Every AD we met with when applying for our twins asked whether we wanted them considered together or separate. Knowing how difficult it is to even get 1 spot at most schools, we said they could consider them separately. Luckily they were both accepted to each school, but I would have sent them to separate schools for the short term if necessary.

Sidwell for Pre-K doesn't accept twins so we only applied one. The other schools told us that they looked at the kids individually but in reality I think that they look at them as a set. Even though I was very clear in my application and interview that I would be fine with only having one accepted but that never happened - it was always either accept both or waitlist both. One of the ADs where we were waitlisted point blank told me that my daughter would have gotten in if she had applied on her own. This was beyond frustrating to me as I had made it clear that I was fine with only one being accepted but that didn't seem to matter in the decision making process- it was either both or neither. Maybe it is just this way in the Pre-K/K years.

I think most schools consider them as a set. If you are okay with the considering them separately then you should make that very clear in your interview or parent essay.

Anonymous wrote:It seems cruel for a school to only accept one twin if both have applied...

Well, you could also say its cruel to admit a 4 year old who is oblivious, only to counsell them out when they are 8 or 9 and can sense teh score, lose their friends, and are separated from their sibling. Now that's cruel AND short sighted. Likely the school just wanted the family's money.

OP, it can be done. But you need to apply to more schools because, as 20:03 said, you never know what variables the school is considering when composing that particular class. Sidwell and StA will accept one and turn down other. GDS and Maret prefer to accept both. Neither approach is right or wrong, though I much prefer the latter.

Anonymous wrote:maret seems to love them. last year they let a set of twins into this year's 4th grade, and this year they just accepted a set of twins into next year's 6th grade... both of those sets of twins took up 2 spaces into classes with limited openings.

Because twins = two people.

We broadened our search more than we might have if we were applying singleton/singleton. There are so many factors going into building a K class (some years there are too many girl siblings applying, or too many February birthdays, or too many this or that) so you potentially have exponentially more factors to juggle. That said, most AD's know there will be twins applying and will likely have a thoughtful conversation with you about how your family wants to approach the process. Every school we visited has twins, so you can get in with twins! And, one blessing if twins are your only 2 children, schools won't have to worry about accommodating siblings later down the line! Finally, my best guess is that if there really is such a discrepancy between the twins (or more likely, we want to take both but we need more x or y) they will either contact you to see if you're willing to split your family, or ask if it's imperative that your family stay together.

Good luck to you!

It seems cruel for a school to only accept one twin if both have applied...

Fwiw, my b/g twins who have disparate scores (fsiq of 127 and 145) but both with good recs, playdates etc have always been both admitted (2 schools) or both denied (1 school).

Many schools have what is called a "twins policy" as in are they considered together or separate. You need to ask the specific school what their twin policy is.

Anonymous wrote:maret seems to love them. last year they let a set of twins into this year's 4th grade, and this year they just accepted a set of twins into next year's 6th grade... both of those sets of twins took up 2 spaces into classes with limited openings.

You say that as if it's a bad thing...

maret seems to love them. last year they let a set of twins into this year's 4th grade, and this year they just accepted a set of twins into next year's 6th grade... both of those sets of twins took up 2 spaces into classes with limited openings.

When families with multiplies apply, how do schools evaluate? I assume each child is evaluated individually but is there any sibling consideration? I think it would be difficult to have say 2 Ks in 2 different schools.