So your family already has one “Grover”, is there really room for another?
The answer is absolutely yes! Take a poll down the halls of any residence hall on campus and you will most likely find at least a few people who are attending Grove City College at the same time as a sibling – some of them are even roommates. While there are often concerns of lessened freedom and stifled independence when considering attending a college at the same time as a sibling there is no need to worry – the decision to go to school together will likely be one of the best ones you make when it comes to your adult relationship with your sibling.
I am the fourth of my first cousins to attend Grove City College, and my younger brother has since joined the pack, too. Here are three reasons why you should say “yes” to attending Grove City College with your sibling:
1. No Better Comfort
There is no better comfort of home than a person with whom you are already well acquainted and have shared experiences with. While freshman year of college will undoubtedly be full of fun memories and wonderful experiences, there will also be times where you will be homesick, especially in those first few weeks. A phone call home and a care package will help, but there will be no better cure for this homesickness than sitting down to lunch with someone who you shared a house with for most of your life.
Even siblings who are not close to one another before college can find comfort in attending school together, especially if home is somewhat far away.
2. The Campus is Big Enough
Perhaps the biggest fear when it comes to choosing whether or not to attend the same college as your sibling is a fear that you will not be able to develop your own independence. That was certainly my biggest fear when my brother chose to attend the same school as me. It has proved to be unfounded, though. I thought that we would be running into each other all the time, unable to live separate lives, but that is not the case at all. I rarely see Jacob except for when we make plans together. I am sure that siblings of the same gender or more similar majors would see each other more often, but even if those things are true you will both have different habits and daily rituals. One of you may prefer to eat in Hicks and the other in MAP (the two dining halls on campus), or one of you will prefer to study in the library and the other in the Student Union. Even our comparatively small campus can create enough separation that you are both able to grow and develop on your own.
3. Holidays are Still Spent Together
Take a moment and Google the academic calendars of several colleges and compare them. Does each school have the same breaks? Probably not. If you attend a different school than your sibling you will likely both have off for Thanksgiving day (no promises about the days surrounding), and Christmas week, but that could very well be it. This is an issue that you will not have to deal with if you attend the same school as your sibling. Family time will mean so much more when everyone can spend time together – even if you are the second or third (or fourth or fifth…you get the idea) sibling to go to college, family time just will not feel the same if you go home and someone is missing. Even if that is not a concern for you – hey, it means that there will be one more person home to share the holiday chores with.
