Twin brothers at a Long Island high school, bound to “rival” Ivy League colleges earned their school’s valedictorian and salutatorian honors, with their GPA’s being thousandths of a point apart.
Devon and Dylan Lee will graduate at the top of their class this spring from Herricks High School in New Hyde Park after earning the highest and second-highest grades, respectively.
The 17-year-old fraternal twins say their impressive accomplishments were thanks to their parents’ goals for them.
“Our parents value education, and always told us to try our best,” Dylan told ABC 7 NY. “Not the grade, just try our best.”
“More experiences, I try to be open-minded,” said Devon. “It could be something small, learn from my peers or teachers.”
While some sibling rivalry may always be a part of their relationship, Dylan says he was happy to learn his brother bested him by just six thousandths of a grade point.
Herricks High School, a public school in Nassau County, was ranked 29 overall in New York, and 257 in national rankings, according to US & World News.
The news of their class honors came just before the brothers learned they were accepted early at two of the nation’s best colleges.
Devon proudly said he would be attending Cornell University while his brother will be starting at Yale University in the fall.
Education wasn’t the only thing the two focused on over the last four years as they were highly involved in extracurricular activities with the school and around their community.
The brothers played instruments, Devon on the cello and Dylan playing the double bass, and both were selected in September to participate in the All-State Music Festival up in Rochester, NY last month, according to the school.
The twins joined 19 other students from the school to perform in what is considered the highest honor a school musician can attain.
A video, obtained by WABC, captured the twins from when they were younger publicly playing a grand piano together in front of a crowd that had gathered.
Outside of music, the high schoolers won back-to-back championships with their volleyball team and multiple long-distance races, according to the outlet.
“I hated running at first,” Dylan said. “Dad would get us up at 7 a.m. to train.”
The brothers have run several races including 10Ks and half marathons and even a full marathon — finishing in a time of 2:10 and 2:15.
The two brothers aren’t the only smart ones in their family as their older sister Jey-Lin studies astrophysics at California Institute of Technology.
During a celebration at their school following the class rankings announcement, the Lee brothers were joined by their parents during a celebration at their school following the class rankings announcement,
Their sister joined virtually, appearing in pictures with her younger siblings on a phone, photos shared to Instagram from the school district showed.