Current Georgetown student willing to answer questions!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
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Hey guys! I’m a current freshman in Georgetown SFS, and I wanted to create this thread to help any of you out with any questions you may have about life at Georgetown, including academics (specifically about the SFS and like majoring in government in the college versus being in the SFS - I’ve addressed that a lot with other prospective students), the social scene, club culture, religiosity (I’m Jewish at a Catholic school and I absolutely love all of the religious communities and dialogue here), and just navigating the application process in general! I know I had an extremely tough time last year, and being able to talk to current students at the schools I was considering helped a lot.

One thing though, please don’t ask me about your chances. I don’t know how I got in, or anyone else, and whether you will get in is honestly anyone’s guess. I’m sure you’re all good students, so just be sure to craft the best possible applications and take a deep breath! You got this!!

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hey! i was just wondering if your SFS essay was formal or personal? Like did you just talk about a topic you were interested in or did you connect it to yourself? Thanks!

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Hi, thanks for doing this! Georgetown SFS is my #1 choice (I want to be a FSO, know of anyone else there leaning toward that?), although to be honest I’m not confident at all about getting in. I do have a couple questions, though:

  1. Religion! Ha, my favorite. I’m Baptist; do you happen to know of any Protestant groups on campus that are active? And do different religious groups ever collaborate/talk/work together on things?

  2. Admissions - I have to. Do you know if Georgetown values interest in GU and desired major over certain other aspects of the application? Because I really hope so…

Thanks again, I’m really jealous you’re at the SFS!

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@abigailgr Hi, I’m also a current SFS freshman. There’s a good chance if you talk to an SFS person that they’re looking to join the Foreign Service eventually, myself included :slight_smile:

To answer your questions:
1.) I’m a Protestant myself, and am currently with Campus Outreach, which meets weekly for bible study groups, and also offers a free ride to Capitol Hill Baptist Church every Sunday. (Random note, I went this past Sunday and Mike Pence sat 6 rows behind me during service… don’t know how I feel about that…) Aside from Campus Outreach, there are several other protestant groups on campus, all of which are very active. The Protestant chaplains also host a multi-denominational service at Georgetown every Sunday evening. And yes, the different religious groups frequently collaborate, usually led by the chaplains. Inter-faith dialogue is a big part of Georgetown, and we’ve had discussions and joint prayers, especially in light of Charlottesville and the natural disasters that have struck in the past couple weeks. If you would like, I can put you in touch with the person currently leading Campus Outreach? He’s a very friendly guy and I’m sure he’d be happy to answer any specific questions you may have about CO.

2.) Interest is not officially considered under Georgetown’s Common Data Set (https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/sy6d1d9f6riz5t3q2egojnyzw3qj509q) but at the same time, they purposefully made the application more difficult to do so as to weed out the people who are applying only to apply, so demonstrating that you’re serious about Georgetown by visiting and getting to know campus, and then reflecting that in your alumni interview/essay will help a lot. As for desired major, they’ll take it into account in that your desired major should make sense within your application. That is, if you’re an IPOL major in the SFS, it should make sense that you’re passionate about IR and such. Aside from that, they know that most people will change majors throughout college, and so they don’t place too much weight on desired major, so choosing a major strategically doesn’t really work. It’s much better to go with the one that you’re passionate about and would be happy in, because often they can see that reflected in your application.

I hope my answers were helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any other questions!

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@jenfumz yes, my SFS essay was very personal. Like I said, I’m Jewish, and I have a lot of family in Israel who immigrated there from Eastern Europe after the Holocaust. I wrote my essay on the conflict in Israel right now because that’s something I am very passionate about so I knew that the quality of my writing and argument would be better. I started out by talking about my own family and how they sought freedom in Israel because of the persecution they faced, and then connected it to how the Israeli government is persecuting the Palestinian residents and how that really isn’t okay. And to tell you the truth, I think it’s definitely one of the reasons I was accepted, because it showed me using my personal relationship with Israel to also condemn some of what the government is doing and proposing solutions and concessions from both sides. I think all in all doing something like that makes your message more powerful, but I also know people who wrote about something that is completely unrelated to their personal life, but was still something they were very interested in. Hope I helped!

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@abigailgr I think masquerade98 answered your questions really well. I will affirm that there is a good Protestant presence on campus and that there are plenty of weekly services and student groups centered around whichever sect you belong to. There is also a Protestant chaplain (Rev. Olivia Lane) who’s pretty awesome.

And I would say interest isn’t that big of a deal, especially with a major (it’s really just a preliminary sort of what are you potentially interested in pursuing kinda thing - you’re not held to the major you apply for in the SFS). And as for interest in GU in general, I got in without ever having visited, so idk. I do think that the interview is slightly important though, so make sure you express interest when you get around to that.

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okay thank you!! it definitely sounds like that was beneficial. I’ve heard in the past that it should be pretty formal so I’m conflicted! do you think that formal/personal doesn’t really matter as long as you’re passionate and show how you think about the issue? thanks again!!

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@jenfumz I think it should be formal in the style that it’s written in, for sure, but you can definitely put yourself in it (i.e. write it in the first person) and put your own flair and passion in it while maintaining an overall formal tone. I think if you find the right balance between the personal, passionate aspects and the fact that it does have to be a serious SFS essay, you’ll be in a good place with it. At least, that’s from my own experience. And of course! Feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

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@rebecca12345 Can you look at my profile and tell me if I have a chance at Georgetown

Georgetown

Major Choice: Psychology/ Thinking PreMed Track
GPA unweighted 4.0
Weighted: 4.154
Class Rank 1/120
ACT 33 Composite 34 Super scored
Small Public school in Iowa

Not sure about weighted because I have taken 4 AP classes so far. Senior course load is five additional AP: AP Lit and Comp, AP Chemistry, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Calculus ( My school only lets you take 1 AP class sophomore year, and I had to advocate Junior year to take additional classes because they’re not many are offered at my school)

Honors and Awards:

National Council on Youth Leadership - 12, 11
Approximately 250 students from 24 area high schools have been selected to attend for their leadership qualities and scholastic record.
AP Scholar Honors - 11
Honor roll - 11, 10, 9
State Speech
Qualified for State Speech with readers theater group - 9
Qualified for State Speech with Improv Group - 11
Borlaug Scholar - World Food Prize Youth Institute - 10
State Academic Decathlon - 11, 10

Leadership:

National Honor Society Member - 12, 11, 10
President of National Honor Society - 12
Coordinate Blood Drive
Student Council Representative - 12, 11, 10, 9
Historian of Student Council - 10
Secretary of Student Council - 11
Vice President of Student Council-12
Selected by High School for three consecutive summers for Student Council Leadership Training Camp - 11, 10, 9

Clubs:
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) - 12, 11, 10, 9
Technology Students Association (TSA) - 12, 1
Problem Solving (Given a problem, materials, and a time limit. Must solve the problem in the given time limit)
Volunteer Club - 12, 11, 10: Selected to Co-President for senior year. Find opportunities to volunteer and send them out via email, poster, or Remind app

Yoga Club - 12, 11

Umbrella Club - 12, 11, 10: Raise awareness for mental health issues

Book Club - 12, 11, 10, 9: Meet once a month to discuss a book of choice

Volunteer (Approximately 200 + Hours Worked):

Big Brother Big Sister: Work with troubled children and provide them with a role model
Work with middle school students and help tutor them in 8th Grade Math, Physical Science, and US History

Creator of the “Hat and Mitten Drive” at church

Pet Rescue & Rescue
Cleaning kennels, and caring for animals

Food Pantry: Shop with customers and carry groceries to their cars

Meals From the Heartland Package meals to be sent around the country and the world

Church Service:
Organize and volunteer for children’s group and vacation bible school, Assisting Minister 11, 10, 9

Hospital Volunteer once a week 3 hours.

Summer Camps:
Notre Dame Vision Saints & Scholars Program (Summer 2017)
Boston College Summer Challenge (Summer 2017)
National Student Leadership Conference at Harvard University (Summer 2016)
Precollegiate Programs for Talented and Gifted at Iowa State University (Summer 2015)
Leadership Training Camp at Selected from school (Summer 2015, 2016, 2017)

Sports:
Cross Country - 12, 11, 10, 9
Varsity Letter - 12, 10, 9
Baseball - 10, 9
Suited Varsity - 10
Soccer - 12, 11, 10

Work Experience: Summer job at local pool and working at my parent’s company

Will have good recommendations from my teacher, but my counselor left last year, so the new one doesn’t know me very well.

Already completed my common app essay. I think it is very good.

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@aleg as I’m not an admissions officer there’s really no way to say. There’s no formula for getting into a top tier school and oftentimes there isn’t a clear reason for why someone is accepted while another just as qualified or more qualified applicant is not. The admissions officers are people, so their evaluation is subjective, which can go so many ways.

There’s nothing wrong with your profile. You got the record of every other top tier applicant - the 4.0, the high standardized test scores, a plethora of awards, the multitude of club commitments and leadership roles, and I assume well written essay. You’ve done everything you can. If admissions were formulaic, I’d say you’d hit the “check” on every box. But it’s not. It’s subjective. My profile was not as strong as yours, yet I know others who applied to Georgetown who had better scores or more involvement that I had that got waitlisted or rejected. You just never know. You did everything you can, so just try to calm down. Trying to figure out your chances won’t help you have a relaxing senior year. Just enjoy yourself and continue hoping for the best for when the decisions do arrive.

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Hi Rebecca, I remember you from last year as my DD was applying to similar schools as you and she also chose Georgetown. She is now on a gap year. I am glad that you seem to have settled in well. I was just wondering that as a current student, what do you like most about Georgetown? Also, are there things about GU that you don’t like or would change if you could? One aspect that we have wondered about is the preprofessional vibe at GU compared to other schools that we looked at. Do you find the GU students more more intellectual or preprofessional? Thanks.

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Hi, I often hear that Georgetown is really competitive between students and they sometimes take it a little far… Do you find that to be true?

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How did you get notified by Georgetown for your acceptance? Email only, mail only, or both?

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mailed acceptance decisions are usually sent out December 13th and unless you are an international applicant, you will not receive an email but rather only the letter @jlcastle

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Hi can you talk about being Jewish at Georgetown? I’m also Jewish and might be joining the class of 2022 (Just got in!)