Hi, everyone. I’ve been reading a lot about the exclusivity of many of the desirable clubs at Georgetown. Can any current students talk about this…during tours, the school really highlights the Credit Union, Student Tour guides, the Hoya, and The Corp. Are these clubs indeed harder to get into than the University itself?? It seems to me that if this is true, they should be upfront about it from the start. Many of these clubs are important to kids who are deciding what school to attend. Thanks for any guidance.
All four of those are very hard to get into, yes. If your tour group had 30 students in it and they all applied, about 2 would get into each one, ~maybe.~ Add in the Lecture Fund and you’ve probably got your five most exclusive (The Hoya less so than the others).
What is the Lecture Fund?
The group that gets Kevin Spacey, Warren Buffett, et. al. to come speak on campus.
That’s interesting. Are kids generally surprised about this when they get on campus? How do students apply to join these clubs? Applications, resumes, interviews? Are kids selected on merit or is it a popularity contest?
I was surprised by it at least. Applications require short essays and usually answers to stupid questions like “what’s your spirit animal and why?” (Note, I was probably rejected from the Hoya the fourth time because I answered that question with “I refuse to answer this question.”) There are interviews as well. It’s pretty tricky. You have to be lucky to get into the first club freshman year, and then everything else afterwards is free. As in, you made it into Blue & Gray (tour guides)? Great, you’re basically automatically in GAAP board, NSO, etc. But if you aren’t in any of those from the start, you’ll never get in.
Edit: Same for Model UN. Yes, the team is really good so they want the best people, but once they pick people for the first conference of the year, they stay with them. I was rejected from all ~six conferences fall freshman year before I decided to stop bothering, meanwhile other freshmen had gone to three of them.
Only place you’re safe is finding a work study job, and of course clubs that don’t require applications (despite the doomsday feeling of my post, there are a ton of these, and you will find some you’re interested in. It’s only the real name brand clubs that require applications).
I think it’s important not to conflate the five or so most competitive organizations or clubs at Georgetown with all the student organizations or clubs at Georgetown. Although these top-five are highly competitive, hundreds of others are less competitive or have open admission policies.
Becoming a member of organizations such as the Credit Union or the Corp is a big honor, but it won’t make or break your four years at Georgetown. The vast majority of Georgetown students are not members of these organizations. Yet, they thrive because they have wonderful opportunities to find their niche and get involved.
Information concerning the 322 clubs and organizations at Georgetown can be found here: https://hoyalink.georgetown.edu/organizations#_ga=1.12211127.281773202.141631846.
There is no one size fits all answer to the application process. Generally speaking, applications for the most competitive clubs require prospects to provide standard personal information and answer essay questions. Some organizations offer every applicant an interview with a second interview for those who make the cut; others interview only their top applicants. Some, not all, require resumes.
I think it’s fair to say that merit matters most, but personality (not popularity) counts as well because clubs obviously seek convivial members who will be productive team players. If you interview well, you will have an advantage. The interviews are typically short (15 minutes). Some are serious; others are fun with quirky questions and lots of laughter.
To be honest, it was the club thing that really turned me off on Georgetown. I mean, Georgetown isn’t Yale and none of their clubs is Skull & Bones. I also met some students when visiting you talked about how been blackballed really demoralized them. I’ve declined my SFS offer. (To be honest, I also got better financial aid elsewhere).
I don’t remember the thread that talked about how clubs rule your whole social life, but this seems like a good place to say it doesn’t have to. Ds just got back from an Easter break trip with four of his floormates freshman year. Those people remain among his best friends even though he and all of them are involved in other groups/clubs. Yes, some clubs are competitive and difficult to gain admittance to, but not all are like that.
The real problem at Georgetown is that all of the major clubs that are hyped on the tour are all pretty competitive. The Corp, Credit Union, Blue and Gray, and the Investment Fund are all pretty competitive, although I will note it is much easier to get into the Corp during Spring hiring than Fall. Moreover, tons of people get rejected from clubs their freshman year and reapply sophomore year (for example, the President of Hilltop Consultants, which gets something like 200 applications for 5 spots, fits this trend). Having worked for The Hoya and The Voice, I never really saw those as super-competitive though.
I am seeing a decent amount of stereotyping though, which I want to contest. I’m not a member of NSO, the Corp, or GAAP, but I know the head of NSO this year did none of those other organizations, and NSO cares much more about whether you are an RA and can be responsible for high schoolers. On the Model UN front, there are only 3 conferences in the fall and the one Georgetown hosts, so I don’t know how you were rejected from 6, but the team varies pretty greatly and the Captain of the team this year was rejected from all but one conference his freshman year, so perseverance can pay off.
In general, clubs are very competitive, but there are many organizations that do not require applications at all. Moreover, if you are academically minded, there are tons of fellowships, like the Carroll Fellows, Krogh Scholars and Baker Scolars (sophomores apply), and Mortara Fellowships you can aim for as well.
It sounds like the club situation could be a major source of stress for students who enter school not knowing that the chances of being admitted to one of these groups hyped during tours are very, very slim. I know that in real life, one does not get admitted to everything that he or she wants. However, in the name of transparency, the school should be more upfront about the reality. It would be a bummer to start off freshman year disillusioned and feeling like a failure because of not knowing that these opportunities are so out of reach. I’m disappointed to hear this about this aspect of the campus culture.
Thanks to everyone who responded. It was very helpful and enlightening.
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It’s no fun getting rejected from anything, whether it’s from an internship at Goldman Sachs or a top club at Georgetown. But getting rejected is an inevitable part of life and often an invaluable learning experience. At worst, rejection from a club should be a temporary setback, not a crushing blow.
It might be different if the most competitive clubs provided the only opportunities for extra-curricular involvement at Georgetown. But Georgetown has 322 clubs, not to mention research opportunities and innumerable internship possibilities in DC. That’s why Georgetown offers all its students ample opportunities for meaningful involvement.
College tours are not the functional equivalent of a warning label on a pack of cigarettes. They introduce prospects to the campus. They do not catalogue every disappointment a student may suffer in college. Moreover, as no two college tours are exactly identical, experience from one tour is not necessarily generalizable to all tours.
Dumb question, but Georgetown clubs seem uniquely competitive compared with other schools. Why is that? Do other colleges accept more participants? Do more students apply to a select few clubs at Georgetown because those clubs provide the bulk of a student’s social engagement? It seems odd that these particular clubs would be so desirable as they don’t sound so unusually exciting. Confused.
I have heard of Georgetown’s club exclusivity as a big problem for many people, but it really doesn’t seem that bad. Is stuff like being a tour guide competitive at all colleges? I don’t know what the other clubs actually do, but having five really competitive clubs compared to hundreds of regular clubs doesn’t seem that bad to me. As long as the other clubs don’t require essays and all that to join.
@pittsburghscribe This is just my opinion, but I think Georgetown has the competitive vibe because of the aim of most of its students. The business school and SFS are some of the best in the country and both of those are very preprofessional and competitive majors. These students are very driven and are starting to think about their careers early. Being in a place like DC with all the internship opportunities for SFS makes it even more desirable for those looking to get ahead early. I’d call Georgetown more “driven” than “competitive”. Competitive has a negative connotation on here but honestly I’d love to go to a school where people are so focused and know what they want.
I wouldn’t worry about the competitiveness. If you focus on what matters to you and what you’re passionate about, you’ll easily find people to which you can relate. The competitive people tend to be recognized as annoying by many people.
At other colleges tour guides are paid positions. It’s strictly volunteer here. So.
While the number of clubs that we complain about being “competitive” is pretty small, they have a much more significant presence on campus than all of the other open clubs combined. They’re incredibly cliquey, AKA, the same small group of people will be tour guides, GAAP board members, and NSO advisors/leaders. So it’s just made worse by the fact that one rejection in reality locks you out of more than one club.
Hi, my daughter was accepted EA to Georgetown, is ecstatic, and is really enamored by the school. The only thing that is bugging her (and me) is this competitive club situation. But if I am understanding things correctly, if you are interested in clubs OTHER than the top 5 super competitive ones, it shouldn’t be an issue? Can anyone explain that a little better? So there are clubs you can just join?
Not only does my daughter want to be very involved, like she is in high school, but she wants to make great friends and have a strong sense of community. We keep hearing that the CLUBS you are in determine your social life…this surprises me a little because I would think your freshman dorm and floor should be bigger factors. Why is it that the clubs you are in so important to you social life at Georgetown? And are there good choices that aren’t competitive?
I love everything about Georgetown except this. She has worked so hard and got into her dream school. I just want her to be happy. She also got in to Notre Dame, but I think is leaning towards Georgetown for so many great reasons (but loves ND too, she hasn’t finalized her decision). Like I said, after all she had to do to get to this point, I want her to be happy.
Any input or advice from anyone would be great! Thanks!
I’ll PM you, collegemomjam.
Thank you so much!
collegemomjam,
Congrats – you should be very proud of your daughter.
Here’s my gentle advice: don’t worry about the clubs at Georgetown. As I’ve previously observed, only a small percentage of the 300 or so clubs at Georgetown are hyper competitive. So, your daughter will have ample opportunities to become meaningfully involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities even if she never applies to one of these hyper-competitive clubs.
While clubs enhance social life, they do not solely determine it at Georgetown. As you correctly suspect, freshmen dorms serve as great incubators for lasting friendships at Georgetown just as they do at other universities. Your daughter will also have myriad opportunities to make friendships during orientation, at parties, in class, over meals, etc, etc, etc.
Your daughter should not let the hyper-competitiveness of these few clubs prevent her from applying to them. If she’s accepted, she’ll be a member of one of the many great clubs at Georgetown. If she’s rejected, she can apply again to that club or just move onto the next fulfilling and less competitive opportunity. If nothing else, the interviews and essays these hyper-competitive clubs require well prepare students for the demanding internship and job application process.
Your daughter has an enviable choice between Georgetown and Notre Dame. Both offer excellent academics and fulfilling extracurricular activities. But Georgetown cannot match the Division I sports of Notre Dame any more than South Bend can equal the beautiful suburban setting of Georgetown or its proximity to the excitement and opportunities of Washington, D.C.
If you can, take your daughter to the programs Georgetown and Notre Dame respectively host for their admitted students. These programs were decisive for each of my four kids. Indeed, they enabled them to viscerally connect to the university they happily chose to attend. If your daughter is like my child, she’ll feel at home at Georgetown just as soon as she walks through the gates of the university.
Good luck to your daughter.