Hi! I am currently a sophomore in High School and Georgetown is my dream school. I am really interested in politics and law. My GPA is currently a 3.8 (I’m not sure if it is weighted or unweighted), and I am in all honors classes this year. I plan on taking 2-3 AP classes next year. I got a 1200 out of 1520 on the new PSAT without studying but it said I was in the 93rd percentile (I feel like I sound pretentious and I’m so sorry for that I just want to get some information!). I am not sure if I plan on taking the ACT or the SAT yet. I do have a good amount of extracurriculars.
What would you suggest I do over the summer to get a higher chance of getting into Georgetown. I am thinking of doing one of the 1 week courses at Georgetown but they aren’t that cheap and I want to know if you would suggest them or if it just a “money making” program! Thank you SO much!
I wouldn’t bother with an expensive program like that unless you WANT to do it… do something extra in an extracurricular you are already “passionate about”. Also, if that is your direction, I recommend figuring out if your school has boys/girls state. If not, you can probably contact your Boys/Girls State rep early Fall of your junior year to see if you can get into it for summer following your junior year. You could also try to volunteer in the office of a lawyer or local politician. Those are just a couple of ideas. You can also study for the PSAT/SAT over the summer. One last thing – Georgetown requires 3 SAT 2 tests. I highly recommend two things for them if you have the time and a little bit more money. 1) Take only one at a sitting so you can focus on it. 2) Take them right after you take the relevant class. For example, my kid is in AP US History as a freshman, so he will take the US History SAT 2 in May or June his freshman year, right before or right after studying for the AP exam. Same for Precalc and the Math SAT 2, AP Bio or AP Chem and the SAT 2s. Good luck.
I am also a sophomore who is looking to go to Georgetown!
I don’t know about your ECs but I would say these outweigh any summer program. Especially if its politics related!
But if you want to know more about Georgetown (location, food, culture) then consider attending!
Good luck and we are on the same journey!
Taking a summer course at Georgetown will not affect your chances of getting admitted, so don’t do it if that is your primary motivation. Daddio3’s advice is spot on; you should consider those options first if you want to best position yourself as a competitive candidate. Also, the vibe at Georgetown during the summer is very different from the regular academic year, so you might not come away with an entirely accurate impression of the school.
For increasing your admission chances, your time is much better spend on prepping for SAT and ACT. You need to get high scores, better than 93rd percentile. The 93rd percentile puts you in the bottom 25% of Georgetown admits last year. The midpoint last year was ~96, and you want to be better than this to increase your admission chances. By the way, consider taking both the SAT and ACT and see where you do better. Or take practice tests for both and see if there is one where you continually do better, so you know which to pursue.
The summer program won’t get you in I think, dedication/leadership in 2-3 extracurriculars that you really care about is most important. Also, they don’t value politics-related ECs over ones that aren’t related to politics, so just get involved in what you like. Then again, you said you like politics, so nevermind