georgetown university application essay

Georgetown University 2023-24 Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 10

You Have: 

Georgetown 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 essay of 250 words; 1 half-page essay; 2 page-long essays

Supplemental Essay Type(s):  Activity , Why, Diversity

Prompt 1: Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight. (250 words)

This prompt may come first on the list, but we think you should save it for last! For the other essays on the Georgetown application, we ask you to dig deep and share personal stories that showcase talents and interests. Don’t dry the well by listing all of your (many!) skills and talents too soon. Every essay should reveal something new to admissions. So once you finish polishing your other pieces, ask yourself: what’s missing? Is there some critical puzzle piece that will help connect your other three essays? Or have you been dying to get something off your chest that didn’t fit anywhere else? This essay could be the perfect outlet for you to showcase your more personal skills, interests, and quirks. If the rest of your essays showcase your drive to work in international relations, perhaps your answer to this prompt could showcase a lighter side: your love of experimental cooking (and impressive knife skills!). Or maybe explain how learning a new language helped you learn how to whistle! While you should aim to showcase genuine skills that you have put effort into cultivating, you can also have a little bit of fun. This prompt is the most open-ended one on the application, so show admissions something they won’t find anywhere else on your application.

Prompt 2: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (approximately 1/2 page, single-spaced) 

Next up is a fun twist on the classic activity essay, which asks you to expand on an extracurricular endeavor that you care about. For starters, we’d give you basically the same advice the prompt does: focus on one of the activities “in which you have been most involved.” Although we usually urge students to write about items that haven’t appeared elsewhere on their application, the activity essay is an exception since it specifically asks you to address an item on your resume. So, pick something with meat! When have you had the opportunity to take on a leadership role? How has four years of debate club shaped the way you communicate? Was it difficult coaching pee wee soccer as a freshman, and what motivated you to stick with it?

Prompt 3: 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 1 page, single-spaced)

Though it seems straightforward, this may be one of the hardest prompts! (What do you mean, tell you about myself in my own words?) Don’t fret. You can treat this essay just like the Common App’s prompt #1 , which asks students to write about a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. (Even better: if you’ve already written an essay in response to the Common App’s first prompt, you can recycle that essay here since Georgetown has its own application platform!)

If you’re approaching this essay from scratch, take some time to brainstorm. What about your background, talents, or identity might be worth highlighting for an admissions officer? Don’t worry about cramming every aspect of the wonder that is you into one essay; they will naturally reveal themselves along the way as you write. Whether you want to write about a facet of your identity that few people know about or a passion you’ve been dabbling in (and telling everyone about) for years, you can’t go wrong with authentic reflection and an engaging hook!

Georgetown University School-Specific Prompts.

(each school-specific prompt should not exceed 1 page, single-spaced), georgetown college of arts and sciences: 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.).

Admissions wants to learn about a time when your mind was changed. If you’re an active reader or information seeker, you probably have a few ideas already. But if nothing comes to mind immediately, don’t panic; instead, think about the times in your life when you’ve had an “Aha!” moment that forced you to drastically re-examine one of your beliefs or understandings. Admissions wants to know that you are open to new ideas and can reflect in order to see things from a different perspective. As you tell your story, include sensory details to bring your experience to life, whether you’re sitting in the back of a classroom, head in your hands, trying to wrap your brain around the truth-bomb your teacher just dropped; or curled up in a blanket by the fireplace with your nose in a gripping book. If you’re deciding between “Aha!” moments to write about, pick the one most closely related to your intended field of study. Applicants who can articulate their thoughts and feelings while showcasing malleability and a willingness to thoughtfully consider new ideas will likely stand out as valuable additions to the Georgetown community. 

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).

If we know anything about applying to medical programs, it is this: everyone wants to help people; everyone wants to make the world a better place; everyone wants to make a meaningful contribution. Few fields lend themselves to service-oriented clichés and platitudes as readily as medicine does, so to safely navigate the minefield of hackneyed generalizations, start with something personal! What’s one eye-opening experience that made you believe healthcare could be your calling? Perhaps it was a single moment, like accidental eye contact with a concerned mother at the ER. Or maybe it was something more long-term, such as navigating your school in a wheelchair after knee surgery and realizing you want to improve patient outcomes through researching physical therapies. Whatever the case, use your personal story as the backdrop for your argument. What did you learn? What problems do you hope to tackle? What change do you hope to help create? As we said, it’s not enough to just want these things; your job is to show admissions why medicine interests you personally. Once you’ve accomplished that, be sure to address the role Georgetown will play in your plan for the future. In other words, why do you want to study healthcare at Georgetown in particular? Do they have a research lab that’s at the forefront of innovation? A wise applicant will do some research so they can infuse their response with specific details that demonstrate meticulousness and drive.

School of Nursing: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying your intended major, Nursing.

Well, this is about as straightforward as prompts get! Our advice is much the same as it is for students applying to the School of Health (see above). Set yourself apart from other applicants by not only discussing the factors that led you to pursuing a career in nursing, but by also connecting those experiences to your larger goals for the future. If there are elements of a Georgetown education that will support your particular interest or connect to your past experiences in some way, you should dig into that in your response, while also revealing new information to admissions about your character, motivations, and aspirations.

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?

The Walsh School of Foreign Service wants to know what fuels your fire. What is driving you to dedicate your undergraduate studies (and maybe even your life!) to a path of service? Maybe you are incredibly passionate about combating climate change before it’s too late. What do you hope to achieve and how? Perhaps you’re following in the footsteps of a trailblazer you look up to—how do you hope to continue fighting the good fight in their honor? If you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself: what kind of mark would you like to leave on the world? How do you think you can positively contribute to a cause that is important to you? If you had the power to make a lasting impact in any area at all, what would it be? While building the personal connection is key, you’ll also want to leave yourself some space to spell out at least a few steps you might take to address your global issue of choice.

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.

If you think we’ve never seen an essay with the line, “I love money,” you would be wrong. Spoiler: this does not make a great first impression. Studying business is about so much more than dollars and cents, and the prompt offers a few other aspects of business you’ll learn about in this program including “ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives.” In order to get some perspective, we’d recommend doing your homework. Like any classic why essay, the best answers are personal and specific, so go beyond your general interest in business and try to figure out specifically why Georgetown could be the right fit for you. Is it the location? The professors? The travel opportunities? Allow yourself to follow every lead and fall down every rabbit hole as you root through the program website. Your essay should paint a picture of the kind of student you will be at Georgetown, from the classes you’ll take to the activities you’ll pursue. How will this education prepare you for your dream career?

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Sample Essays

The breadth of Georgetown’s core curriculum means that students are required to write for a wide variety of academic disciplines. Below, we provide some student samples that exhibit the key features the most popular genres. When reading through these essays, we recommend paying attention to their 

1. Structure (How many paragraphs are there? Does the author use headers?) 

2. Argument (Is the author pointing out a problem, and/or proposing a solution?) 

3. Content (Does the argument principally rely on facts, theory, or logic?) and 

4. Style (Does the writer use first person? What is the relationship with the audience?)

Philosophy Paper

• Singer on the Moral Status of Animals

Theology Paper

• Problem of God
• Jewish Civilization
• Sacred Space and Time
• Phenolphthalein in Alkaline Solution

History Paper

• World History

Literature Review

Comparative Analysis 

Policy Brief

• Vaccine Manufacturing

White Paper

Critical Analysis

• Ignatius Seminar

Georgetown University

• Cost & scholarships
• Essay prompt

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We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.

Georgetown University’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Extracurricular 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.

Personal Statement Essay

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.

Select-A-Prompt Essay

All students applying to Georgetown will have to answer 3 essay prompts: two general essays and one school-specific essay.

Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight.

Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.

Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences: 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.)

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).

School of Nursing: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying your intended major, Nursing.

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?

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.

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September 9, 2023

2023-2024 Georgetown University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Georgetown University has released its 2023-2024 admissions essays for applicants to the Class of 2028 . The Jesuit institution, which has for years bucked the trend of joining The Common Application , asks applicants to respond to three essays in addition to one essay that is school-specific within the broader university. So, what are this year’s essay prompts? Let’s dive in!

2023-2024 Georgetown Essay Topics and Questions

Essays for all georgetown applicants.

All Georgetown applicants must answer the following three essay prompts

1. Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight (250 words) .

Applicants should focus on a skill related to the hook they’ve showcased in the activities section of their Georgetown application. After all, Georgetown’s admissions committee doesn’t care if an applicant can juggle. Even if the skill doesn’t relate to the student’s hook, the talent must showcase intellectual curiosity or it’s a wasted opportunity.

2. Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved (approximately 1/2 page, single-spaced) .

Applicants should shine a spotlight on one of their more meaningful activities. And, yes, this activity should relate to the student’s hook. If a student is interested in studying political science, the activity they write about for this essay prompt should not relate to physics. Georgetown’s admissions committee wants to see how applicants are going to make the world better in a small but meaningful way. As such, this is an opportunity to show rather than tell how they’ve done that to date through the prism of a specific extracurricular pursuit.

3. 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 1 page, single-spaced)

It’s unsurprising that unlike many of its peer institutions, Georgetown has made few changes to its application in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling outlawing Affirmative Action. After all, Georgetown’s longtime Dean of Admissions Charles Deacon is well known for his aversion to change. For example, it took a worldwide pandemic for the man to finally switch to notifying applicants of their decisions via the Internet rather than snail mail.

While this essay is similar to last year’s third essay prompt required of all applicants, the wording is slightly different. Unlike last year’s prompt, Georgetown has included “background” and “identity.” Last year, the prompt read, “As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.”

Now, keep in mind that some schools, like Johns Hopkins University , included bold language that very much capitalized on the loophole Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts penned in his majority opinion outlawing Affirmative Action , allowing schools to continue to consider a candidate’s race in context: “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” Georgetown, unsurprisingly, didn’t go nearly as far in its language under its reluctant-to-modernize admissions czar — but it’s a step nonetheless.

Students need not be underrepresented minorities to answer this prompt powerfully. Students can instead write about their faith, community, or experiences, but we do encourage applicants who are underrepresented minorities to subtly make it clear since Georgetown, like all highly selective universities, continues to wish to admit a diverse class of students.

Georgetown School-Specific Essays

For the school-specific essay, irrespective of the school, the essay should not exceed one page, single-spaced.

Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences

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.)

Georgetown’s admissions committee wants to understand how an applicant thinks. Through a specific anecdote or anecdotes (no matter a student’s chosen field of study) — be it via a book, event, classroom discussion, lecture, or anything — it behooves applicants to shine a light on how they are filled with conviction. Yet, they’re also malleable to change when presented with better ideas. And, of course, it wouldn’t hurt to pepper — by showing rather than telling — the importance of the Jesuit tradition and, in particular, Cura personalis, in their storytelling.

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.

This essay prompt presents applicants with an opportunity to share an origin story — as high schoolers rather than as children — for their interest in business. Ideally, the origin story traces to an activity featured in the student’s Georgetown activities section. And, of course, McDonough isn’t looking to admit future business titans just out for money. They want to understand how applicants will make the world better in a small but meaningful way. As such, McDonough applicants should infuse their essays with Jesuit traditions — and why they matter to them in business. And, yes, this essay should also be infused with Why McDonough and Why Georgetown specifics (and, no, name-dropping professors and listing classes don’t count as genuine specifics).

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?

Walsh is looking to learn the origin story of an applicant’s interest in foreign service — as high schoolers rather than as children. Through a specific anecdote or anecdotes, which ideally trace back to the student’s activities so they’re showing rather than telling, applicants should highlight how they hope to leave a mark on the wall in a way that can be actualized. Stopping climate change can’t be actualized. Incentivizing countries to be greener — based on specific research and insights — is much more doable.

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).

Georgetown’s School of Health seeks to understand a student’s origin story, as a high schooler, for their interest in the disciplines under the School of Health’s umbrella. A grandparent becoming ill with breast cancer is not the way into such an essay since it’s all too common and doesn’t say enough about how a student thinks and how they wish to leave a mark on their field.

Instead, applicants should tell a small story that ideally relates to an activity they’ve participated in during high school, that showcases precisely why they want to contribute to the health field and how they hope to make a difference — and always in a small but deeply meaningful way.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Georgetown Essays

If you’re interested in submitting essays that will wow Georgetown’s admissions committee, fill out Ivy Coach ’s free consultation form , and we’ll be in touch to outline our college admissions counseling services for seniors.

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 top tips for writing exceptional georgetown essays.

College Essays

With an acceptance rate of less than 12 percent , Georgetown is ranked as an extremely competitive school . If you want to be a part of the student body, you need to impress, and one of the best opportunities you have to do that is in your Georgetown essays.

Don't let the Georgetown essay prompts intimidate you. Though they may look complicated at first—and they do ask complex questions—some foresight and planning will help you write essays that are sure to impress.

This guide will walk you through the Georgetown essays, giving you a look into the expectations and thought process behind each of the essay prompts .

Feature Image: Patrickneil /Wikimedia Commons

What Should You Know About the Georgetown Essay Prompts?

Georgetown doesn't use the Common or Coalition Application . Instead, you'll be filling out an application tailored specifically to their desires, though it may cover most of the same information.

Because of that, you'll want to pay extra close attention to what you discuss in your essays. Your essays should be tied specifically to Georgetown rather than the more general approach of the Coalition or Common Application .

The Georgetown essays include one short essay of about a half-page, single-spaced, one longer one-page essay required of all students, and a second one-page essay specifically tied to one of Georgetown's four schools: Georgetown College, the School of Nursing and Health Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the McDonough School of Business.

Students in the arts—specifically music, dance, theater, and studio art—may submit additional portfolios as part of their application, but it isn't required.

What Are the Required Georgetown Essay Prompts?

Because Georgetown's application is only for Georgetown, you'll immediately notice that they're a lot more specific than the Common or Coalition prompts. You should keep that specificity in mind as you answer the questions, thinking not just about why you want to go to a good school, but why you want to attend Georgetown specifically .

How to Answer the Georgetown Short Essay Prompt

Discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (One half-page, single spaced.)

This question is pretty straightforward. Though you've no doubt discussed your extracurriculars throughout your application, this question asks you to think deeper about one of them . Ask yourself why you do those activities, and what they personally mean to you.

"Why," not "what," should be the question you're answering . Flesh out your mentions of extracurriculars in your application with discussions of why you do them and what you've learned. The activity you discuss should be significant to you—not something you do purely for fun or something you do because your parents make you.

As with the first question, don't inflate things to look more impressive. If you spent most of your summer watching TV, that might be relevant if you're an aspiring screenwriter, and you can mention it—but again, answer the question of why . Why did you choose the shows you did? What did you learn from them?

That said, watching TV isn't the best choice. You'd be better off discussing how you spent your summer working on an original short film or participating in a workshop for aspiring screenwriters—but no matter what your preferred activity, there is a way to discuss why it's significant to you and what you learned from it.

This prompt gives you space to discuss your interests, particularly the things that can't be represented by numbers as grades and test scores can. It gives Georgetown a clearer picture of you, which helps in their decision.

This is also a space to expand on participation. Maybe you never became captain of the swim team and you've been worried that the lack of leadership might count against you. In this essay, you can explain that though that was your goal, you didn't quite make it—but that you learned a lot anyway.

This essay really is about what's significant to you, so there are no wrong answers—it's your execution that matters . Avoid being too general, or focusing too much on picking the most impressive thing from your roster if that thing didn't actually matter to you. Be genuine with what's significant to you and your essay will be stronger for it.

How to Answer the Georgetown Essay Prompt for 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 essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you. (One page, single-spaced.)

Notice how the emphasis on this question is on you. This is called a "Why You?" style essay — though the application is for Georgetown, the admissions office wants to know why you'll be a good fit for the college and what you in particular will bring to the student body .

What this means is that Georgetown doesn't want to hear about how they have the best program or the greatest campus. They want to know about you and what makes you unique .

When answering this question, think about what makes you a good fit for Georgetown's student body. Consider their mission statement , their origin as a Catholic and Jesuit college , and what that means today.

That doesn't mean that you need to identify yourself as Catholic if you aren't (please don't do that), but that you should consider the role that faith plays in Georgetown's approach to education . How does their mission statement connect to your own life and educational goals?

Demonstrating that you understand the school's mission and how you can contribute to it as a student is one of the most important parts of this question.

But "Why You?" is only part of the question . The specific mention of diversity is important, too. Its inclusion in the question means that it's important to Georgetown, and they want you to demonstrate that it's important to you, too.

Don't get too fixated on typical meanings of "diverse." We often use the word to refer to the variety of genders, sexualities, races, socio-economic statuses, and so on that exist in the world, but diversity of thought is worthwhile, too. Of course, you should write about your gender, sexuality, race, and so on if it's relevant to what you'll bring to campus—and it often is—but don't feel like it's all you have to offer.

Think about what your experience has taught you, and how those lessons will contribute to Georgetown's diverse student body. That can mean discussing overcoming socio-economic hardship, or it can mean relating how you and your seven brothers used to squabble until you realized working together got chores done faster. Everybody has a unique story to tell, and this is Georgetown offering you space to tell yours .

Georgetown invites you to get creative here, but if you want to take a more embellished approach than a traditional essay, be sure that that creativity comes through in your writing and language rather than in the events . Don't inflate things to look more interesting or diverse than you are—this is your chance to flesh out the grades and test scores with your personality, so be sure it's your personality that the admissions office sees.

How to Answer the Georgetown College Essay Prompt

Georgetown College is the largest undergraduate school at Georgetown University, and contains many of the school's arts and sciences programs.

What does it mean to you to be educated? How might Georgetown College help you achieve this aim? (Applicants to the Sciences and Mathematics or the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics should address their chosen course of study.) (One page, single-spaced.)

This question is asking about your personal relationship with education and learning. But more than that, it's asking you why you want to attend Georgetown, making it a "Why Us?" essay .

When answering this prompt, think about your goals and how Georgetown fits into them . They don't need to hear about how they're a good school and you've always wanted to attend a competitive college—they already know that, and most other students also want to attend a good school. Why Georgetown specifically, as opposed to all the other possible schools you could apply to?

This is a good place to demonstrate familiarity with their mission and curriculum. Are there particular classes or faculty driving your decision to attend? Mention them!

Think holistically here. How will attending Georgetown enrich your education and help you reach your career goals? Keep their mission statement in mind as you write—consider the ideas of diversity, service to humanity, and community and how those fit into your goals.

Again, avoid generalities. Your essay should have enough concrete connection to Georgetown that you couldn't easily swap another school's name in and still have it make sense. Of course, there will always be some overlap with other schools, but be sure that the true spirit of Georgetown comes through in your essay.

How to Answer the Georgetown School of Nursing & Health Studies Essay Prompt

Georgetown's School of Nursing and Health Studies is exactly what it sounds like. This is where you'll be applying if you're interested in any of the health care fields, which is reflected in the prompt.

Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, Human Science, or Nursing). (One page, single-spaced.)

This question isn't quite a clear-cut "Why Us?" or "Why You?" question, unlike the previous ones. Instead, it's asking "Why Health Care?"

Again, always keep in mind Georgetown's mission as a college: diversity, discussion, and the well-being of humanity. All of these things can factor into your essay in a meaningful way.

Think beyond health care being a reliable and well-paying field. Why do you want to care for people? Why the health field, specifically? Tying Georgetown's mission into this question is a great way to demonstrate your interest in the field, but also in the specific ways that this school teaches.

In this question, Georgetown wants you to demonstrate your interest in the field. If you're invested in health care, you're more likely to succeed in the program. The admissions office also wants to know what passion and interest you'll bring to the school, making you a student they want to invest in.

If you don't already know why you've chosen to pursue health care over other fields, now's the time to start thinking about it. Health care can often be thankless, difficult, and even frightening if you're working in emergency situations. What drives you to do it anyway?

Maybe you've struggled with illness yourself, and you want to commit to researching cures. Or maybe you're fascinated by the ways that disease impacts society, and you want to learn more about prevention and how to enact it on an individual basis. No matter what your career goal is, it's important that you can explain why you've chosen this field over all others.

However, be sure you can tie your interest to Georgetown specifically. Your essay will be even stronger if it explains not just what appeals to you about health care, but why Georgetown is the right college to help you achieve your goals.

How to Answer the Walsh School of Foreign Service Essay Prompt

If you're interested in international relations, Wash School of Foreign Service is likely where you'll be applying.

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? (One page, single-spaced.)

This is a perfect example of a  "Why Us?" question. Of all the schools out there, and all the programs, what led you to apply to Georgetown's school of foreign service? 

The trick to this question is being specific. Sure, the Walsh School of Foreign Service has interesting classes, great professors, and a strong track record for job placements, but so do a lot of other schools out there. What does it offer that other schools can't? In your response, be sure to mention specific courses/internship opportunities/professors who will give you opportunities unique to Georgetown.

We give more advice on how to answer this question under the next prompt, which is also a Why Us question!

How to Answer the McDonough School of Business Essay Prompt

The McDonough School of Business is exactly what it sounds like. If you're attending Georgetown with an interest in business, you'll need to answer the following prompt:

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. (One page, single-spaced.)

Like the Walsh School of Foreign Service, the McDonough School of Business prompt is a classic "Why Us?" question , asking you to identify not just that Georgetown is a good school, but why it's the right school for you and your interests.

To answer this question, consider the university's ethos and curriculum. Look at their course offerings and consider those as well as whatever reasons you have for applying. Think specifically, not generally— beyond it being a well-respected university, what does Georgetown have to offer you that other well-respected universities do not?

Georgetown wants to hear that you're committed to their program specifically, so answer in specifics. Identify features of their program in particular, and be sure to answer the question of why those features draw you to Georgetown.

If you have a personal anecdote about Georgetown, such as a moment on a tour, a personal connection to the campus, or admiration for a particular alumni, this essay is a good place to discuss it. If not, it's always a good idea to use concrete specifics, such as classes and extracurriculars that appeal to you. Fold those into a discussion of Georgetown's mission and your own career goals to paint a complete picture of why this is the right school for you.

What Does a Successful Georgetown Essay Look Like?

Planning an essay can be difficult as you try to weigh what the school might want against everything you could possibly cover. Thankfully, there's at least one successful Georgetown essay out there you can read in its entirety :

"Listen, girl. He's over 60 and speaks no English. There is no way we would hire him." His tone was rude, but I sadly understood why my dad wasn't hired. I faced my hopeful dad and watched his smile drop as I told him that Dave just remembered that they hired someone yesterday and that they really couldn't afford to hire anyone else. My dad was disappointed, but nonetheless he graciously shook Dave's hand and thanked him for his time. Job searching is difficult for everyone, but in a world full of Daves, it's almost impossible. Daves are people who look at my family and immediately think less of us. They think illegal, poor and uneducated. Daves never allow my dad to pass the first round of job applications. Daves watch like hawks as my brother and I enter stores. Daves inconsiderately correct my mother's grammar. Because there are Daves in the world, I have become a protector for my family. I excuse their behavior as just being a "typical American." I convince my mother that they are only staring at her lovely new purse. I convince my dad they are only shouting about store sales to us. Aside from being a protector, I am also an advocate. As an advocate, I make sure my family is never taken advantage of. I am always looking out for scams and discrepancies. I am the one asking the questions when we buy or sell a car. I make sure all details are discussed and no specifics are left unanswered.

It's not hard to see why the writer was accepted to Georgetown. This essay clearly demonstrates her experience and understanding of the world. The last paragraph is a great example of how to turn that experience into something actionable—she wants to go into public service, politics, or diplomacy because of how she's helped her parents and the bigotry she's witnessed as she's done so.

We know from reading exactly what the writer will bring to Georgetown: an understanding of the world and the way it's treated her and her family. She demonstrates her understanding of diversity clearly, which answers the first prompt—it shows what makes her unique as well as what she'll contribute.

The essay shows her personal story and how that's influenced her lifelong plans. Because the admissions office understands where she comes from and the essay finishes with where she hopes to go—as well as covering some of the obstacles she's overcome—they have a complete picture of her as a student.

One area the essay could be improved is strengthening the connection to Georgetown specifically. This essay is quite strong—she did get into Georgetown with it—but spending a little more time reflecting on how her life experience connects to Georgetown's mission would give it a little extra oomph . As it is, this could be an application essay for pretty much any school. Drawing a clear connection from your experiences to the college you're applying to demonstrates a stronger degree of interest, making your essay stand out.

Key Points of Advice for Georgetown Essays

No matter which prompts you're answering, it's a good idea to follow general advice for your Georgetown essays, too. Though the application for Georgetown is unique to the school, it still follows most of the common rules of college applications, so be sure to read up on some common tips for college applications .

#1: Read Prompts Carefully

Don't just answer the surface-level question. You have quite a bit of space to answer each of these, so read each one carefully, understand the deeper questions it might be asking, such as "Why You?" and be sure to answer those as well. Brainstorming will be a huge help here, as you can get all of your ideas out and select the ones that support your point the best.

#2: Connect Your Story to Your School

When you're writing "Why Us?" essays, think about your story—the things that have made you who you are, your ambition, your goals—and add in how Georgetown is the next step on your journey. Think beyond that it has a good reputation or that lots of impressive people have graduated from there. Draw a clear line between you and Georgetown by tying your experience in with its curriculum and mission statement. This will demonstrate that you're not just reusing the same essay for a bunch of schools, and that Georgetown is your real goal.

#3: Edit and Revise

Editing and revision are your best friends when it comes to a polished Georgetown essay. Don't just fire off a draft and call it good. Spend some time planning, writing, editing, and revising , being sure to start early so you can let your drafts rest between readings.

Spending more time will take some of the stress out of writing and let you put in more effort to get it into shape. The longer you have, the more thought you can put into it, so start early!

What's Next?

Give yourself plenty of time to get your Georgetown essay done by staying on top of all the deadlines for your application .

What else do you need to get into your dream school aside from stellar essays? This guide has all the requirements to get into Georgetown .

Even if you're not going to Georgetown, you should understand the college application process from start to finish. This helpful guide will walk you through applying to college starting from your freshman year of high school!

Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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June 29, 2022

Georgetown University School of Medicine: Secondary Application Essay Tips [2022 – 2023] & Podcast Interview

Are you interested in Georgetown University’s School of Medicine? In this blog post, we give our advice on tackling the school’s secondary essays and interview Dr. Ellen Dugan, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Admissions.

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Georgetown University School of Medicine 2022 – 2023 secondary application essay questions

Given the Jesuit influence at Georgetown and its adoption of the Cura Personalis philosophy, I recommend covering your clinical, research and community service experience for Georgetown’s secondary application essay. The school places special emphasis on training physicians to treat medically underserved communities. Highlight your personal connections, volunteer work and leadership roles in medically underserved communities.

Georgetown Medical School short essay question #1

The Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) strives to ensure that its students become respectful physicians, with cultural humility, who embrace all dimensions of caring for the whole person. With our Jesuit values of Cura Personalis, People for Others, and Community in Diversity, we are steadfast in our commitment to racial justice and to addressing the health inequities exacerbated by the recent pandemic. Please describe how your values, life experiences, and your identity will contribute to these GUSOM priorities. (1,000 characters)

This prompt for Georgetown replaces one that broadly asked to hear that you are compassionate and holistic. How do you embrace the Jesuit values as specified in the prompt (research them) and at the same time advocate for equity and justice for all? (You do not need to profess being Jesuit if that is not your truth, but all applicants would wisely explain their identification with these values and how they came to be instilled in your character.) How does doing so correspond with being humble?  How does being humble and righteous for equity define a physician’s character? How did the pandemic reveal stark inequity and racial bias? Explain this. What can others expect from you regarding how you uphold these values as ideals and actions?

Georgetown Medical School short essay question #2

Is there any further information that you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your file that you were not able to notate in another section of this or the AMCAS Application? ( 1,000 characters )

This would be the best place to cover any academic difficulties that you have overcome , whether you’ve retaken courses, created an increasing trend in your GPA or retaken the MCAT for a higher score. Focusing on those areas of the application that you have successfully improved can provide compelling evidence of your academic potential and how you will perform in medical school. If this approach is not relevant to your application, you can use this section to update the committee on new publications, activities or awards that may not be on the AMCAS application. Discuss what you have been doing since you started the application process.

Georgetown Medical School long essay question

Why have you chosen to apply to the Georgetown University School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future?  (3,000 characters)

Since this is such a long essay, it will be helpful to draw upon your previous experiences to demonstrate why your values align with those of Georgetown . Use 1-3 concrete, specific examples to explain how and why you will integrate easily into their study body. The second part of this essay prompt requires that you focus on the future. After researching their curriculum and special programs , you can explain how each of these will enhance your medical education. Make a list and use this as an outline to guide your response. Focus on the most important points last; they may be forgotten if you include them at the beginning of such a long essay. For that reason, it will be important to provide a concise summary of what you’ve covered in the conclusion.

Watch: Cura Personalis Explained

Dr. Ellen Dugan, Georgetown Medical School’s Senior Associate Dean for Admissions, talks about the school’s driving value of Cura Personalis:

View the full interview here .

Applying to Georgetown? Here are some stats:

Georgetown Medical School median MCAT score: 512

Georgetown Medical School median undergrad GPA: 3.69

Georgetown Medical School acceptance rate: 2.4%

U.S. News  ranks Georgetown #56 for research and #90 for primary care.

Check out the Med School Selectivity Index for more stats.

Has this blog post helped you feel more confident about approaching your Georgetown application? We hope so. It’s our mission to help smart, talented applicants like you gain acceptance to your target schools. With so much at stake, why not hire a consultant whose expertise and personalized guidance can help you make your dream come true? We have several flexible consulting options— click here to get started today !

Georgetown Medical School application timeline 2022-23

MD Deadlines

MD/PhD Deadlines

Source: Georgetown University School of Medicine website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

All You Want to Know About Georgetown Medical School’s Admissions [ Admissions Straight Talk Podcast Episode 459]

Interested in a spot in Georgetown University SOM? [Show Summary]

Dr. Ellen Dugan, Georgetown Medical School’s Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, describes how cura personalis , or care of the whole person, drives the Georgetown experience and curriculum. 

Interview with Dr. Ellen Dugan, Georgetown Medical School’s senior associate dean for admissions [Show Notes]

Welcome to the 459th episode of Admissions Straight Talk . Thanks for joining me. Are you ready to apply to your dream medical schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted’s Med School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/medquiz , complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment but also tips on how to improve your qualifications and your chances of acceptance. Plus, it’s all free. 

Our guest today is Dr. Ellen Dugan , Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She is a Hoya through and through. She earned her MD at Georgetown University School of Medicine and then completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine, also at Georgetown. Following four years of service in the National Health Service in rural West Virginia, Dr. Dugan returned to Georgetown and has been on the faculty there since 1990. She served on the Admissions Committee for 10 years prior to becoming the Associate Dean. In addition to her admissions duties, she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and formerly served as the Vice-Chair and Interim Academic Chair in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Georgetown. 

Can you give us an overview of Georgetown University School of Medicine’s curriculum program for those listeners who aren’t that familiar with it? [2:10]

I’m happy to. That’s our new curriculum, which they basically started revising in 2015-16. Our graduating class of 2021 was the first class to go all the way through, so it’s fairly new. It’s divided up into three phases. The first 18 months of the first and second year, or the foundational phase, are made up of six blocks of core content. They’re organ-system-based modules that integrate basic science disciplines with doctoring training if you will. The doctoring courses are called “cura personalis,” referring to and uniting the development of professional skills that are unique to doctoring, like physical diagnosis, communications, ethics. This runs through all the blocks. There are also intercessions that are one week long that are emphasizing topics critical to physicians in healthcare. An example would be the opioid epidemic. Then they have medical student brand rounds all through the first three years.

The core clinical phase is the third year, which is blocked out into 4-8-week core clerkships. Those would be medicine, surgery, OB-GYN, pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry, neurology, and three two-week selectives, or electives. Then there’s the advanced clinical phase, which is the fourth year, and that’s made up of 37 weeks. Three of those four-week blocks are required. One is four weeks in emergency medicine, and then the other two are four-week blocks in doing acting internships where they function as interns so that they get the confidence and the skills to hit the ground running for residency. Then the best part of it, they have 24 weeks of electives, so they can basically design their entire fourth-year course other than those first three blocks that they have to do. It really gives them great freedom.

Is the elective block always at the end of the fourth year, or does that vary depending upon the student? [3:59]

It varies. They can do the emergency medicine later on. What they want to do in those first few blocks is when they’re getting ready for residency, they hone those blocks into the specialty they want to go into so that they have letters and clinical experience in that particular field.

What would you like listeners to know about Georgetown that many applicants don’t realize? Or what myths would you like to dispel? [4:22]

The biggest one is that you don’t have to be Catholic to be at Georgetown. We are one of four Jesuit medical schools in the United States and that gives us that distinction. Another thing people don’t realize is that we accept both international and DACA students. We’re not looking for who would fit our school, but we’re looking for applicants that have different backgrounds , different lived experiences that add to the class in their own unique ways. The most important thing for us because we are a Jesuit institution, is that they embody our Jesuit mission of cura personalis , or care for the whole person. We’re not just caring for patients physically, but we are also caring for their emotional, spiritual, social wellbeing. The other big dedication to service is our students work with the underserved and the marginalized populations. It’s a really big part of their education. An interesting fact is that of this first-year class, 70% did not come to us straight out of college. They come from all different experiences. Where the gap year used to be frowned upon, it now seems to be the norm more than the exception. I think there’s a preconceived notion that this school is extremely competitive. Although it’s really difficult, the student body isn’t, it’s more a collaborative environment and culture. The preclinical curriculum is pass/fail and we don’t submit rank lists to residency programs so they’re not ever really being pitted against each other. The hope with the pass/fail is that the students are learning to learn, not to learn to take step one, and with that stressor removed that they will actually retain the information and assimilate it into their knowledge base.

You’ve mentioned cura personalis and the Jesuit mission several times. In a really practical way, how does it show up in the teaching? Is it possible to give an example? [6:09]

There are a few things that we do, but it’s based on the curriculum. Students are required as part of their graduation requirement to do 20 hours of service to the underserved. Most of our students end up doing more than that. We have a Hoya Clinic, which is a student-run clinic that the fourth-years run with attendings who supervise. First, second, third, and fourth-years can all volunteer. It’s a clinic that is for homeless families that are in transitional housing in the Southeast Area of D.C. We also now collaborate with the law students in caring and advocating for patients’ health issues, not just their health issues, but the law students help us with their legal issues, their social issues, all in the spirit of cura personalis and social justice and alleviating healthcare disparities.

Then we have the Jesuit mission and reflection dinners, which are small groups where you do Jesuit readings and reflections, and then the students talk about ways to enhance the Jesuit curriculum and mission in the curriculum. We also have the Racial Justice Committee for Change, which is a dedicated group of student staff and faculty that pursues sustainable change in diversity, equity, and inclusion at the School of Medicine and throughout the Georgetown community, the University Medical Center.

What are you trying to glean from the secondary application that you don’t get from the primary? [7:53]

Well, it’s more specific to us. The primary essay is the “Why Georgetown?” essay. That’s where we’re trying to figure out what interests you about Georgetown, what resonates with you about Georgetown, what is it that you are seeking from Georgetown, and what would you bring to us .

The first short question is asking the applicant how their values, life experiences, and identity contribute to our priorities, which are racial justice, adjusting healthcare inequities, and in this particular question, exacerbated by the recent pandemic, so it’s specific more to the pandemic health inequities.

Then the second short question is a space for somebody to add additional information. People will put in why their MCAT was bad, they were ill that day, or let’s say they got into graduate school after they applied, and they want to tell us what they’re doing now, so there’s a space for that as well. Or issues even that came up during the pandemic that have affected their grades, or their health, whatever it is. 

What are some of the more common mistakes that you see applicants make in approaching Georgetown’s secondary? [9:03]

I wouldn’t say “mistakes,” but I think it’s more of a lack of an understanding of who we are and what we stand for. Have they actually read our mission statement? Do they actually know anything about us? 

Could you walk the listener through the process that the application goes through once they submit the secondary? [9:34]

It’s a fairly long process, but once it’s complete, it goes to the committee for evaluation for interview. That’s based on a holistic approach, looking at the whole package, meaning not just grades and MCATs, but lived experiences, clinical experience, research, and very importantly is their service, dedication, and their letters of reference, leadership. We also weigh the depth of their application, how they assimilated themselves into the community of their school. What have they done to give back to their community?

We also take into consideration difficulties people have had with COVID, meaning family issues, loved ones being ill, wifi, people that went home and didn’t have a designated quiet space, and so that’s all part of it, too. A lot of the schools went pass/fail across the board and you didn’t have an option to do grades to get grades for your science courses, so we also take that into consideration as well because that was a big thing that students faced, and are still facing, actually.

How should an applicant approach reapplication to medical school, and specifically to Georgetown, if they haven’t gotten an interview invitation, or they’ve already heard that they’re rejected? [11:53]

What we tell applicants or reapplicants, especially, is to go back to our website and take a real good look at it critically in terms of their application in reference to what we’re looking for. They should look at their experiences and see where they might have gaps as to what we’re looking for because not all schools are looking for what we are and we’re not looking for what all other schools are looking for. What we’re also really interested in is what they’re doing with their time in this gap year. We understand many won’t have a job immediately when they apply, but they should give us an update of what they’re doing because the gaps are not helpful to us. There’s a lot of time between now and the fall, or the summer when they start to apply that they can actually find those opportunities to embellish their application.

Are you open to updates in the course of the application cycle? [12:47]

Yes. We actually have a portal in our system that’s called Post-Submission Update. It’s actually listed under the banner of the secondary. There’s a portal there for a post-submission update, so they can update anything, send it all in there as well.

When travel restrictions ease, do you plan to go back to in-person interviews, or keep a mix of in-person and virtual, as we’re doing now? [13:12]

Well, as my colleagues said, “That horse is out of the barn now.” If anything good came out of this pandemic, it’s that this virtual interview provided an opportunity for people that might not have applied to us or have been able to come and interview because it’s so expensive getting hotel rooms and traveling and food and all of those things that I think this is one of the reasons why everybody’s applications were off the charts this past year, or the last cycle.

I think the hybrid version is the way we’re going to need to go. It gave an opportunity, especially for disadvantaged, underrepresented students to be able to interview with us and not feel like they were at a disadvantage because they couldn’t come to the school, so I think in-person is always better, but if that’s the opportunity for them to interview with us and that’s their only option, then I think that’s a great idea. I think we’re probably going to go with a hybrid going forward.

We were actually thinking of doing something in the spring but I don’t think we’re going to be able to do it because visitors are still not really back on campus. We thought we would have small groups come, sort of like a second look day. They’re already accepted applicants, so there’s no advantage to coming or not coming and we’d have a tour of the school and of the student panel, they could talk to students, and do a few more things that is like a second look day, but not virtual. We’re hoping that maybe we might be able to do this later in the spring.

How do you look at candidates who faced mental health issues in the past? [15:20]

As you know, no one is required to disclose any health or mental health issues. If they choose to share that with us, it depends on how they present it and what it is they’re trying to tell us by giving us this information. We have to look at this on a case-by-case basis because it’s very personal and it’s something we take very seriously, but again, it’s on a case-by-case basis.

What about somebody who has an academic infraction, or perhaps a misdemeanor on their record? [16:04]

The misdemeanor is interesting because some states will say a speeding ticket is a misdemeanor so it sounds really terrible if you have a misdemeanor listed on there. It’s in the explanation of what that academic infraction is, what the misdemeanor is, what the felony is. Again, it’s more on a case-by-case basis, how it’s presented , are they remorseful, what did they learn from this, those sorts of things.

How was application volume this cycle compared to the big one in 2021 as well as the 2019-2020 cycle? [17:02]

In 2021, we had 17,881 applications. We were up 24% and applications were up nationally 18%. In this current cycle, we have 15,993 applicants, so we’re down 11%, nationally they’re down 12%. Comparing that to the pre-pandemic to 2019 to 2020, we had 14,464 applications. We’re actually, this current cycle, if you leave at the 2021 cycle, we’re up about 10.5%. Usually, that up or down is about 2-3%, so it’s very interesting to see.

Do you have any idea what’s coming in the next cycle? [18:07]

No, we don’t. I think a lot of it is going to depend on the students and the whole grading thing and the courses that they’re able to take. Their experiences have been discontinued because of it all. It’s still up and down that way, like right now, with Omicron going down. It looks like they may have the opportunity to have those experiences again in person, so it’s going to be different.

We also were warned by the AAMC that we might see people with criminal records because they were in demonstrations or protesting, and they gave us a heads up that we may see this. It’s more of them advocating than anything, but I thought that was an interesting point that they brought up.

What advice would you give to med school applicants wanting to apply to Georgetown this upcoming cycle for 2023 matriculation, or even looking further ahead to 2024 matriculation? [19:08]

You look at these students that went through their first year of medical school, and it was all virtual last year. They brought the first-year students in for anatomy in January. If they wanted to be in there, they had the option of doing it. I’m not sure how you do anatomy and dissections virtually, but they gave them the option, and most of them all came in for it, but that was the first opportunity they had to be together. I think looking forward, hopefully, we will be rid of this plague that we are all going through and that they will be able to all be together from day one. 

A lot of people were looking at this happening and saying, “Hmm, I think I might put off applying to medical school for another year, just to make sure that I won’t be sitting in my bathroom all day long and listening to Zoom sessions,” so I think we have to see what’s on the horizon in terms of the pandemic and make choices that way. But I think for the ones that are hellbent on applying this summer, when we open up again in June, you look at these next few months that you have, and look at our criteria, or look at the school’s criteria that you’re going to be looking at and see if there are ways that you could tweak your application, get those experiences in-person, especially clinically. 

It’s really important that you actually have some sense of an idea of what you’re getting yourself into. I think shadowing is a huge part . A scribing job in the summer is also wonderful, it’s well thought of as solid clinical experience. It’s great if you could fit something in now that gets those experiences in, not just to check a box, but because this is what you’re interested in. You’re into medicine and this is what you want to learn and inform yourself of. Do you want to be an advocate, a scientist, and a healer, or do you want to just be a scientist? I think there are lots of things that they need to think about before they make that big jump because it’s a long road, it’s a wonderful road, but it’s really difficult.

Is research a nice-to-have when applying to Georgetown, or is it pretty much a must-have? [21:29]

As I said, when we do the holistic review, if somebody has a great application or they have no research or they just have a little bit of research, we take that into consideration. It’s really nice if they have some kind of research. It doesn’t have to be clinically-based or translational. A lot of the science majors do, they work in their biology department, let’s say, and they do even bench work. They know what assays are, how to come up with a project, they work with a PI, so they have experience with it. We like to see that. It’s not a deal-breaker, but we really do like to see that.

How do you feel about virtual shadowing? [22:28]

I think with virtual shadowing, a lot of students are basically in a Zoom session with a physician, and the physician will tell them about their background and what they’ve done, or they’ll walk them through a case. It’s not the same as seeing a physician interact with a patient and seeing those nuances of what kind of questions to ask to find out from the patient what they really want. That’s such a skill that you learn when you see a physician with patients. Virtual shadowing is the next best thing, and for some people, it’s the only thing they have, but you really need to see that dynamic up close and personal.

It’s like in the emergency room, this is the worst day of their life. They’re coming in there, they’re vulnerable, they’re scared, they are out of control, and you have such a little window to make that connection with them to make them know they’re going to be taken care of and well taken care of, so those are the things that you want to see and have an idea of, not that everyone has to shadow in the emergency department, but just that patient-physician interaction is so key.

Are there any questions you would’ve liked me to ask you that I haven’t? [24:02]

I think one that I think I would’ve liked you to ask is what are our support services are like for our students.

I like to say, “Once you are one of ours, you are ours for life, and we’re going to do everything we can to help you thrive to become an excellent physician and to be supported.” This is really difficult, but as I said before, wonderful. It’s so much information coming at you at once and you have to learn how to apply it. It’s a different way of studying. It’s a different way of applying your knowledge. Everybody’s smart when they come in, but then people are just astounded when they start to struggle, or they have a little hiccup and they don’t understand.

It’s really important that they have these support services, not just academically. We have an Office of Student Learning, and they do great things with our students in terms of tutoring sessions together or tutoring sessions alone. They do all kinds of things with their academics. As they say, “If you’re struggling, we will find you. If you don’t find us, we will find you. It’s our job.”

We also have the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which basically works for the institution to have a culture and an environment of equity and diversity and inclusion and to be there for those students that need that help, too. We have bias training, we have premed pipeline programs, commitment to racial justice, and RJCC.

We also have the CAPS Program, which is the Counseling and Psychiatric Services. We have two psychologists that are designated just to the medical school. Then there are CAPS in other counseling areas that are open for our students.

Then we have advisors. As I say, “They’re advised to death.” We have preclinical advisors. That could be a staff member or physician for the first and second-year students and that person’s there to help them figure out things as they come up and how to navigate things that come up. Then they also are there to help them start figuring out what it is they might want to do for a career. Then, in their second and third year, they have a clinical advisor who is a physician, and that person is there to help them navigate things and help them continue to figure out what they want to do. When the time comes they can help figure out what block streams they want to do in the third year or what sorts of things would be best to do in the summers, those kinds of things. Then the clinical advisor are also there to help the fourth years navigate this dense morass of a match system for residency. It’s really complicated.

Not only do you have a clinical advisor, you’ll also have a specialty advisor. I have one going into neurosurgery, so she has me and she has a neurosurgeon, or one going into ped, so me and a pediatrician. Even if you’re going into emergency medicine, you would have me and another emergency medicine physician, so they get a lot of support during this time, and they help you figure out what letters recommendation you need, what kind of way rotations you might want to do to for a specific spot for residency. They help you figure out your CV, how to write your CV, how to do your personal statement . There’s a lot of support. I think besides the fact that our students are most excellent, I think this is a huge help in terms of them matching the residency. We do really well.

They also have a research advisor to figure out what project they want to do. They have a requirement for graduation to do a research project and it’s called an “independent scholarly project,” so they have to do that somewhere over their four years. There’s a research advisor for that.

Then they have the big sibs, the second-year students who are assigned to a first-year student to be there as a point person to help them. There’s peer-to-peer tutoring, where the upperclassmen tutor the first and second years if they need it. We have an Ombudsman for private issues that come up. Then we have these academic families where groups of 10 from each school are put in these societies, which are made of first, second, third, and fourth-year students, alumni, faculty, staff, and so they do things together in terms of social things that are fun. They do service projects together. They do reflection, they do dinners together. You’re not just part of your class, you’re part of the school as a community, as a group. In my days, you knew your classmates and maybe a couple ahead of you and behind you, and that was it, so this is a really great way that we incorporate everybody into the school so students are part of the whole place.

Where can listeners learn more about Georgetown University School of Medicine? [30:03]

Well, we are all over the place. We are on social media. It’s a great place to actually hear from students too. Some of them do a day in the life of a Georgetown student and they have little videos. Certainly, go to our website, which is som.georgetown.edu , and look for the admissions piece. You could also read about our Racial Justice Committee for Change. It’s front and center on there. We also have information sessions that we have several times a month that you can just join a Zoom link and learn more about us. You’re able to ask questions because we have students on these panels, and we also have our outreach person. There are a lot of opportunities to get more information, and actually get it live,

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Med School and Secondary Essays , a free guide
• School-Specific Secondary Application Essay Tips
• Secondary Strategy: Why Do You Want To Go Here?

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Georgetown Supplemental Essays: 2022-2023

Georgetown Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• Georgetown acceptance rate: 12%— U.S. News ranks Georgetown as a highly competitive school.
• 1 half-page (~250 word) essay
• 1 full-page (~500 word) essay
• 1 school-specific essay (~500 words)
• Georgetown application note : Georgetown DOES NOT accept the Common Application or Coalition Application. Students must submit an application via Georgetown’s own application portal.  
• #1 Georgetown Essay Tip : We recommend answering ALL Georgetown University supplemental essays comprehensively and thoughtfully, highlighting in all of your Georgetown essays why Georgetown is the perfect school for you.

Does Georgetown have supplemental essays?

Yes. You will be required to answer three Georgetown University essay prompts as part of the Georgetown application requirements.

While many students may find the Georgetown supplemental essays stressful, the Georgetown essays are actually a great chance to show Georgetown admissions who you are. In particular, pay attention to your “why this college essay” (in this case, the why Georgetown essay). Georgetown admissions loves this question when assessing a Georgetown application. 

Still stressed about getting the Georgetown University supplemental essays right? This guide will break down each of the Georgetown essays, giving you the best chance to impress Georgetown admissions.

Note: Georgetown does not use the Common App . Instead, you will respond to the Georgetown essay prompts through the Georgetown Application portal . Since the Georgetown application does not go through the Common App , keep a close eye on Georgetown’s application deadlines in order to ensure you have plenty of time to work on your Georgetown essays.

What are Georgetown’s supplemental essays?

The Georgetown essay prompts are found only in the Georgetown application. Your responses to the three Georgetown University essay prompts will discuss your extracurriculars , background , and motivations for attending Georgetown.

Above all, the Georgetown University supplemental essays aim to help the Georgetown admissions officers get to know you . Each of the Georgetown essay prompts is broad. This gives you the freedom to write your Georgetown supplemental essays about who you are with relatively few limitations. Take advantage of each of the Georgetown University essay prompts to maximize your Georgetown admissions odds .

Georgetown Supplemental Essays — Prompt 1 ( Required ):

Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (1/2 page, single-spaced).

In the first of the Georgetown essays, Georgetown admissions asks about the activity in which you are most involved. Most strong Georgetown applicants will engage meaningfully with several extracurricular activities . So, highlight what extracurriculars make you unique in your Georgetown supplemental essays. 

This Georgetown essay prompt gives you the chance to demonstrate how your extracurricular pursuits make you special. This will help you impress Georgetown admissions.

Answer the “why,” “what,” and “how”

This prompt for the Georgetown essays asks you to discuss three key things: 

• Why you chose to do your chosen activity
• What you’ve done to show dedication to this activity
• How this activity has impacted your community

Strong Georgetown University supplemental essays will address each of these things. Don’t get bogged down in statistics when answering the first of the Georgetown supplemental essays: why you chose to do an activity and the results of your involvement matter more than the sheer number of hours you’ve spent doing something.

The best Georgetown essays will discuss topics that you haven’t already emphasized elsewhere in your application. Use this Georgetown application essay to offer new insight into your extracurricular life, and be careful not to be repetitive. This Georgetown application essay should provide a response that Georgetown admissions hasn’t seen in another part of your application. 

Show another side of yourself

Additionally, note that the activity that you write about in this Georgetown application essay doesn’t need to connect directly to your major. After all, your Georgetown supplemental essays should help admissions officers understand all aspects of who you are, both as a student and as an individual.

In this Georgetown application essay, use your chosen extracurricular to highlight your collaboration and leadership skills. Think about how your extracurricular engagements will inform what you do in the future and weave it into the first of the Georgetown University supplemental essays. While your accomplishments are relevant and important, Georgetown admissions will ultimately admit you based on your potential. 

The Georgetown supplemental essays are a great way to show admissions what you will do with your education. You want admissions officers to come away from your first Georgetown application essay with an understanding not only of what you’ve done in high school but, also, of what you will do on their campus.

Think outside the box

In your Georgetown supplemental essays, try to avoid writing about an activity that lots of students could write about such as sports, Model UN, or volunteering at homeless shelters. Georgetown essays about these topics can feel cliché. That being said, if you have a unique story to tell about one of these topics, tell it in the Georgetown supplemental essays. 

As you craft this Georgetown application essay (as well as the other Georgetown University supplemental essays), make sure that your response is as unique and personal as possible. Additionally, all of your Georgetown essays should be vivid, descriptive, and deeply authentic. With that in mind, if you read over your Georgetown essays and feel like someone else could have written them, you might want to rethink your topics and responses to the Georgetown University essay prompts.

Successful Georgetown supplemental essays focus more on the applicant than the organization. In other words, don’t waste time describing the logistics of your activity or program when responding to the first of the Georgetown essay prompts. Instead, just write about what you did and why it mattered . Write about your actions, leadership, and impact. Finally, balance storytelling with reflection. How can you use your Georgetown application essay to reveal your values and goals?

Georgetown Essay Reflection Questions:

• Is your response to this Georgetown application essay personal and unique?
• Did you use the first of the Georgetown supplemental essays to write about one of the activities in which you are most involved?
• Does your Georgetown application essay focus on you more than the organization or club you describe?
• Do you avoid repeating details found elsewhere in your application?

Georgetown Supplemental Essays — Prompt 2 ( Required ):

As georgetown is a diverse community, the admissions committee would like to know more about you in your own words. please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you. (1 page, single-spaced).

As stated above, Georgetown does not use the Common Application or the Coalition Application. As a result, many students reuse their Common App essay for the second of the three Georgetown essay prompts. 

For many students, this is a good choice for this Georgetown application essay. In general, applicants tend to spend more time editing and reworking their Common App Personal Statements than any other college essays. So, if you feel like your Common App essay “best describes you,” you might consider repurposing it for this Georgetown application essay prompt.

When (and when not) to use your personal statement

That being said, the second of the Georgetown essay prompts does differ from the Common App essay prompts in some notable ways. Often, your Common App essay topic was chosen because it “best describes you.” This Georgetown application essay prompt, however, also highlights how Georgetown is a “ diverse community ,” essentially asking how you would supplement this diversity. 

While not necessarily a standard “why this college essay,” the second of the Georgetown University essay prompts asks what you would bring to campus in terms of “diversity.” Remember, the term “diversity” can mean many things. In other words, it doesn’t just relate to your cultural background or heritage. Essentially, your second Georgetown application essay should revolve around what makes you unique and what your perspective would bring to the Georgetown community.

To strengthen your Georgetown University supplemental essays, consider writing a new personal statement if your Common App essay was primarily about academics. You might also edit your Common App essay to better suit this Georgetown application essay by emphasizing how your diverse attributes will inform your presence on Georgetown’s campus. Successful Georgetown supplemental essays will do just that. 

One more note: Georgetown supplemental essays in response to this prompt can either be “personal or creative.” If you are a creative writer, this Georgetown application essay is your time to shine! If you have a deeply personal and impactful story, tell it in the second of the Georgetown essay prompts—even if you don’t do so in a conventional essay form.

• Does this Georgetown application essay response highlight the unique perspective you would contribute to Georgetown’s diverse community?
• Do you reveal what “best describes you”?
• Does your essay present a part of your background and experience that you did not already write about for one of the other Georgetown University essay prompts?
• Does your essay “show” your message more than it “tells” it?

Georgetown Supplemental Essays — College Specific Prompts

The Georgetown supplemental essays in this section will vary depending on your intended major or area of study. Responses to these Georgetown essays should focus on your intellectual interests and intended educational goals. Successful student responses to these college specific Georgetown University supplemental essays should be unique and passionate. Lackadaisical and cliche responses to these Georgetown supplemental essays will not stand out to admissions amongst the many Georgetown essays that are submitted. 

What’s the best way to impress admissions when responding to these college-specific Georgetown essay prompts? Successful college-specific Georgetown supplemental essays will write a why Georgetown essay that shows how applicants will enrich Georgetown specifically. These Georgetown University supplemental essays should also show how applicants would benefit from and utilize Georgetown specific programs. 

While all the Georgetown essay prompts seem different, at the core they are each a why this college essay. Let’s check out what it takes to impress admissions officers when responding to each of these college-specific Georgetown supplemental essays. 

Unpacking the College Specific Prompts:

These Georgetown University essay prompts are school-specific. The school-specific Georgetown application essay responses should not exceed 1 page, single-spaced.

The third of the Georgetown supplemental essays will depend on which of the four colleges within the University to which you apply. The last of the Georgetown supplemental essays essentially poses the why this college essay prompt. Successful responses to these school specific Georgetown supplemental essays will include everything you’d want to see in a why Georgetown essay.

However, this why Georgetown essay should get specific. Your final Georgetown application essay should show why you want to study your major and why at Georgetown. 

When reading Georgetown University supplemental essays, the Georgetown admissions committee looks for applicants who accord with the University’s Jesuit values of service, ethics, and global awareness. Also, they want to see that you’ve considered why Georgetown is the place for you. This leads us to the “why Georgetown essay” and the college-specific “why school essay.”

Be specific

Successful Georgetown supplemental essays responding to this Georgetown essay prompt will make full use of the one single-spaced page limit. This Georgetown application essay will typically be around 650 words. The best Georgetown essays will use specific details to articulate a cohesive plan for studying at Georgetown. Research the specific programs, professors, classes, and opportunities that you want to participate in at Georgetown. Given the specific nature of Georgetown’s programs, it’s even more important that you know exactly why Georgetown is the place for you. Then, demonstrate that to Georgetown admissions through the last of the Georgetown University supplemental essays.

In your Georgetown application essay, avoid just writing about location. Many students write their why Georgetown essay about wanting to go to college in Washington D.C., but there are many universities nearby. When writing about D.C. in this Georgetown application essay, articulate how your engagement with the community will be made possible by opportunities at Georgetown . What makes Georgetown the perfect school for you?

Georgetown College Prompt: 

What does it mean to you to be educated how might georgetown college help you achieve this aim (applicants to the sciences and mathematics or the faculty of languages and linguistics should address their chosen course of study.).

This Georgetown application essay prompt depends on a definition—namely, what it means to “be educated.” To begin, think about what education means to you—is it academic? Social? Cultural? All of the above? Now, consider how Georgetown’s programs can help you educate yourself as a professional and as a community member. This Georgetown College why school essay (or why this college essay) needs applicants to tie that all together.

In general, successful Georgetown essays (Georgetown supplemental essays that impress Georgetown admissions) for Georgetown College will use the definition of “educated” to address why a student wants to pursue a major. Impactful Georgetown University supplemental essays for Georgetown College will think critically about why you want to pursue your chosen field and how this field will inform what your education looks like. At the end of the day, this Georgetown application essay should make the case that you can only truly be educated by Georgetown to achieve your goals. Use specific details—courses, professors, and programs—to emphasize why Georgetown College is the place for you. 

School of Nursing & Health Studies Prompt:

Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. please specifically address your intended major (global health, health care management & policy, human science, or nursing)..

When writing the Georgetown supplemental essays, keep in mind that everyone can say they want to make a difference and help people. If you want your “why school essay” for the School of Nursing & Health Studies to stand out, then, be sure to include specific details of how your interest in health and nursing originated and what you hope to do with it.

Successful Georgetown essays for the School of Nursing & Health Studies will be authentic and personal. Try to approach this prompt through a personal connection to healthcare. Then, connect your story to specific programs at Georgetown. Many students will write about their shadowing in the medical field or volunteering in medical facilities in their Georgetown essays. What sets you apart? 

Additionally, avoid focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic in this Georgetown essay—these essays can seem cliché unless you have a specific personal connection to healthcare in the age of COVID-19.

Walsh School of Foreign Service Prompt:

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.

Effective Georgetown supplemental essays responding to the “why this college essay” for Walsh will detail how you plan to impact the world and how Georgetown will make that plan a reality. ”Global problems” and “service to the world” both take many forms. Successful Georgetown essays won’t narrow applicants’ interests solely to political science and international relations—instead, they’ll think broadly about the tools Georgetown can give them to make the world a better place. Like other Georgetown essays, your response to this prompt should be specific and personal.

Successful Georgetown University supplemental essays for this prompt should not just be aspirational. Instead, they should also include how your interest in solving global problems translates to your past and current activities.

If you aren’t sure how to begin answering this “why school essay” prompt, think about how you spend your time. Do you tutor underprivileged children, so you care about expanding access to education? Do you help people learn to speak English because you want to break down cultural and linguistic barriers? International problem-solving comes in many forms. The best Georgetown supplemental essays will depict Walsh as the next step in an applicant’s journey toward making a difference in the international sphere.

McDonough School of Business Prompt: 

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..

This Georgetown application essay prompt emphasizes the holistic nature of business—namely, how it relates to “ethical, analytical, financial, and global” perspectives. This holistic attitude also accords with Georgetown’s Jesuit values, which set McDonough apart from its competitors.

The best responses to this specific “why school essay” (“Why McDonough ?”) will answer all aspects of this prompt, emphasizing the Jesuit dimensions of McDonough’s programs. A moving “why business” and “why this college essay” will not focus on money or titles. Instead, the best Georgetown essays for the “why school” essay for McDonough will emphasize the impact that you will have at Georgetown and beyond.

The most impactful Georgetown supplemental essays will get personal. What are your current and prior experiences with your intended major? How have you developed the skills to succeed in business? Research the specific programs and opportunities you would join at McDonough.

College-Specific Georgetown Essay Reflection Questions:

• Does your essay respond adequately to the essay prompt?
• Do you discuss the specific clubs, classes, professors, and/or opportunities that you would be involved in?
• Does your essay tell a personal and specific narrative?
• Do you articulate a clear plan for your time at Georgetown?

How to write Georgetown Supplemental Essays

So, how should you answer the Georgetown University essay prompts?

First of all, keep in mind the word limits of the Georgetown university essay prompts. The first of the Georgetown essays is limited to 250 words. This Georgetown supplemental essay asks you to discuss the importance of an extracurricular activity in which you are most involved. The next two Georgetown essays– the personal statement and the “Why Georgetown” college-specific essay– have one-page single-spaced limits rather than word limits. 

All three Georgetown University essay prompts are required

Before you start writing, it’s important to understand how your essays will be assessed. 

In evaluating Georgetown essays, the admissions team looks at both content and writing skill. Essentially, this means it’s not just about what you say in the Georgetown supplemental essays, but how you say it. Use the Georgetown University essay prompts to tell your story, and approach each of the Georgetown Universityessay prompts holistically. Since there are three Georgetown University essay prompts, you can illustrate different parts of your identity in different essays. Each Georgetown application essay should tell your readers something new about you.

It may feel overwhelming to complete three Georgetown University essay prompts. However, if you give yourself enough time to plan, draft, and revise your Georgetown supplemental essays, you can help minimize your stress. In fact, using the tips from this guide will show you how to use the Georgetown University essay prompts to your advantage!

Focus on your identity

In each Georgetown application essay, focus on one experience, event, or element of your identity. Then, introduce it in an intriguing way through a “hook” at the beginning of each of your Georgetown supplemental essays. Next, provide background and relevant details to each of your Georgetown essays. And finally, discuss in your Georgetown supplemental essays how this has impacted your life, motivations, and relationships with others. In each of the Georgetown essays, relate your stories, background, and discussion to a central message in order to best respond to the Georgetown essay prompts.

In this guide, we’ve broken down each of the Georgetown University essay prompts to help you write Georgetown supplemental essays that will stand out in admissions.

How much does Georgetown care about essays?

Georgetown is intentionally not part of the Common Application; they want to admit applicants who put in the extra effort to apply. This makes the “Why Georgetown” college specific supplemental essay even more important. However, of course, all of the Georgetown supplemental essays are important within the Georgetown application requirements.

Read the checklist of Georgetown application requirements to make sure you complete each step, including the three Georgetown supplemental essays. Many students have impressive GPAs and test scores, which means your Georgetown University supplemental essays give you the chance to stand out. 

Implement the tips in this essay guide to set yourself apart through your Georgetown supplemental essays. Use your Georgetown essays to engage your reader through interesting stories, vivid details, and an actionable plan for your time at Georgetown.

Top 3 Tips for Writing Georgetown Essays

In this guide, we’ve discussed how to specifically answer the three Georgetown essay prompts. But, what are some of the most important tips in making sure you impress the admissions team with your Georgetown supplemental essays?

How to write impressive Georgetown supplemental essays:

#1 – start early.

Be sure to leave yourself time to edit and revise each of your Georgetown University supplemental essays! Georgetown has two deadlines to turn in all of your Georgetown application requirements: November 1, 2021, and January 10, 2022. Apply by November to know your decision on December 15, 2021.

#2 – Look at the big picture

When writing your Georgetown supplemental essays, consider your application as a whole. Make sure that each of your Georgetown essays says something new about you. After all, no two Georgetown essay prompts are the same. Be sure to not repeat other parts of your application in the essays.

# 3 – Show your unique self

These Georgetown supplemental essays are an opportunity for you to stand out to admissions. Don’t generalize when writing your Georgetown essays. Get specific about your experiences. Use the opportunity to not only demonstrate who you are, but also to show off your writing style.

Georgetown Supplemental Essays — Final Thoughts

In each of your Georgetown essays, be unique and original, but also genuine and honest. Instead of trying to predict what your readers would like to hear in your Georgetown supplemental essays, just tell your personal story. 

Do your research on the specific college within the University to which you are applying so you can connect yourself with Georgetown. Be clear, concise, and specific in your responses to the Georgetown essay prompts. There is no cookie-cutter Georgetown student, so highlight what makes you stand out in your Georgetown supplemental essays. Good luck!

This Georgetown supplemental essays guide was written by Sarah Kaminski .  Looking for more admissions support? Click  here  to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how  CollegeAdvisor.com  can support you in the college application process.

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Georgetown Supplemental Essays 2023-24 – Prompts and Advice

September 11, 2023

The nation’s oldest Jesuit institution of higher learning is also its most selective, as Georgetown University welcomed just 13% of applicants to the Class of 2027 onto its historical and notably beautiful Washington, D.C. campus. Whenever you are applying to a school of Georgetown’s caliber, where the average admitted applicant has a 1470 SAT score and is at (or near) the top of their high school class, you need to find ways to set yourself apart from the pack. Toward that aim, prospective Hoyas need to take advantage of the Georgetown supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into Georgetown? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Georgetown: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

The goal is to write compelling, standout compositions. Your essays should showcase your exceptional writing ability and reveal more about who you are as an individual. Below are Georgetown’s essay prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.

Georgetown Supplemental Essays – Prompt 1

Indicate any special talents or skills you possess. (250 words)

If you are a world-class athlete, you are likely already in the recruitment process. If you placed high in AIME or won a National Merit Scholarship, that is already stated in the awards section. Therefore, using the prized 250 words of real estate to merely rehash the fact that you won an award for something you are good at would not be an inspiring move. Instead, use this essay as an opportunity to offer a new level of depth and understanding about your talent(s). In addition to discussing the talent you possess, touch on the journey of how you developed your abilities.

A few years back, Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that becoming an expert at anything takes 10,000 hours of practice. Consider talking about the grind and sacrifice it took you to become great at a given skill. Describe how you see that skill becoming even more finely-tuned/developed over time. If this skill fits into your future academic/career plans, all the better—share that too!

Georgetown Supplemental Essays – Prompt 2

Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (approximately 1/2 page, single-spaced) 

Perhaps you are the captain of a team, the editor-in-chief of your school paper, or the president of a club. On the other hand, you may simply be a valuable contributing member. Regardless of whether you are a leading man/woman or a still-essential bit player, make sure that you use your writing ability to show the admissions officer what type of involved team member you are rather than merely telling them.

You can also discuss how you have engaged with your high school local/community. Share what you have learned from interacting with people of a different ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual identity, etc. Draw on past evidence of your commitment to being a positive force in the context of your activity/activities. Also be sure to speculate how that is likely to manifest on Georgetown’s campus. Research and cite Hoya student-run organizations, local nonprofit groups, or anything else you are drawn to. The admissions committee wants to understand precisely how you will contribute to their campus community of 7,000+ undergrads. Drawing the link between your past efforts and future aims is critical here. For example, if you’ve done work with Habitat for Humanity throughout your teens, it will be most impactful if you express your commitment to joining Georgetown’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity in the future.

Georgetown University Supplemental Essays – Prompt 3

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you. (approximately 1 page, single-spaced)

Whether you decide to write about yourself in a way that is light, creative, humorous, personal, sincere, or vulnerable (any are perfectly fine), aim to reveal a picture of yourself that cannot be gleaned from elsewhere in your application materials.

Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. While there are no limits to the way in which you approach this essay, here are some angles to consider:

• A perspective you hold
• An experience you had
• A community you belong to
• Your cultural or family background
• Something you’ve had to overcome

The admissions officer looking at your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words. So be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and insightful. No matter what type of story you tell, the goal is to have the reader come away saying, “I can definitely see this applicant as a contributing member of our talented and engaged student community.”

Georgetown Supplemental Essays — The School-Specific Essay

Depending on the College or School that you are applying to at Georgetown, you’ll need to write a separate school-specific essay. At their core, all of them are “Why Us” essays, so as you address each prompt (see below), be sure to include Georgetown-specific offerings and opportunities that support your reasoning, interests, and future plans.

Elements of a great Georgetown “Why Us?” essay

• Cite school-specific  academic programs , professors,  research opportunities ,  internship/externship programs , and  study abroad programs .
• Reference student-run organizations at Georgetown that align with your passions.
• Describe how you take advantage of Georgetown’s immense resources both inside and outside of the classroom.
• Make sure to touch on both a) why Georgetown is the perfect fit for you and) why you are the perfect fit for Georgetown. Covering both topics is essential.

Common mistakes on a Georgetown “Why Us?” essay .

• Fawning over the picturesque Gothic-style Georgetown campus (it is quite beautiful, but they already know that).
• Georgetown is top-ranked, prestigious, and has a great reputation. Again, they know!
• Too many generic expressions of feeling (e.g., It has been my dream since I was a toddler to be a Hoya…).
• Recycled statements from your other “Why Us?” essays that come across as stale, impersonal, or worst of all–irrelevant/inaccurate.

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.).

Since you’ll be encountering all kinds of new topics and ways of thinking at Georgetown, the admissions committee is interested in discovering how you’ve interacted with new and surprising information in the past. Keep in mind that the ways in which your thinking changed are much more important than the class, book, or event you select, so choose something that allows you to demonstrate your open-mindedness, curiosity, and willingness to challenge yourself—this might be a book you read in English class, a lecture you attended, a summer course you engaged in, etc. Note that Georgetown encourages certain types of applicants to choose examples related to their prospective field of study.

Further, be sure to describe why you are interested in a liberal arts education from Georgetown specifically.

Georgetown Supplemental Essays (Continued)

School of nursing & health studies: describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. please specifically address your intended major (global health, health care management & policy, human science, or nursing)..

“A nurse is not what you do, it is who you are.”

This quote from an anonymous source captures the idea that becoming a nurse is a calling; not a profession you just stumble into. Healthcare in general is no different. Healthcare professionals are willing to work long shifts in the service of others, be on the frontlines of a pandemic, and deal with life’s toughest challenges (e.g., suffering and death) on a regular basis. Many applicants share stories of caring for sick relatives, experiencing a tough medical episode themselves, or observing the challenges faced by a particular community as inspiration for studying nursing or healthcare. In addition to your school-specific research, this essay is a chance to show the admissions committee that you are a passionate and mature healthcare or nursing candidate and that this field is genuinely “who you are.”

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?

International service is not something every 17/18-year-old in the country is dreaming about doing as a vocation. There is likely a very interesting story surrounding what motivated you to apply to the Walsh School of Foreign Service and this essay invites you to share this very narrative. You don’t need to look any deeper than today’s headlines to identify powerful and immensely challenging global problems. Whether you are aiming for a B.S. in Business and Global Affairs, a B.S. in Foreign Service, or a B.S. in Global, International, and Comparative History, you likely have a highly specific set of academic and career goals taking shape in your mind.

If you can communicate these goals and the motivations behind them while sharing a vision for how you will contribute to the betterment of humankind in one or multiple regions of the world, then you are likely to end up with an excellent Walsh essay. Moreover, you’ll want to be sure to discuss why Walsh in particular will be a great fit for you.

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.

Before you start writing, you’ll want to do some McDonough-specific research and think about why a business education from McDonough in particular will be a great fit for your interests and goals. Further, to stand out, applicants need to connect the resources they’ve chosen to experiences they’ve had, demonstrating that they have availed themselves of every opportunity to dive into the business world during their high school years. Of course, not everyone has parents who hand them money to invest in the stock market or land them an internship at Goldman Sachs in 9th grade.

Relevant experiences can include high school investing clubs, participation in activities like FBLA, summer programs/courses in business/finance/economics, running your own local small business or e-business (Etsy, landscaping, etc.), or just a regular old retail job. The important thing to highlight is what you learned from your experiences, how you’ll bring that newly acquired knowledge to the classroom at Georgetown, and how your experiences have informed & influenced what you hope to continue learning in college.

How important are the Georgetown supplemental essays?

There are a whopping 8 factors that Georgetown considers to be “very important” to the evaluation process. These are: rigor of secondary school record, character/personal qualities, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, recommendations, extracurricular activities, and most relevant to this blog—the application essays. The essays undoubtedly play a significant role in the admissions process at Georgetown. They can help the committee decide who to admit when choosing between similarly-credentialed (GPA, test scores, etc.) applicants.

Want personalized assistance with your Georgetown supplemental essays?

Interested in working with one of our experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Georgetown supplemental essays? We encourage you to get a quote  today.

• College Essay

Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

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How to Write the Georgetown “Special Talents” Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by CollegeVine co-founder Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

What counts as a talent, crafting your approach.

Georgetown University ’s first supplemental essay prompt asks: 

Indicate any special talents or skills you possess. (250 words)

Students often ask how creative they should get with essays like this, or any supplemental essay for that matter. An essay is usually an opportunity to be as creative as you want, although there are some exceptions depending on the nature of the question. 

In cases like this where you’re asked to write about a personal skill or talent, students have free reign to be creative with their essay provided that their response aligns with the values of the college or university that they’re applying to.

The word talent can often trip students up. When you read the word “talent,” there’s a tendency to immediately jump into a discussion of your best subject in school or an extracurricular that you’re performing well in. While these can certainly be examples of talents, you’re not restricted to writing about a talent in the traditional sense. In fact, some of the best responses to this prompt are about some of our more intangible talents.

One example is being good at diffusing or navigating conflict. You could write about how you’ve leveraged your sense of humor to calm or disarm others in an incredibly tense situation. Writing about a more intangible talent or soft skill can bring a level of creativity to the essay that traditional topics like academics or extracurricular activities wouldn’t necessarily introduce. 

That isn’t to say, however, that you can’t write an impressive essay about the skills or accomplishments demonstrated through your resume. The prompt allows you a lot of flexibility by not qualifying what constitutes a skill or talent, so be sure to pick something meaningful to you that you can write a compelling essay about, whatever your talent may be.

Avoid Recreating Your Resume

As you begin drafting your essay, it’s important not to simply rewrite your resume as an essay. While you can certainly call out specific accomplishments and activities relevant to your talent, the essay is an opportunity to provide context and highlight your personal voice and experiences. Consider showcasing some of the unique non-academic experiences you’ve had that relate back to your talent. For example, perhaps you are a great problem solver and you’ve learned to apply that ability to things like fixing cars or building puzzles.

Incorporate Your Voice

Finally, remember to have fun with your essay! Georgetown’s application includes some pretty serious and heavy questions, and, while it’s important to have a strong and present voice in all of your writing, the first prompt is a particularly good opportunity to have fun and really get creative. 

At the end of the day, college essay prompts are indeed meant for you to speak directly to your reader about your interests, but also for you to demonstrate what you would bring to the campus as an individual learner. Therefore, you should focus on crafting a strong personal voice and showing the reader not only your talent, but what your unique experiences and reflections will bring to their community.

Looking for more insight on what makes a successful Georgetown essay? Check out this article for sample essays from real applicants as well as our take on what made each essay successful and what could make them even better!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

How to Apply

CCT is a unique interdisciplinary program. Apply now and tell us why this is the right place for you.

The Communication, Culture & Technology Program accepts applications for the Fall semester according to the deadlines below. Note that if you apply by January 15, we will waive the application fee.

January 15: Priority Fall Deadline

Apply for Fall admission and CCT scholarships/fellowships. Application fee waived. Fall term starts late August.

April 1: Regular Fall Deadline

Apply for Fall admission (no CCT funding). Application fee of $90. Fall term starts late August.

Application Components:

    online application.

Create an online application (new window) and review all the sections. You may save your application while you work. Once you submit, you would not be able to make further changes.

    Statement of Purpose

In 500 words, tell us what your academic interests are and why you think CCT’s learning environment is right for you. Tell us what questions, problems, or research inquiries you would want to explore while at CCT.

Tip: Write this Statement of Purpose after finding out as much as you can about CCT and after reviewing the rest of your application. Use this essay to draw attention to the parts of your record that speak to why CCT is the program for you at this stage of your life.

    Resume or CV

Tip:  Draw the attention of application reviewers to work, projects, courses, awards, competitions and other activities that are particularly relevant to CCT.

    Academic Writing Sample

Provide a 15-25 page essay that was entirely written by you. This could be an undergraduate paper, an excerpt of a longer thesis, or a combination of two shorter essays. Application reviewers will want to see evidence of original analytical thinking, clarity of expression and proficiency with academic style. There is no restriction on the subject matter of the essay. If you have been out of college for some years, you may submit an undergraduate essay plus a more recent example of professional writing.

Tip:  If you are submitting excerpts of a longer paper, add a brief description at the top to explain your choice of excerpts.

    Transcript(s)

Upload copies of official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended. If you are a college senior expecting to graduate in the semester before your intended entry date, you may upload your current (in-progress) official transcript.

Follow the Grad School’s How to Apply instructions (new window) , in the section on “Transcripts, Translations and Evaluations.”

International Transcripts: Applicants who have attended institutions outside of the United States are strongly encouraged to upload their transcripts in the form of World Education Services (new window) (WES) ICAP evaluations or may utilize other credential evaluation services that are members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (new window) (NACES). Applicants should upload this evaluation directly to the application. If the evaluation does not include a copy of the transcripts that were evaluated, applicants must upload both the transcripts from the institution and the credential evaluation as one document to the application. 

    Self-Reported Grade Point Average

The online application will ask you to self-report your GPA. Refer to the Grad School’s How to Apply instructions (new window) , in the section on “Self-Reported GPA.”

The minimum undergraduate GPA for CCT applications is 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). 

    Video Statement

A video statement is required of all applicants. Upload a video in which you answer ONE of the following prompts:

• Describe a career that you think technology will make possible in 10 years’ time. 
• How would you use technology to solve an existing social and/or environmental problem?
• Pick one technology that has made an impact in a community you belong to. Tell us how you might re-design it. 

The video should be no more than 2 minutes long. At the start, please say your name and the prompt to which you are responding. There are no restrictions as to style. Your video may be formal, informal, serious, humorous, animated, spoken-to-a-webcam, graphics-filled, interview- or documentary-style. Use the medium to express yourself however you wish.

    Three Recommenders

In the online application, provide the email addresses of your three recommenders. The system will then contact them with instructions on how to upload their letters. Once received, these letters will be added to your CCT application.

Tip : Select recommenders who are able to speak to your academic performance, your interest in CCT topics, and your suitability for a self-directed graduate program. If your recommender is an employer, ask them to address your critical thinking and analytical skills in particular.

    GRE Test Scores (not required)

GRE scores are not required. However, if you do wish to provide your GRE test scores, please have the testing agency send your scores directly to Georgetown using the code 5244.

    TOEFL or IELTS Test Scores

TOEFL or IELTS test scores are required of all applicants unless they have received an undergraduate degree or higher from a school where English was the primary language of instruction.

Test scores must be received by the application deadline. Plan to take your test six to eight weeks prior to the application deadline. Applications will not be considered without TOEFL or IELTS scores.

During the COVID crisis, TOEFL tests may be completed online. See TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition (new window) . The minimum required score is 100.

Please ask TOEFL to send your official scores directly to Georgetown’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, using code: 5244.

If IELTS test centers are closed in your area, you may take the IELTS Indicator (new window) , which can be completed online. Please ask IELTS to send scores to “Georgetown’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.” The minimum required score is 7.5.

Tip: CCT is a particularly verbal environment so application reviewers will want to know if you are ready for fast-paced and complex discussions. Submit your best language test scores with this in mind.

    Application(s) for Scholarships and Fellowships

If you submit your application by the January 15 deadline, you may apply for CCT merit-based scholarships, CCT-Gnovis fellowships, CCT-CNDLS fellowships, and/or CCT-Berkley Center fellowships. See Tuition & Scholarships (new window) for more information.

    Application Fee

The application fee will be waived if you submit by the January 15 deadline. If you submit an application by the April 1 deadline, you will be prompted to pay a fee of $90.

How to make your application as competitive as possible:

• Read our Tips & Timelines (new window) .
• Review the Graduate School’s Application Requirements Checklist (new window) .  
• See Class Profile (new window) for average GPAs and test scores achieved by CCT students.
• Check that your application is complete by logging into the application portal. You will see if there are any items not yet received by Georgetown. This status page will be updated as materials arrive.
• Contact [email protected] (new window) if you have any questions.

Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Georgetown University, with its tradition of Jesuit education, a location in Washington, DC, and a distinguished community of scholars from around the world, is a vibrant place to live and learn. We are pleased you have chosen to learn more about the opportunities for undergraduate students that await you here at Georgetown. To ensure that you receive timely communication from our office, invitations to Georgetown events in your hometown area, we welcome you to join our mailing list. We also welcome you to explore what Georgetown has to offer via this brochure . 

Applying to Georgetown

We believe you will find Georgetown’s application process highly personalized. Georgetown uses its own application for admission and we are able to coordinate an alumni interview for nearly all candidates. While a candidate’s academic performance is the most important criteria under consideration, accomplishments outside of the classroom, demonstrated commitment to the broader community, and personal qualities such as resiliency, motivation and ambition are certainly considered. It is these qualities that make you an individual and someone who will uniquely add to – and benefit from – the Georgetown University community. We look forward to getting to know you.

Plan a Visit

To experience the university’s rich environment, we invite you to visit our campus or to gather with us online for a virtual information session and student panel. Please see the Visit Georgetown page to register for an upcoming event.

Commitment to Diversity

Georgetown actively seeks and recruits highly talented and motivated students from all backgrounds. The university enrolls more than 6,300 undergraduates from all 50 states and over 130 countries; approximately a third of all students are fluent in more than one language when they arrive on campus. Whether you hail from a small, rural community or a major metropolitan area – or somewhere in between – you will find a place among Georgetown’s dynamic and talented community of students.

Georgetown’s commitment to ensuring a diverse student body is evidenced through its need-blind admission process and its commitment to meet 100% of the demonstrated financial need for all eligible students. Every undergraduate applicant receives admission consideration without regard to his or her financial circumstances. Once admitted, every student will have his or her demonstrated financial need met in full. Visit Diversity and Access page of our website to learn more about the Georgetown’s diverse community.

First Year Application

Transfer Application

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Georgetown in Your Area

Related Links

College of Arts & Sciences School of Health School of Nursing Walsh School of Foreign Service McDonough School of Business Undergraduate Bulletin Studies Abroad Financial Aid Campus Map Self-guided Tour Join Our Mailing List Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program Athletics Georgetown Army ROTC Georgetown University Accreditation

MiM Application Process

To apply, applicants must:.

• Possess a bachelor’s degree  from an accredited college or university in the United States or the equivalent from an international college or university.
• Possess zero to three years of post-graduate professional experience.

Questions?  Attend an Application Tips Workshop  to discuss how to create a competitive application.

Application Deadlines

Applications for August 2024 intake will be reviewed in the following rounds.

Admissions Policies

• Applicants who would like to be considered for multiple degree programs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business must submit separate applications with a different email address for each program.
• Your online application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date. Applications that are received after the deadline or do not contain all of the required components may be considered for the next admissions round.
• Documents submitted to the Office of Admissions become the property of Georgetown University and will not be returned to the applicant.
• Should you be admitted, you will receive a conditional offer and will be required to mail all original/official copies of each application document (transcripts and test scores, if applicable) to the Office of Admissions. Discrepancies between self-reported/unofficial documents and official records may result in an admissions offer being rescinded.
• If any application materials are found to be forged, falsified, or altered in any way, the university will notify all relevant officials, including the individual or institution issuing the document and, as appropriate, immigration officers. If an offer of admission has been made, it may be rescinded.
• We are unable to provide specific feedback to applicants who are not offered admission. Please note, the decision of the Admissions Committee is final and we cannot recommend whether or not you should reapply for a future cycle. 
• You may only apply once in a given application cycle, and your admissions decision is final. You are eligible to reapply in a future application cycle.

You are not eligible for admission if you have previously earned a Master’s in Management or MBA from another college or university.

If you are a visually-impaired applicant and need an accessible application, please contact us at [email protected] .

Application Requirements

The MiM Admissions Committee uses a holistic approach when making an admissions decision. Therefore, it is necessary to submit all application components so the Admissions Committee can make an informed decision about your application.

The Admission Committee will only review completed applications that include the following components:

Required Components

Online Application Form

Cv or resume, video essay, personal essay, one recommendation, academic records.

• GMAT or GRE Scores*
• Demonstration of English Language Proficiency **
• Re-Applicant Essay ***
• Non-refundable Application Fee: $175 USD

*GMAT/GRE scores are currently waived for MiM applicants with an undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or higher. **You may qualify to waive the demonstration of English Language Proficiency requirement. Please see this section for details. ***The reapplicant essay is required for applicants who previously applied and were not accepted.

Optional Components

Diversity, Personal Background, and Contributions Statement

Additional information, international applicants.

• Non-U.S. College or University Academic Records

Demonstration of English Language Proficiency

Applications must be submitted through our  online application portal .

Submit a current CV or resume in month/year format that corresponds to the information submitted on your online application.

The video essay component of the application provides you with an opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee things about yourself not immediately evident in other components of the application. We recommend you take careful consideration when producing your video essay to ensure you convey and express the appropriate message to the Admissions Committee.

Prompt:  Please introduce yourself to your future cohort members.

Guidelines: 

• Your video essay should be one minute or less.
• The Admissions Committee would like for you to appear in person during part of your video.
• We strongly encourage you to speak outside of the experiences we can read on your resume.
• You may use your phone, computer, or other means to record the video, but please ensure all audio and visual components are clear. We recommend a well-lit room and minimal noise distraction.
• For your privacy: Do not include your name in the title of your video. You may submit “unlisted” videos via YouTube, password-protected videos via Vimeo, or link shared through your Google Drive. If using a password, please include it immediately after your link in the text box below. [Ex: www.vimeo.com/123, password: your password] If using a shared link through Google Drive, ensure that you’ve allowed external access.
• Please note that all videos must remain active and accessible to the Admissions Committee online for a minimum of five years for record retention purposes.
• The video is for the purposes of admissions only and will not be used for any other purposes after your decision is provided

Prompt Options:  Please select one of the following prompts.

• Compare yourself to a genre of music.
• Choose a quotation that defines you and explain why. (Please clearly state the quotation you’re referencing.)
• Compare yourself to a fictional character from a book, movie, or television show.

Guidelines and Formatting:

• Choose  one  of the three essay prompts above to complete.
• All essays should be 500 words or less.
• All essays should be double-spaced using 12 pt. font.
• Please include the essay option prompt and your first/last name as a header at the top of each page of your submission.
• Prepare your attachments offline in separate document files and upload them individually
• Georgetown University prides itself on honesty and integrity. Plagiarism is not tolerated and the admissions office reserves the right to deny applicants or rescind admission if plagiarism is found.

Our goal at Georgetown McDonough is to craft a diverse class with people who have had varying personal and professional life experiences. As such, we want to give our applicants the opportunity to select one essay (from a list of two) that allows them the ability to best highlight their experiences, characteristics, and values that showcase the value proposition that they can bring to the McDonough community.

The personal essay provides personalization to your application, and you should ensure that your essay both fully addresses your chosen prompt and remains focused on your own experiences and goals. When reviewing your personal essay, the Admissions Committee will consider your written communication skills – taking into account grammar, structure, and cohesion of your essay – along with the content of the essay itself.

Prompt: As Georgetown is a diverse, global community, we encourage you to upload a brief statement of up to 500 words to help the Admissions Committee understand the contribution your personal background and individual experiences would make to our community. As appropriate, you may wish to address any educational, familial, cultural, economic, and social experiences that have helped to shape your educational and professional goals; or how your background (e.g., first-generation student, resident outside the United States) or activities (e.g., community service and leadership) will contribute to the diversity of perspectives and ideas at Georgetown University.

• The essay should be 500 words or less.
• The essay should be double-spaced using 12 pt. font.
• Prepare your attachments offline in separate document files and upload them individually.

When reviewing your written essays, the Admissions Committee will consider your written communication skills – taking into account grammar, structure, and cohesion of your essay – along with the content of the essay itself.

Reapplicant Essay

Required for applicants who previously applied and were not accepted.

Prompt:  How have you strengthened your candidacy since your last application? We are particularly interested in hearing about how you have grown professionally and personally.

• The essay should be 300 words or less.

Prompt:   Please provide any information you would like to add that you have not otherwise included in other sections of your application. For example, you can use this space to describe inconsistent academic performance, gaps in employment, or any other relevant information.

• This section should not be formatted as a formal essay. Please share your additional information in a bulleted list, a few sentences, or short paragraphs.

The Admissions Committee is interested in gaining insight from individuals who can objectively evaluate your academic or professional performance. We discourage letters from family members.

We require that you identify one recommender. Your recommendation may come from a current or former professor attesting to your academic performance or from a current or former supervisor speaking to your professional performance. If you would like to submit recommendations from both an academic and professional setting, you have the option to submit two recommendations. Note that the Admissions Committee will not read more than two recommendations per application.

All recommendations must be submitted electronically via the application system. Recommenders will receive detailed instructions once you complete the “Recommendations” section of your application.

Applicants to Georgetown McDonough are required to hold a four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or an equivalent degree from a foreign country. Students who have attended or graduated from a non-U.S. college or university should review the instructions under the  International Applicants  section.

To apply:  We require that you upload unofficial copies of your transcripts from all institutions that have conferred a degree to you or will have conferred a degree to you by the program start date.

If admitted/enrolled:  All applicants who are admitted and enroll will be required to submit official transcripts from all institutions that have conferred a degree to you. Georgetown McDonough reserves the right to withdraw any offer of admission if there is a discrepancy between the uploaded unofficial transcript and/or translation, and the official original language transcript and/or the official translation.

Instructions for transcripts:

• student’s name
• university name
• course names
• type of degree and degree conferral information
• grading scale
• cumulative GPA
• all grades received (including from transfer credits and study abroad programs)
• If your transcript does not explicitly state that a degree was conferred or the date of graduation, you should obtain an official letter from your university indicating the date of your graduation and the degree conferral date. This letter should be enclosed in a signed, sealed envelope and included with your transcript.
• submitted in an envelope which is issued by your institution(s) and sealed by your university’s registrar’s office (or equivalent office) to the address below: ​ Attn: MiM Admissions Team Master’s in Management Program Georgetown University 474 Rafik B. Hariri Building Washington, DC 20057
• submitted from your institution via a secure electronic delivery (such as Scrip-Safe or Parchment) via email to:  [email protected]
• requested from the appropriate institution’s registrar, returned to you, and submitted unopened.

Test Scores and Waivers

Upload an  unofficial , scanned copy of your test score (no more than five years old) directly into the online application.  Official scores only need to be submitted if you are admitted to the program. 

GMAT Program Code:  JT7-G0-45 GRE Program Code:  4430

Students must submit a test score for the GMAT, a test score for the GRE, or proof of completion of the GMAC Business Fundamentals Statistics Module . Students may submit more than one of the above. The requirement for GMAT or GRE test scores or completion of the GMAC Business Fundamentals Statistics Module is waived for all MiM applicants with an undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or above. Please note that the waiver applies only to MiM applicants — not to applicants of the Full-time, Flex, Flex Online, or MBA Advanced Access programs. For students who have an undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or above but limited quantitative undergraduate or post-graduate coursework, we recommend that you take the GMAT or GRE test or complete the GMAC Business Fundamentals Statistics Module.

* For transcripts not recorded on the 4.0 GPA scale, Admissions will need applicants to submit an official translation of their transcript verifying their overall academic performance as equivalent to or greater than a 3.2 GPA in order to be eligible for the GMAT or GRE score waiver. For translation services, we recommend WES .

Application Fee

Application fee waivers will be automatically granted to candidates who are active duty, reservists, or veterans of the United States military, and Georgetown University undergraduates and alumni. We are also pleased to offer application fee waivers for applicants who apply after attending select admissions events.

All other applicants must submit a $175 non-refundable application fee, payable online via credit card or e-check. Please do not send a personal check or money order.

Non-U.S. College or University Academic records

Required for International Applicants

Students who have attended or graduated from a non-U.S. college or university should follow these instructions:

• We require that all transcripts be submitted in English. Most major foreign universities will issue official transcripts in English themselves. However, if your institution is unable to do this, you are responsible for providing Georgetown McDonough with an English translation of your transcript. Your translator must certify that the original documentation was received in a sealed envelope from your university or issuing institution. After translating, your translator should enclose both the original (non-translated) and the certified translation in an envelope and seal and sign the envelope. The transcript should be enclosed in a signed, sealed envelope and submitted by mail to Georgetown McDonough. As an alternative to an individual translator providing certified translations, international applicants who attend institutions outside of the United States may submit their transcripts in the form of a credential evaluation. While this service is not required, we recommend the World Education Services (WES) ICAP evaluations . Credential evaluations may take the place of official transcripts, as long as they come to Georgetown McDonough directly from the evaluation service provider and include a copy of the official transcripts you had evaluated.
• We require proof a degree was conferred and the date of graduation. Some international transcripts do not explicitly state that a degree was conferred or the date of graduation. If your transcript does not explicitly state that a degree was conferred or the date of graduation, you should obtain an official letter from your university indicating the date of your graduation and the degree conferral date. This letter should be enclosed in a signed, sealed envelope and included with your transcript.

Required for qualifying applicants noted below or required if requested

Applicants who fit the criteria below are required to upload an unofficial English Language Proficiency Exam score report to the online application.

• Non-U.S. citizens
• Non-U.S. permanent residents
• Applicants who have not obtained a four-year or advanced degree from a university where the only primary medium of instruction was English

Please note: If you meet any of the following criteria, you are not required to submit a TOEFL/IELTS score:

• You have received a bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or from a university where English is the primary language of instruction
• Your native language is English
• You have worked full-time for the last 3+ years in an English-speaking country.

The Office of Admissions reserves the right to ask an applicant to submit proof of English Language Proficiency.

You may choose from one of the following three exams to demonstrate your level of competence in English.

• We now accept MyBest Scores. Test dates on your MyBest Scores report that are older than two years are expired and not valid. All dates must be valid.
• We are currently accepting the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition. For more information and registration details visit the following ETS page:  TOEFL site.
• IELTS  – We accept only academic module results. The minimum required score is 7.5. Your test result must not be more than two years old. If you are admitted to the program, official scores must be sent electronically to us directly from Cambridge (IELTS). When requesting your scores from the test center, please enter the following information  exactly as provided below :

Account Name:  Georgetown University Sch of Business- MiM, MA-IBP, MSBA Address:  Executive and Specialized Degree Programs 37th and O Streets Rafik B. Hariri Building, Suite 359 NW Washington, DC 20057

• PTE  – The minimum required score is 68. Your test result must not be more than two years old. If you are admitted to the program, official scores must be sent directly from Pearson Vue to Georgetown University Executive Education Admissions.

Join Our August 2024 Intake

Our next Master’s in Management intake launches in August 2024. We welcome the opportunity to connect with you throughout the admissions process to learn more about your background and interests.

Questions? Contact Our MiM Admissions Team

[email protected] / 1 (202) 687-1516 / Frequently Asked Questions

Title: Georgetown Reflects on Catholic, Jesuit Identity, Values in Mission Priority Examen

Georgetown University has completed a self-study evaluating its Catholic, Jesuit mission as part of the Mission Priority Examen (MPE). 

Led by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, MPE provides Jesuit colleges and universities across the U.S. an outlet to conduct a self-study and peer-review process to reflect on their Catholic, Jesuit missions and set goals for the future.

The self-reflection comes at an important moment for Georgetown as the university adds a Capitol Campus in downtown Washington, DC, while expanding its global presence and partnerships. The process also comes at a time when Georgetown is aiming to build a more diverse and inclusive community amid a time of increased division and polarization around the world.

Over the fall, leaders from across the university participated in 24 listening sessions convened by members of the MPE Self Study Study Committee. The Self Study Committee was led by Jeanne Lord, senior advisor to the president, and Rev. Stephen Sundborg, S.J., special assistant to the president, in close collaboration with Rev. Mark Bosco, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry.

“It is important to take a step back and reflect on how we as a Georgetown community are living out our Catholic, Jesuit mission every day,” Bosco said. “The Mission Priority Examen gives us that space and opportunity to examine and reaffirm our values.” 

This year, Jesuit colleges and universities considered seven themes in the self-study process: leadership and public commitment to mission; academic life; pursuit of faith, justice and reconciliation; promoting an Ignatian campus culture; service to the church; relationship to the Society of Jesus; and institutional integrity.

Member institutions also reflected on the four Universal Apostolic Preferences from the Society of Jesus, a set of priorities identified through a process of discernment by the global Jesuit community that will guide the Society’s work over the next decade.

“The committee took a deep and thoughtful look at each of the seven characteristics and four Universal Apostolic Preferences to reflect on how Georgetown has lived according to these values,” Lord said. “We’re committed to strengthening our work in these areas as we look ahead.”

As part of the process, Georgetown invited representatives from four other Jesuit universities who visited and joined 17 listening sessions in January based on Georgetown’s self-study.

After completing the reflection process, committee members produced a self-study report and laid out three priorities for Georgetown in the years ahead, including committing to expand programs that express the university’s identity and mission as well as continuing to invite the Georgetown community to engage in the Ignatian spiritual tradition. The committee also emphasized its goal to develop a robust Ignatian campus culture on the Capitol Campus to strengthen the Jesuit character of Georgetown’s new campus and its engagement with the wider DC community.

Georgetown’s last self-study, completed in 2018, resulted in the creation of the Mission Advisory Board. The Mission Advisory Board explores opportunities to deepen and broaden the university’s Catholic and Jesuit mission and assesses the work on other priorities that have come up through the MPE process.

“As we look ahead to where Georgetown is going, our Catholic, Jesuit mission must be at the top of mind,” Sundborg said. “We’re looking forward to deepening our work and continuing to integrate our values into every aspect of the university.”

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Harvard and Caltech Will Require Test Scores for Admission

The universities are the latest highly selective schools to end their policies that made submitting SAT or ACT scores optional.

By Anemona Hartocollis and Stephanie Saul

Harvard will reinstate standardized testing as a requirement of admission, the university announced Thursday, becoming the latest in a series of highly competitive universities to reverse their test-optional policies.

Students applying to enter Harvard in fall 2025 and beyond will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores, though the university said a few other test scores will be accepted in “exceptional cases,” including Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests. The university had previously said it was going to keep its test-optional policy through the entering class of fall 2026.

Within hours of Harvard’s announcement, Caltech, a science and engineering institute, also said it was reinstating its testing requirements for students applying for admission in fall 2025.

The schools had been among nearly 2,000 colleges across the country that dropped test score requirements over the last few years, a trend that escalated during the pandemic when it was harder for students to get to test sites.

Dropping test score requirements was widely viewed as a tool to help diversify admissions, by encouraging poor and underrepresented students who had potential but did not score well on the tests to apply. But supporters of the tests have said without scores, it became harder to identify promising students who outperformed in their environments.

In explaining its decision to accelerate the return to testing, Harvard cited a study by Opportunity Insights , which found that test scores were a better predictor of academic success in college than high school grades and that they can help admissions officers identify highly talented students from low income groups who might otherwise had gone unnoticed.

“Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond,” Hopi Hoekstra, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, said in a statement announcing the move.

“In short, more information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range,” she added.

Caltech, in Pasadena, Calif., said that reinstating testing requirements reaffirmed the school’s “commitment as a community of scientists and engineers to using all relevant data in its decision-making processes.”

Harvard and Caltech join a growing number of schools, notable for their selectivity, that have since reversed their policies, including Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, M.I.T., Georgetown, Purdue and the University of Texas at Austin.

For Harvard, the move comes at a time of transition, and perhaps a return to more conservative policies.

Last June, the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious college admissions in cases involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina, raising fears that with the demise of affirmative action, those schools would become less diverse.

And in January, Harvard’s first Black president, Claudine Gay, resigned under pressure from critics who said she had not acted strongly enough to combat antisemitism on campus after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, and under mounting accusations of plagiarism in her academic work, which she stood by.

The provost, Alan Garber, was named interim president, while the dean of the law school, John Manning, became interim provost, the university’s second-highest administrative position. Mr. Manning is considered a strong potential candidate to replace Dr. Gay. His background stands out for his conservative associations, having clerked for the former Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia.

In the current climate on campus, a return to test scores could be seen as a return to tradition. It also may address concerns of many parents that the college admissions process, especially in elite institutions, is inscrutable and disconnected from merit.

Applications to Harvard were down by 5 percent this year, while those at many of its peer universities went up, suggesting that the recent turmoil may have dented its reputation. But it still received a staggering number of undergraduate applications — 54,008 — and admitted only 3.6 percent. Requiring test scores could make sorting through applications more manageable.

Critics of standardized tests have long raised concerns that the tests helped fuel inequality because some wealthier students raised their scores through high-priced tutoring. But recent studies have found that test scores help predict college grades, chances of graduation and post-college success, and that test scores are more reliable than high school grades, partly because of grade inflation in recent years .

But Robert Schaeffer, director of public education at FairTest, an organization that opposes standardized testing, said Thursday that the Opportunity Insights analysis had been criticized by other researchers. “Those scholars say that when you eliminate the role of wealth, test scores are not better than high school G.P.A.,” he said, adding that it is not clear whether that pattern is true among the admissions pool at super selective colleges such as Harvard.

Mr. Schaeffer said that at least 1,850 universities remain test optional, including Michigan, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin and Syracuse, which have recently extended their policies. “The vast majority of colleges will not require test scores.” An exception, he said, could be the University of North Carolina system, which is considering a plan to require tests, but only for those students with a G.P.A. below 2.8.

Acknowledging the concerns of critics, Harvard said that it would reassess the new policy regularly. The school said that test scores would be considered along with other information about an applicant’s experience, skills, talents, contributions to communities and references. They will also be looked at in the context of how other students are doing at the same high school.

“Admissions officers understand that not all students attend well-resourced schools, and those who come from modest economic backgrounds or first-generation college families may have had fewer opportunities to prepare for standardized tests,” William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s dean of admissions and financial aid, said in a statement.

Harvard said that in the interest of selecting a diverse student body, it has enhanced financial aid and stepped up recruitment of underserved students by joining a consortium of 30 public and private universities that recruits students from rural communities.

An earlier version of this article misstated Robert Schaeffer’s position. He is the director of public education at FairTest, not the director.

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Anemona Hartocollis is a national reporter for The Times, covering higher education. More about Anemona Hartocollis

Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. More about Stephanie Saul