Chances at Georgetown (Just visited yesterday)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

<p>Yesterday I toured Georgetown, the first college I've visited so far (EVER!). I really don't feel enthusiastic about it but I that's because I really don't know what to think as I have nothing to compare it to. I LOVE the campus, the look/feel, and the area... I would NEVER complain about being able to live in DC, especially while in college with invaluable internship possibilities all around me. I also love the medium size of the student population. It really seems like an ideal number of students. The one thing I'm unsure of is the prestige of the university. Is it really that good? I know it's ranked high in the US News and World Report rankings, but when somebody says they're a Georgetown graduate, is that impressive? Moreso than say, maybe a University of Florida or Miami graduate?</p>

<p>Anyways, here are my stats:</p>

<p>From: Florida</p>

<p>ACT: Composite - 35, Reading - 36, English - 35, Science - 34, Math - 33, Essay/Writing - 32 (Essay: 9)</p>

<p>SAT: (not too great) CR - 650, M - 670, W - 800</p>

<p>GPA: Unweighted - 3.94, Weighted - 5.58
Class Rank: As of mid-year, I was ranked 30-something of 515... so top ~7%, but some juniors graduated early and such, my GPA changed, etc. so my rank should be different... higher if anything.</p>

<p>AP Classes: Bio (5), World History (4), Psychology (5), US History (4), Calc AB (4), English Lang (5), Spanish (x), Enviro (x), Calc BC (x).... x = AP's I'm taking my senior year</p>

<p>EC's:
-FBLA (9, 10, 11, 12), VP of FBLA (11), Pres of FBLA (12)
-Spanish National Honor Society (10, 11, 12)
-National Honor Society (12)
-National Technical Honor Society (11, 12)
-Mu Alpha Theta (11, 12)
-Rho Kappa (11, 12)
-Florida Public Service Association (11, 12)
-Senior Council (12)</p>

<p>-I've built and currently maintain websites that generate income
-I've participated in two highly-selective week-long leadership camps this summer... one through the county's sheriff's office, which selects ONE student from each of the 26 high schools in the county. The other, Seminar for Tomorrow's Leaders (S4TL), selects about 160 students from various Rotary districts throughout west Florida. These equate to about 130 hours of intense leadership training, team building, and working on making oneself a better person.
-I plan to hold a job through my senior year, beginning the end of this summer.</p>

<p>[Financial aid is a huge need for me. EFC = $0. And FWIW, I'm Hispanic.]</p>

2

<p>Depends. Around the Mid-Atlantic region, no one thinks of UF or UM in the same category as Georgetown. Probably different in FL. If you’re thinking of a major in poli sci, international relations, law, or some other DC-centric type work, going to G’town is way above the schools you mentioned. Otherwise, not so sure.</p>

3

<p>I’m geared more towards the sciences. Right now neuroscience is what I’m really looking into (would be neurobiology at Georgetown), though it could change, but probably to something else within the sciences. </p>

<p>In terms of my chances though, what are your thoughts?</p>

4

<p>Wow! On Sunday I visited too! I think u have a good chance at getting in</p>

5

<p>You are hispanic, good ecs, good act score (sat is a little bad for gtown), and have a good GPA…I think you stand a very good chance, just make sure you write a strong essay and let them know that when you visited campus you loved it for some reason. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>I normally don’t comment on chances because its a crap shoot or a lottery ticket for nearly everyone at the upper tier schools. That said, I will comment that your scores and EC’s are in the range although your SAT could use a little work. Your interest in science may be a positive as the new and expanded science building and programs should come online next fall (2012).</p>

<p>Our son was admitted to the College regular decision. His ACT was 33 and SAT 2160. Lots of leadership, research, and athletics EC’s. He was also a co-val in his class of 250. Since there are way more applicants with high scores and top of class rankings, it often comes down to the essays and recommendations. I have also heard that the interview can be beneficial but I don’t think it is the deciding factor.</p>

<p>Georgetown is an excellent school but getting in is difficult. Use your assets and hooks to differentiate yourself as an applicant who is unique but who will bring a lot and give a lot to the school. Good luck in your college search and application process. It will be quite a year.</p>

7

<p>Send them your ACT, rather than your SAT. You have a good shot. Georgetown is more prestigious than Miami and Florida most places.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for the feedback guys. Yeah, I’m not sending my SAT anywhere… I didn’t even really need to include it on this thread but I did anyways. My ACT is the only test score I’m sending, other than SAT subject tests if I take them.</p>

9

<p>SeekingUni, being Hispanic greatly increases your chances at Gtown… </p>

<p>This past year, they really seemed to emphasize diversity. Out of the ~10 people that applied to Gtown this past year from my class, the two that were waitlisted were URMs. One was at the bottom of the pack in SAT/Rigor of Courses… </p>

<p>I loved Gtown and D.C. when I visited. Out of all the places I wanted to tour, Gtown was the one place I heckled my parents to take me. Unfortunately it didn’t happen :(</p>

<p>I’m from FL too!</p>

10

<p>Thanks for that bit of info! I got the vibe of diversity from our tour guide, she mentioned it a lot, but I didn’t know it was a more recent thing they’re pushing. I really love the campus and D.C. too. Very fitting for me.</p>

11

<p>^ ZapadniyRus Georgetown took very few people from the waitlist this year. I’m curious if the URM’s from your school finally made it off the list.</p>

12

<p>^ ZapadniyRus Georgetown took very few people from the waitlist this year. I’m curious if the URM’s from your school finally made it off the list. I ask because a sister of a friend of mine, a URM that applied this year (EA deferred then waitlisted) with a 1410SAT to NHS for International Health, and was eventually denied. She is an incredibly bright student with tons of leadership extracurriculars (student gov officer, NHS officer, Pres. of Operation Smile, etc.) all pretty standard. </p>

<p>My impression is that Georgetown is being flooded with thousands of outstanding applicants and any application better show drive and passion for something unique that goes beyond the normal EC’s of high-achieving students, if you want to stand above the crowd. But then again, it is hard to really make any sense of who gets in and who doesn’t.</p>

13

<p>^^ I think they both decided not to accept the wait list offer… </p>

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<p>This is what I think too… If I remember correctly, Gtown’s middle 50% SAT/ACT were slightly lower than the other top 20 schools I looked at, giving the impression that it’s less competitive than the others and drawing more students to apply. It’s a brilliant idea, bringing in a good chunk of extra money through admission fees and lowering % admitted.</p>

14

<p>*If I remember correctly, Gtown’s middle 50% SAT/ACT were slightly lower than the other top 20 schools I looked at, giving the impression that it’s less competitive than the others and drawing more students to apply. It’s a brilliant idea, bringing in a good chunk of extra money through admission fees and lowering % admitted. *</p>

<p>I don’t think that’s quite right, товарищ.</p>

<p>Name - Critical Reading - Math</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard - 690-800 - 700-790</li>
<li>Princeton - 690-790 - 710-790</li>
<li>Yale - 700-800 - 710-790</li>
<li>Columbia - 690-780 - 700-790
5 (tie). Stanford - 670-760 - 690-790
5 (tie). UPenn - 660-750 - 690-780
7 (tie). CalTech - 700-760 - 770-800
7 (tie). MIT - 670-760 - 740-800
9 (tie). Dartmouth - 670-780 - 690-790
9 (tie). Duke - 690-770 - 690-800
9 (tie). UChicago - 700-780 - 700-780</li>
<li>Northwestern - 670-750 - 690-780
13 (tie). Johns Hopkins - 630-740 - 660-770
13 (tie). WUSTL - 680-750 - 710-790
15 (tie). Brown - 660-760 - 670-770
15 (tie). Cornell - 640-730 - 670-770
17 (tie). Rice - 650-750 - 690-790
17 (tie). Vanderbilt - 670-760 - 690-770</li>
<li>Notre Dame - 650-740 - 670-770</li>
<li>Emory - 640-740 - 670-760</li>
<li>Georgetown - 650-750 - 660-750</li>
</ol>

<p>I don’t see the middle 50% being lower than comparable schools. A bit on the math, maybe, but that’s made up for by the CR.</p>

<p>Georgetown isn’t the sort of place to inflate its applicant pool for fun and profit; if it were, it would definitely be on the CommonApp.</p>

15

<p>^^ I stand corrected then…</p>

16

<p>I got into Georgetown with lower SAT scores than yours. And I did NOT have ACT scores or anything like that-so don’t listen to those who say your scores are low. They aren’t.</p>

<p>Pleaseplease try to take my advice, and put a little humor somewhere in your application. That is what I think got me in with, as I said, SAT scores lower than yours.</p>

17

<p>Georgetown’s ranking is actually a little skewed, in my opinion. My S got in with a 2260/35 (exact same subject scores as OP on ACT) and will be attending. The US News ranking system takes the endowment of the schools into account, and Georgetown simply isn’t as wealthy as the schools “above it.” Before the magazine started considering wealth (mid '90s I believe), Georgetown was, indeed, ranked higher. I believe it was consistently mid-teens from what I remember.</p>

<p>You’ll find that the kids who worry about prestige are the ones who will end up thinking, “Oh gosh, is this really what I want to do?” next June. My son was accepted to several schools “above” Gtown, but it was simply his favorite.</p>

18

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<p>The question of ranking came up at once of the admitted student sessions back in April. The dean had an excellent response which was (paraphrased): “You have to remember that we were owned and run by a bunch of priests up until 1969 and no one was really concerned about money back then.” He went on to say that the university has had great success is building its endowment but its a long way (and a couple of hundred years) behind those other top tier schools that have been around since 1789 or earlier.</p>

<p>When asked why Notre Dame is better endowed the response was they started their endowment program 15 years sooner that Georgetown.</p>

<p>It is quite likely that given the ranking weights and methodology that USNWR uses, Georgetown would be higher ranked if their endowment was in line with the other top 25 to 30 schools.</p>

19

<p>I’d say you have a great chance. However, if your geared toward nuroscience, I would look elsewhere. Or atleast wait until they get their new science center finished.</p>

20

<p>Thanks! When I toured, they said it was scheduled to open Fall 2012, which is when I’ll be entering. I suppose even if they’re a little bit behind schedule, by the time I’m taking classes specifically for my major, it’ll be ready.</p>