Duke's biggest attraction for sophomore Christopher Shaw was not a gorgeous campus or top-ranked basketball team, but one individual-his twin Jefferson Shaw.
"[Jefferson] influenced my decision to go to Duke when he got in early," Christopher said. "It's good having the support of someone so close, someone who knows you so well."
Jefferson said he believed that being a twin could have helped his brother's chance for admittance.
"I'm sure he would have gotten in-he was as qualified as I was," Jefferson said. "But being a twin probably had an effect."
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag said that, when one twin is admitted early decision and the other applies regular decision, an admissions officer usually pulls up the admitted twin's application.
"It is out of curiosity that we'd refer to the other application," Guttentag said. "It certainly wouldn't drive our decision in any particular direction."
Guttentag added that similar treatment is extended to applicants whose older siblings also applied to the University.
When twins apply at the same time, admissions officers review their applications together, but only to help separate the candidates, Guttentag said.
"Oddly enough, we look at the two applications together to appropriately evaluate them as individuals," he noted.
Freshman Tim Gu said he and his twin Mark Gu, who is also a freshman at the University, basically had the same application.
"We would edit each other's application to make sure the names of the organizations were consistent, since we were in the same one, and stuff like that," Tim said.
Since many twins have the same academic backgrounds, comparable activities and even similar social security numbers, it is very easy to mix up parts of one application with another, Guttentag said.
Although most twins do receive similar decisions, one twin's admission decision does not determine the other's, he said. Guttentag said no statistical data regarding twin admissions is available.
"Most of the time we end up making similar decisions on twins because we find the twins often start looking similar," he said. "But we feel very comfortable making different decisions when we think there's a significant difference."
Such was the case for freshman Eric Jones and his twin Forrest Jones, who was declined admissions to Duke.
Eric said he and his brother were very surprised at the admissions results, noting that he does not think there was a wide disparity between their applications.
"Although I had slightly higher test grades and GPA, he's a better writer. He should have put together a better application," Eric said.
When the brothers called Duke's admissions office in order to ask about the decision, the office was unable to give them a clear reason.
Guttentag said the admissions office does not consider the possible benefits of keeping twins together.
"We don't assume that twins will go to the same college," he said. "That's a decision that every family, every group of twins makes for themselves."
Some twins who attend Duke said they find their sibling's presence both comforting and helpful.
In some cases the relationship is extended to three, as was the case for freshmen triplets Charisma, Deborah and Shannon Nelson.
"It is much easier to have them around," Shannon said. "I always have someone to chill with, and it is easier to meet people, too."
Deborah said having two sisters not only makes social life easier, but also helps academically.
"We have always been study partners; we boost each other up to do better," she added.
Mark and Tim Gu, who are currently involved in the same activities, agree they work better together.
"The best way for any activity to function is when discussion happens outside of the activity," Tim said, adding that they often bounce new ideas off each other during their daily conversations.
"We also make a greater impact [in extracurricular activities] simply because there are two of us," Mark said.
Although Eric Jones used to work side-by-side with his twin, he did not observe a decrease in work efficiency now that he is alone. "Not having him around makes it so I have to decide more things on my own," Eric said.
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