Georgetown University is a private Jesuit university in Washington, D.C. If you are thinking about going to school for political science, policy, or history and are hoping for a midsized school in a metropolitan area, Georgetown is probably already on your list. From basketball to their truly gorgeous campus to being literally steps away from working in politics, there is a lot to love about Georgetown.
If you are serious about getting into Georgetown, you need to be a competitive candidate. Last year, they had around a 13% acceptance rate. However, that rate is slightly different depending on what undergraduate school you are applying to. The College of Arts & Sciences had a 12.3% acceptance rate; the School of Foreign Service (SFS) admitted 15%; the McDonough School of Business had a 12%; the School of Health had an 11.7% acceptance rate; and the School of Nursing clocked in at 16.1%. (We love it when schools break down this information. Shout out to the Hoyas.)
No matter the undergrad school you are looking at, there are some things that you need to do to be a competitive candidate at Georgetown. And today, we want to break it down.
What is Georgetown Looking for?
Georgetown uses a holistic review process meaning that they look at multiple factors when they assess your application. They break these factors down as part of a yearly document called the Common Data Set.
Pay extra attention to the factors marked “important” and “very important.” These are the factors you want to really ace.
Rigor, GPA, and Class Rank
The first thing you need to do is get your transcript right. Georgetown has some required units to apply. They are pretty standard, but you should still double-check to ensure you complete them.
Oh, one more note on classes. Depending on what school, academic interest, or major you are applying to at Georgetown, they recommend taking some more specific classes.
“Math or Science Concentration. Students who plan a concentration in mathematics or science should include four years of mathematics and at least three years of science.
Nursing Program. Candidates for the nursing program should include at least three years of mathematics, and one year each of biology and chemistry.
Business Program. Students interested in The McDonough School of Business should complete a minimum of three years of math, through advanced algebra and trigonometry, as calculus is required of all students in the program. Two years of natural science are recommended.
Language or Foreign Service Program. Students interested in the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics or the Walsh School of Foreign Service are recommended to have a background in a modern foreign language or Latin.”
However, you have to do more than just take the required (and recommended) classes. You need to take as many courses as you can at a high level. You should be padding your transcript with APs, IBs, Honors, Dual Enrollment etc. Pretty much just take whatever “hard classes” your school offers while still maintaining a great GPA.
If you google “average Georgetown GPA,” you might get the result of “4.01.” It’s not necessarily wrong but take it with a grain of salt because Georgetown doesn’t actually track admitted student GPA. This is usually because GPAs are hard to standardize and releasing a single number can be misleading to folks. For example, a 3.9 with the most challenging classes is better than an easy 4.0. That being said, you need to strive to get the best GPA possible and shoot for over a 4.0 weighted if possible.
They will also look at your class rank. If your school doesn’t rank, that is fine. However, most of their students are from the top tenth of their graduating class, and you should push yourself to be a top student. Full stop.
Test Scores
While many colleges are currently test-optional, Georgetown isn’t. You will have to submit test scores. Ideally, those test scores are higher than the middle 50% of applicants. This means between the 25th and 75th percentile. Well, actually, ideally, you want to be above the 75th. When our clients apply to Georgetown, they are always above the 75th percentile.
These numbers are high. We’re going to do the thing where we state the obvious—many students submitted perfect or near perfect scores in many of those categories. You should push yourself to do the same.
Extracurriculars
Just having excellent grades and scores isn’t enough. Not everyone with a 4.0 gets in. You need to set yourself apart further. You can do this partially with a great resume and the talents and abilities that you showcase through your extracurriculars. They want involved students and even track the most participated categories.
This is for the class of 2026, which consisted of 1,591 students. One take away was just how many students did volunteer work. Another, is how, given these numbers, most students persued multiple passions. However, whatever your activities are, you need to push yourself to show leadership and commitment.
Georgetown isn’t going to be impressed with a one hour a week commitment. They want to see students taking on leadership roles and committing their time to their passions. On top of this, at least some of your extracurricular passions should relate to what you hope to study at Georgetown. For example, if you plan to major in Comparative Literature, a sample activity list could be:
editor of your school’s literary magazine
winner of a few local writing competitions
summer class on world literature
volunteer at your local library
intern at a publishing company.
Georgetown’s application
Georgetown isn’t on the Common App. They have a separate application. It’s annoying, but they feel strongly about it and say,
“Our personalized application allows us to keep our applicant pool to a manageable size which guarantees that all applications will be read by a regional Admissions Officer who will apply his/her regional knowledge to the decision making process.”
We have a blog that breaks down the application specifically, but it is fairly similar to the Common App. We also think it probably wouldn’t kill them to just be on the Common App like everyone else <3. You can use your Common App essay for one of their essays. However, there are a couple of differences.
One is that you will have to write a supplemental essay about why you want to go to the undergraduate schoolt hat you are applying into. Take your time to do your research, you want to be able to talk about specific opportunities and how you would take advantage of him. Ideally, your essay shows the overlap between your interests and what Georgetown has to offer.
Take time with your essays because they are one of the places that showcase your character and personal qualities. You want them not only to be well written, but also to feel like you.
The Interview
Georgetown cares more about their interview than many other colleges. It is required for every applicant. There is a slight caveat to that… If there isn’t an alumni available to conduct the interview, it doesn’t count against you. However, if there is someone available, you will need to do it.
The interviewer will likely cover “academic interests, extracurricular activities, summer experiences, family background, future plans, and exposure to Georgetown.” We advise doing a little prep before the interview. If you aren’t great at talking about yourself, try a mock interview with family member or friend. Practice talking about yourself. Do a little research into the school and come up with questions about Georgetown for your interviewer. If you are worried about the interview we have even more tips here.
Georgetown asks for applicants to be the total package and its a lot to ask. But take a deep breath and start taking the first steps to be a great candidate. You don’t need to do it alone. We are more than happy to help if you don’t know where to start!
Need an expert in your corner? Reach out here.