What Georgetown is Looking for in Their Essays

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

 

What’s Covered: 

• Why Are Your Essays So Important?
• How Will You Impact the Georgetown Community?
• What Are Your Personal Qualities?
• Are You and Your Interests Authentic?

 

 

Why Are Your Essays So Important?

 

Essays are a crucial step in applying to any college. But Georgetown, in particular, values its supplemental essays. Essays account for up between 25% to 35% of the admissions decision at Georgetown, whereas at most schools it is 25% or below. 

 

Many students applying to Georgetown have the right qualifications on paper: good grades, test scores, and extracurriculars. Therefore, when deciding between applications, it boils down to the essay. They know you are qualified to be a Georgetown student, but what kind of student will you be when you are there?

 

How Will You Impact the Georgetown Community?

 

The first factor that an admissions officer will be looking for is whether you will positively add to the campus community. Every college is thinking about this. What they are trying to do is imagine what you will be like on campus, as well as what you would be like as an alumni of the school. 

 

What extracurriculars are you going to be joining once you are on campus? What events at Georgetown are you going to be participating in? Are you going to be attending Georgetown day festivities? Perhaps you will help run the student government, or run for Student Senate President. They are trying to think about who you are as a person, and what value and impact you will have on and beyond campus. 

 

No one can predict the future here, but your essays can sometimes give colleges a really good idea of what kind of student you will be like at their school and what you will be like after graduating. 

 

What Are Your Personal Qualities?

 

Georgetown has a set of core values, one of which is the idea of “care for the whole person.” Georgetown applies that to admissions, too. That means they want people who are interdisciplinary thinkers, very open-minded, and ready to explore all the world has to offer. 

 

At Georgetown, they value things like loving to learn, caring about others, striving to make the world a better place, determination, and resilience. In your essays, you will want to make sure that you show the ways in which you align with these values and why.

 

Are You and Your Interests Authentic?

 

When reviewing your essays, Georgetown admissions officers are looking for authenticity in your reasons for wanting to enroll at their school. They get a lot of applications simply because they are a prestigious, top 50 school, but Georgetown, in particular, does not like people applying for its name. 

 

The main reason why the Georgetown application is not on the Common App is so they can reduce the number of people applying to schools for clout and prestige. They want to make it extra work, so they get applicants who like Georgetown authentically and have key reasons for wanting to go, besides the fact that it is a good school.

 

As a result, you should make sure to do your research when applying to Georgetown. In each essay, you want to show that you understand the school and are excited about its opportunities. 

 

You can find more information on how to write Georgetown’s supplemental essays in this article. And if you’re stuck in the brainstorming phase and eed examples of great college essays? Check out 19 Examples of Stellar Common App Essays or 16 Strong College Essay Examples.