Sibling question on the common app

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

Hi –

I’m filling out the common app and just got to the family section, where it has me list my siblings. I’m functionally an only child, as my siblings are all half siblings who I don’t have relationships with- Either drastically older or younger than me, like, 10-20 years age difference, and they all live in separate states.

I have limited information on them and I’m unsure of how to fill this out.

For example, I don’t know if my older half brother graduated high school- I think he might have attended a technical institute, but I’m not sure. My younger siblings are all under the age of 10 and I honestly do not know their exact ages.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to feel this out? Saying 0 seems deceptive as I DO have siblings, but there are required fields that I’m unclear on (such as, highest education level) and I don’t want to accidentally provide wrong info there by guessing.

2

Is the parent that is common to you and the older half-sibling(s) alive. If so, ask him/her. If the parent is not alive and your other parent does not know, ask the half-sibling. For the younger half-siblings, I’m sure someone in your family knows their ages. But it’s really not that big a deal. The colleges are really wanting to know if any of the siblings graduated college and/or attended/graduated the college to which you are applying.

3

@skieurope My older sibling is estranged from the parent that I have in common and I have no way of contacting them. I did find the ages for my younger siblings though, so that isn’t an issue anymore.

4

Then make your best estimate. It’s not a deal breaker unless you’re claiming they graduated from the university to which you are applying.

5

Thank you, I appreciate the help!