Extended Waitlisted, reapplying during gap year?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

So Georgetown SFS has always been my dream school and this year after applying EA I was deferred, then waitlisted, then placed on the extended waitlist. I have yet to hear anything further, but I’m assuming I will not be accepted off of the extended waitlist.

I found out that I was accepted to a highly competitive state dept. language program (NSLI-Y if you’ve heard of it), where I will spend the next year abroad learning a “critical language,” completely funded by the US gov’t.

So: will reapplying during this year abroad help my chances perhaps? Will it be seen favorably, especially since it shows my commitment to the school and it’s very SFS-related work? Also, my first interview went swimmingly, do you think they could use the report from my initial interview, since it’s highly unlikely I will be able to interview in the remote part of the world I will be in?

Also, with regards to second semester senior grades: during a gap year, will they look at those closely? I did slightly worse (my first ever C+ in Calc, *gasp), but in my defense I was already accepted to Cornell and had no idea I would be taking a gap year.

2

I wish I had concrete insights for you on how georgetown views gap years.

But I will say that this looks like a particularly strong program for someone going into the foreign service and I can’t help but think that it would benefit you in many ways.

3

Thank you! I guess I’ll wait to contact them until all waitlist action stops then… I suppose it can’t hurt to ask how to best proceed.

4

Not gonna lie, your C+ is going to hurt you. Georgetown will not care that you were accepted to Cornell and didn’t know you were going to take a gap year. Selective colleges will want you to keep up your grades second semester regardless of whether or not you had already gotten in somewhere. They hate senioritis, and you caught it.