Georgetown is a leading research university in Washington, D.C. that is known for being deeply intellectual, globally-aware, and passionate about creating a better world. Founded in 1789, Georgetown has been informed and shaped by their Jesuit origins, but they welcome people of all backgrounds and faith traditions. There are about 7,598 undergraduate students, spread among seven colleges. The most popular and largest undergraduate college by far, though, is the College of Arts & Sciences. Don’t assume Arts & Sciences is your best fit just because it is the biggest, though, as there are even 470 students at Georgetown University in Qatar!
In this post we’ll be focusing on one particular piece of the interview process that can make a big difference for your application if Georgetown is one of your top choices. And you really need every boost you can get. Getting into Georgetown is tough. For enrollment in the fall of 2023, the university received 25,485 undergraduate applications and only accepted 3,334 students — or 13%. So, what do you need to know before your interview to increase your chances? We’ve got answers.
If you’re a top student eyeing an exceptional university, get in touch. We can help.
Every first-year applicant to Georgetown is required to do an interview unless there isn’t an alumnus in your area who is able to interview you. Sometimes you can get out of the interview, too, if your schedule is just painfully difficult — but we highly, highly recommend not being difficult if an interview is offered. And this is why.
While your interview is with someone who went to Georgetown and not a person who will actually make a ‘yes or no’ decision on your application — and they say the inability to do an interview will not negatively impact your application — it can absolutely positively impact your application. And it can also tank your application. If you interviewer gets the feeling you aren’t being entirely honest, or haven’t represented yourself in your application truthfully, that can turn the tide for your admissions chances, and not in a good way.
To make the interview work for you, not against you, this is what you need to do.
Preparation
The most important piece of preparing for your interview is being honest and truthful in your application. This may sound obvious, but even an exaggeration that you forget about, resulting in an inconsistency between your application and what you tell your interviewer, can be a big hit you won’t recover from. The best way to avoid inconsistencies is to follow the facts every step of the way. If you co-lead a club, don’t refer to yourself as the sole leader — anywhere. If you are involved with a club, don’t say you started it if you didn’t. You get the gist.
Next, you need to prepare an ‘elevator pitch’. You won’t (please) read this off verbatim to your interviewer when they ask, “who are you?” However, this 5-7 sentence short statement summing up what you care about now, your interests, and where you hope to be in the future will be a super useful fallback should your brain go blank, and you need something to say.
We don’t want to feel scripted, though, so the next step is practice. We work with our students on their elevator pitch and do practice interviews in preparation, and you should do the same. Take the practice interviews seriously. Have a mentor or parent interview you as if they were your alumni interviewer. That means no stopping to suggest you say something differently or to nudge you in a particular direction with an answer. Do this at least three times until you have really solid and smooth answers to questions like:
What’s your favorite class?
What is something you’re excited about?
Why Georgetown?
That last one is critically important. You are not prepared for your interview until you have a 2-3 minute, specific, and detailed response to “Why Georgetown?” In your answer, you’ll need to know why you want to study what you want to study at Georgetown and why the culture of Georgetown is perfect for you.
The Interview
A good interview feels like a conversation, so you want to practice enough that you’re not freaking out when it comes time to join the call. During the interview, look for opportunities to ask your interviewer about their time at Georgetown. What did they like? And what do they wish more students took advantage of?
By asking questions throughout the call, not just at the end, you create a conversational back-and-forth that, when done right, makes you look polished, prepared, and genuinely interested not just in Georgetown but in the person, you’re speaking with. And if they feel good leaving the call not just about you, but also about themselves, that can really improve the feedback they deliver to Georgetown.
The Follow-Up
What happens after your interview may be just as important as what you say during it. You absolutely must send a thank you note. It is unlikely that you’ll have your interviewers mailing address, so an email will do. This thank you note should be short, specific, and spell their name correctly (seriously, triple-check). Don’t be pushy or ask for any particular outcome, but thank them for their time.
Once you’ve completed the interview, your college application process likely isn’t over. You may have other applications to submit, portfolios to finish, or recommendations to follow up on. So don’t get too bogged down in if you did well — you have other things to worry about! But putting in the time before the interview to prep, and following up like the young professional you are, are absolutely worth the effort and can truly make a difference for Georgetown admissions.
If you want 1:1 interview prep, reach out. We help students get into their dream schools.