I’m an international student (latina, female) applying to Georgetown this year EA for CS. I have an uncle that attended Georgetown’s graduate program and was an associate professor there, and he also went to Yale for the World Fellows Program. He’ll write one of my recommendation letters. Does that help my college app? I have a 1450 on the SAT, didn’t take any AP courses (because my homeschool program didn’t offer any). My GPA is 3.71 uw.
My extracurriculars are:
-Worked at a software company (like an intern)
-Taught math at a nonprofit organization that helps kids living in shanty towns.
-Created websites for non-profit organizations for free.
-I’m in a pre university program at the best CS university in my country : currently taking college-level Math, Chem, Physics, Design Thinking, Introduction to University Life, and Public Speaking. And I even got into the university for passing these courses.
-Created a group with people interested in buying/selling Bitcoins (as a hobby).
-1000+ hours of community service.
-Church’s multimedia team leader.
-Did Taekwondo for 5 years (including freshman and sophomore years) and won a couple national championships plus some district tournaments.
-Did Swimming/Tennis/Running throughout my four years of high school.
I’ll submit two recommendation letters: one from my uncle (as I mentioned above) and another one from my boss (who I work for at the software company). I have a TOEFL score of 103/120.
Do you think I might be able to get in?
Uncle likely won’t give you legacy, since that’s usually just immediate family. The rec letter from a World Fellow does help though. CS is automatically really hard to get into no matter your stats, so make sure you have safeties lined up just in case. The internship at a software company and teaching math are really good ECs, as is the taekwondo. I think you’ll be able to get in, be sure to explain your circumstances and the pre-uni program in your essays.
I can’t chance you, but CS is very competitive at Georgetown. You have a solid academic record and good ECs.
You don’t give us the breakdown of your SAT scores, but 1450 is just above the class of 2023’s mean of 1440. I expect CS applicants have a math score well above the 725 mean. https://www.thehoya.com/university-yield-rate-falls-50-class-2023/
A few more observations:
-Georgetown recommends three SAT subject tests–have you taken those? If not you should, and make sure one of them is Math 2.
-Your uncle’s history will be unlikely to give you a legacy or faculty tip, and you will need a recommendation from a teacher as well. Not sure a rec from your boss will be meaningful.
-Will you be applying for financial aid? Around 8% of each Georgetown class is international students and they have a very strong preference for full-pay internationals, even though the website states they are need-blind for all applicants. According to the 2018/19 CDS only 29 of 1,121 international students (2.6%) received financial aid (H6). https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/4kq8y4ud4d3kwsvxaf37rsvvibhtydd7
If going to college in the US is your goal, make sure to add more schools, including those that are less selective. Good luck.
I scored a 750 in the math section of the SAT. I’m not going to be able to take any subject tests. My boss is more like a mentor to me, and he was actually the one that introduced me to computer science and even taught me programming for a couple of years. I’m going to be applying for financial aid for most of the other universities I’m applying to. What other less selective universities would you recommend me to apply?
My son got in class of 2023. SAT 1420 (but was National Merit Finalist so took SAT as confirmation for National Merit). ACT of 33. GPA 4.0/4.57 with all AP courses offered at school. Numerous academic awards. Had a lot of community service hours (catholic school). Applied EA (I think this is critical) and didn’t take SAT subject tests. Our school didn’t know subject tests were necessary. We’re in the Midwest and ACT is the most common. His recs were very strong. I think his essays set him apart - they were unique and not basic canned answers. I’d look at how to really stand out on essays. Especially the questions about overcoming a challenge or something similar. He used a work situation - not school related. He chose physics as a major to continue on to Columbia with their 4+2 year partnership for engineering. Gtown doesn’t have engineering. At GAAP weekend I met ppl who said business and foreign service schools were very hard to get into - need much higher grades and test scores than other majors. Honestly, my son was shocked he got in and he was accepted to a lot of other schools but denied at Harvard which he applied just as a challenge - he wanted Gtown. I wish you the best of luck!
I forgot to add, I think your sports involvement is very good. It shows you can balance grades with other school activities that require a big commitment and are competitive in nature. My son played Freshman/Sophomore football,
Freshman/sophomore/junior basketball and did track all four years (Varsity - as Jr. & Sr.)