What it’s like having a sibling on the Heights

I’ll never forget that day I got accepted into Boston College. After taking my last final exam in high school, I came home to see my sister standing at the door holding a large brown envelope with the Boston College emblem printed across the front.

At the time I was filled with excitement, going to BC was a dream of mine since I was in elementary school, now it was a reality.

At the time I wouldn’t know it, but the unforeseen benefit of getting into BC was being able to go to the same school as my sister for one more year.

Having the chance to go to go to college with your sibling is nothing short of amazing, especially at a school like BC. My sister and I have always been very close and now that we were both going to be at the same school for one more year, I knew that we would only become closer.

For me, there seemed to be a few specific things that having a sibling at Boston College does to make your life so much better.

You have a reliable source for invites to parties

Whenever the weekend came around, I always knew I could call Jenn and ask her what the best plan was. This was always nice especially as a freshman who had zero idea of what the social scene was like in college. I was lucky enough to be one of the few freshmen who caught an invite to the Mods during the first weeks of school. 

UIS and picking classes doesn’t seem so foreign

I’ll never forget calling my sister during orientation and asking her, 1) How do I pick classes? 2) What in the world is UIS? and 3) Should I be declaring a major? If it wasn’t for her I probably would have enrolled in three honors classes and an organic chemistry lab.

You have someone to explain how the bus works

I assumed the bus was primarily a way for off-campus students to get to campus and that was the extent of its usefulness. How wrong was I. Once I learned that I could hop on the Comm. Ave bus and be taken to Chipotle, my life changed forever. 

Your parents immediately become obsessed with Boston College  

My parent always loved Boston College ever since my sister was accepted, but that love was brought to a whole new level once I got in. I can confidently say that every single car in my garage has a BC sticker on the back. And as you probably assumed, I have enough BC clothes to open my own bookstore comparable to the size of the one in Mac.

Your quickly realize that using a tray in the dining hall is very uncool

Yes, I used a tray the first time I went to Mac. How was I supposed to know that using one was against all social norms at BC? Luckily my sister was able to inform me that no one uses trays and if I continued to do so, I would stand out to be another typical freshman who has no idea what they were doing.

You feel way more connected with your family

On a more serious note, having a sibling at school allows you to always stay close to your family no matter how far away home is. For a lot of students, going to school at BC means traveling hundreds of miles and only seeing your family during major holidays and extended breaks. With Jenn at school, I always had a little piece of family with me.

You’re prepared to take on the rest of college

Watching my sister graduate was certainly a day of mixed emotions. I was happy to see her continue on in life and pursue her dreams, but sad to see her leave after all she had done for me at BC.

With that being said, she put me in the right direction to continue to move on and enjoy the years to come. I don’t know where I would be today without the guidance and support Jenn provided me with, and I am always thankful for that.