although most said they chose BU independently, the fact that a sibling was attending or had attended played a role in the decision to do so as well.
Wemmer said it was just chance that he ended up attending the same college as his sister.
‘It wasn’t really a factor in our decisions to attend,’ he said. ‘We both have independent interests. We never really sat down and asked each other where we were going to go.’
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore Nicole Wasylyk said her older sister had an influence on her decision to attend BU.
‘Having her here made me consider BU more,’ she said. ‘A part of me didn’t want to come here, I didn’t want to follow in her footsteps. But it’s nice to have her here.’
BU spokesman Colin Riley said although BU does not provide any special discounts for sibling pairs, financial aid is dependent on the government. In submitting a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a student’s expected family contribution is calculated. For two siblings going to the same institution, the expected family contribution goes completely towards the older sibling’s costs, and is eliminated for the younger sibling.
‘The estimated family contribution usually goes to one student. It’s not split,’ he said. ‘That’s the policy not only at BU, but at every university. So, federal methodologies would give more money to the family.’
School of Management junior Billy Martin said attending college with his older brother has made them much closer.
‘Having attended the same college as each other and experiencing the same things and being on the sailing team with him, we developed a camaraderie that we never had before,’ he said.
Wasylyk agreed that since attending college together, she has grown closer to her sister.
‘I thought we would distance ourselves, but we’re both escapes for each other,’ she said. ‘Because of the size of BU, we get the best of both worlds. We see each other as much as we want or stay away from each other as much as we want.’
Wasylyk’s said her parents were happy that she and her sister both chose BU.
‘I think it’s because Boston is a city, even though it’s not a big city,’ she said. ‘If one of us needs something the other one is right there.’
Martin said going to school with his brother was the best decision he could have made for college.
‘If I had to do it again, I would do the same thing,’ Martin said. ‘It was nice to know that no matter what, I had him to help me out.’
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