Okay, we’ll level with you here: Georgetown doesn’t go through the Common App, so you have to jump through a few additional hoops to apply directly through their system. Their defense? Having their own application allows them to “fulfill [their] commitment to this holistic admissions process” and “allows [their] applicants to best express their personalities, talents, skills and accomplishments.” Our personal opinion? The initial online form and subsequent application supplement are pretty standard, so… Sometimes people just need to feel special. (Get in line, George!) Speaking of special, last year Georgetown had an acceptance rate of just 13% for incoming freshmen.
Let’s quickly go over the Georgetown highlights. Located in our nation’s capital, this Catholic, Jesuit school is a prestigious private university defined by its proximity to Capitol Hill, its historic past, and its cultural commitment to social justice. You’ll want to keep these cornerstones in mind and work diligently on your supplemental essays to set yourself apart as an applicant.
Applying to Georgetown
Before you can get to the meat of your application — those essay questions — you’ve got to get your application in the system. First, fill out this preliminary form. Within 24 hours, you will receive an email allowing you to create your application account, and from this platform you can continue with your application supplement.
Like all applications, the majority of these forms is paperwork, and the questions will be familiar to you. However, each applicant will need to write three original responses — one short answer, two brief essays — to complete the supplement (you can view a reference copy here), and we’ll take a closer look at those prompts in this blog post.
The Short Essay
Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
Remember, all space on an application is precious, so don’t repeat yourself here! Because they ask about the activity with which you have been most involved, you will already have listed it in the extracurricular section, which asks you to start with the commitments most important to you. When we say “don’t repeat yourself” here, we don’t mean that you need to choose an activity that doesn’t appear in that list, because that would mean you’re writing about something you didn’t spend enough time on to bother including it on your activity list. What we mean is this: use the space you have to elaborate on this activity to strategically present new information about yourself.
The written portions of an app help an admissions committee to get to know you as a real person and not just a resume, and you’ll want to get your most prominent personality traits across. Choose a quality you’d like to emphasize, and tell a story about your activity that demonstrates that characteristic. This story should have a beginning, middle, and end, and your conclusion should tie back to your future at Georgetown. Reference a similar club or organization at Georgetown that you’d like to join — there’s no contract that will hold you to this if you change your mind, but articulating your intention to keep building on your experience will prove you’ve done your research and that you’ll be an involved undergraduate and positive presence on campus.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to convey your ~scrappy resilience~ in your application, and the club you were most involved in during high school was your local chapter of Amnesty International. Of course, your readers will know that this activity means you have a passion for social justice and human rights, but what they might not know is that, despite ranking math as your least favorite subject, you accepted the role of treasurer sophomore year because it was the only open position and you wanted to join the leadership committee as early as possible. Maybe you had to learn the fundamentals of accounting on your own, but you took the initiative to ensure your chapter’s fundraising efforts were successful because of your dedication to that year’s campaign to support girls’ equal access to education globally.
Full Essay #1
ALL APPLICANTS: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief personal or creative essay which you feel best describes you and reflects on your own background, identity, skills, and talents. (approximately one page, single-spaced, typed)
As you can tell, this prompt is broad, but it boils down to “tell us about yourself.” Because the essay can be personal or creative and only asks that you describe yourself in your own words, this is a great opportunity to use your Common App Essay.
Full Essay #2
You’re almost to the finish line, now, but this second essay is a bit of a “choose your own adventure.” Well, that’s the fun way to put it. Technically speaking, incoming first-years must apply to one of five schools within Georgetown, so your second essay depends on which program you’d like to enter. We’ll briefly look at all five, so bear with us.
Full Essay #2
You’re almost to the finish line, now, but this second essay is a bit of a “choose your own adventure.” Well, that’s the fun way to put it. Technically speaking, incoming first-years must apply to one of five schools within Georgetown, so your second essay depends on which program you’d like to enter. We’ll briefly look at all five, so bear with us.
APPLICANTS TO GEORGETOWN COLLEGE: A liberal arts education from the College of Arts & Sciences involves encounters with new concepts and modes of inquiry. Describe something (a class, a book, an event, etc.) that changed your thinking. (Applicants to the sciences, mathematics, public policy or languages are encouraged to include examples related to that field.)
The College of Arts & Sciences asks you about an anecdote, related to your future field, that “changed your thinking.” Once again, you’ll need to tell a story that illustrates how you became passionate about your intended major or specialization. This time, the framework for telling that story should involve changing your mind — admissions wants to ensure you’re compatible with a liberal arts approach to undergraduate study.
Be specific. Your story should illustrate how you developed your interest, and communicate in detail what that interest is — a particular problem you’d like to tackle or a sub-topic within a broader field. After that, reference research you’ve done about opportunities at Georgetown that indicates why it’s the best place to pursue your goals. We recommend you mention at least two upper-level classes offered in the course catalog and one scholar with whom you’d like to study, research, or mentor.
Your goal here is twofold: demonstrate your open-mindedness, flexibility, and willingness to grow, and get across your “why” (why you need to study this subject at Georgetown as opposed to any other school).
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science).
While similar to the prompt above, the School of Health’s instructions are a bit broader. You’ll still need to specify your intended major from the three tracks offered, and you’ll want to point to specific courses, professors, and local research that interests you. In this case, the only difference is that the story of how you chose healthcare is allowed to be broader — it doesn’t hinge on a change in thinking but rather the development of your inclination toward healthcare however you see it.
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF NURSING: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major Nursing.
This one’s almost identical to the School of Health essay, so you can use the same strategy. Just make sure that your research — and your passion for healthcare — refer to the nursing track rather than global health, healthcare management & policy, or human science.
APPLICANTS TO THE WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: The Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders to solve global problems. What is motivating you to dedicate your undergraduate studies to a future in service to the world?
Once again, you need to give the backstory of how you became interested in foreign service work. After you have sketched your personal journey, tie in specific details about the Walsh School’s classes, faculty, and unique programs, especially as they relate to your stated interests. This is important. “Global problems” are, understandably, pretty gigantic and abstract, and no one can master everything. To strengthen your application to Georgetown’s foreign service program, you should define your niche by showing that you are knowledgeable in a specialized area — that might be a global problem as it manifests at a local level or a subtopic within international relations.
APPLICANTS TO THE MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Please discuss your motivations for studying business at Georgetown.
Last but not least, we’ve got our future wolves of Wall Street. The McDonough School of Business asks about your motivations, which means you should not only give your background (how you came to have a passion for entrepreneurship) but should articulate what you plan to focus your study on and how this degree will aid the vision you have for your future.
Let’s face it, “motivations” is a loaded word, and you need to share your intentions — not just what you plan to do, but why you want to do it. In other words, it’s not a great look to say you want to start paving your way toward an elite Masters in Business program so you can get filthy rich. This prompt highlights “ethical, analytical, financial, and global” lenses to hear what applicants have to say about how business analysts and economists conceive of their work as having an influence on, and being influenced by, the quality of life on a societal and individual level, the relationships between sectors and countries, and the nuances of policy and regulation, just to start. These frameworks are not random, so make sure that your essay relates your motivations to the perspectives they’ve listed in the prompt.
Summing Up
When looking at these five secondary prompts, dare we say… “same, same, but different?” We do. Yes, each school has a slightly different preamble and approach to the question, but ultimately all five essay options want to know why this field and, implicitly, why this field at Georgetown?
Scanning the Georgetown application might be intimidating at first, but in the end a great supplement is a pretty simple recipe. You’re just telling admissions what you already know: why Georgetown is ideal for achieving your aspirations, and why you’d be a wonderful addition to the Hoyas.
Looking for specialized help on school-specific supplements? Reach out to us today.