Many students find that college offers a chance to escape the families that they have grown to love, hate or feel some combination thereof. Siblings in particular find that the desire to cultivate different personalities leads to attending different colleges. For at least 19 sets of Grinnell siblings, however, the allure of Grinnell transcends and often improves any sour relationship.

In many cases, certain aspects of the college rather than the presence of a sibling draws the pair to the school. Sarah Luetzow '09 indicated that she wanted her younger sister, Ann Luetzow '11, to take a look at Grinnell. "I wanted Ann to come to Grinnell," said Sarah. "I was trying to be unbiased and not persuasive. I tried to be as neutral as possible."

Paige Greenley '09 and Dodge Greenley '11, known as the "Great Grinnell Greenleys," hadn't considered attending the same school until Dodge began his college search and found he held similar academic interests. "I wasn't planning that far ahead," said Paige. "It didn't really matter to me."

Dodge, on the other hand, was more concerned. "When I thought about college, it wasn't with Paige," he said. "I couldn't go somewhere where I knew anybody." Paige cited her decision to go abroad in the fall as a way to let Dodge get acclimated on his own first.

Likewise, for twins Dylan Gumm '11 and Derek Gumm '11, Grinnell was never meant to be a shared space. Derek applied and was accepted under Early Decision, whereas Dylan later began looking more closely at Grinnell based on Derek's praise and visits to campus.

After two semesters, the Greenleys have no issues being at the same school. "I'm so glad she's here," Dodge said. "It's not like she's infected my social life and is dictating who my friends are, but it's someone that I have a history with that means a lot to me, and she's been really supportive."

"I hated that I missed seeing a lot of his plays [in high school], but now I can go see his improv, and that's really fun," Paige said, noting that even coincidentally living in Haines together has not been a problem.

Ann suggests that the decision to go to school with Sarah has not been without its drawbacks. "It made me feel very claustrophobic, I think, at first," she said. "I think it doesn't bother me that much anymore. But it's just kind of strange."

Sarah mentioned hearing about her sister from friends as one benefit. "It's very convenient," said Sarah, "because I'll hear about what Ann is doing even if I'm not around her."

For the Gumms, the potential claustrophobia has yet to take its toll: "I've heard stories about Derek," said Dylan, "but normally I guess I hear about what Derek does from Derek."

The brothers say that, while some aspects of going to school together are less than desirable (their tennis coach calls them "the Gumm twins"), they do not feel socially limited or constrained. "You already have a friend here when you come to school, so you begin making other friends more quickly," Dylan suggested.

In fact, Paige's only complaint was that it was "a little weird coming back from abroad and people that I hadn't met before would say 'Oh, you're Dodge's sister,' when I went abroad so he would avoid being 'Paige's brother.'"

Ultimately, the attitudes of the three sets of siblings were ones of optimism. Ann said that she believes "things will continue to improve" between her and Sarah.

Dylan also cited the changing nature of his relationship with Derek: "I feel like we're better friends now and not just brothers. The relationship is just evolving."