8 thumbs up: Quadruplets choose same NY college

[April 20, 2010]  EAST SETAUKET, N.Y. (AP) -- The vote is unanimous.

A set of quadruplets from New York have decided to attend the same college. Grace, Erin, Bobby and Danny Mele will attend Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., in the fall.

Grace Mele was the holdout. She was concerned about spending her college years known as "one of the quadruplets."

But the 17-year-old from Setauket (seh-TAWK'-keht) on Long Island decided it would be "traumatic" to split up the close-knit siblings. Says Grace: "We're going to savor these next few years together."

Their dad, Robert Mele, cried with happiness at the news.

Or was it sticker shock?

Actually, scholarships and sibling discounts have greatly reduced the family's upcoming bill -- to about $74,000 a year.

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Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com/

[Associated Press]

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