Triplets Dylan, Jared and Jonathan McFerran had the mutual understanding that, when exploring colleges, their interests may separate them after a childhood together.

“We’ve been together our whole lives, so everyone expected we’d go our separate ways, toward whatever college we felt passionate about,” Jared said.

Turns out their search led them not too far away from their Ambler, Pennsylvania, home. All three are first-semester freshmen at Temple. Not only that, but they are all enrolled in Temple’s College of Science and Technology, with Jared majoring in biology on the pre-med track and Dylan and Jonathan both majoring in computer and information sciences—Dylan and Jonathan even have the exact same class schedule.

Although twins are relatively common at Temple—there are 30 sets among freshmen and transfers—the McFerran brothers are the only triplets in the Class of 2020. Jared and Jonathan are identical; Dylan is fraternal.

The brothers commute to Temple from home and also work together as servers at the Gwynedd Estates retirement community.

“With us going to college together, we have the ability to help each other out, which we did in high school,” Jared said. “That worked out well for us. And for our majors, Temple has a strong College of Science and Technology.”

Graduates of Hatboro-Horsham High School, the McFerran brothers all ranked highly in their senior class and took advanced placement courses as juniors or seniors. Self-described as logical, the brothers say math and science come naturally to them.

Jared’s interest in Temple started when he spent time at Abington-Lansdale Hospital for a senior project. Two doctors there had graduated from Temple and recommended the university. Dylan explored colleges with a friend—now also enrolled at Temple—by drafting a “massive list” of options. He whittled it down to Temple due to its academic programs, campus life, location and affordability. Jonathan then decided he should become an Owl, too.

That’s just fine for Donna and Bill McFerran, who also have a daughter, Miranda, a nursing major at Montgomery County Community College. Donna is focused on limiting student debt for her children, so affordability was a primary consideration.

“It’s fortunate that Temple is affordable and close by, but it’s also renowned throughout the United States,” she said. “If you go anywhere and say you graduated from Temple, people know it.”