Georgetown Transfer Questions

Transfer Students
1

<p>I receive a lot of private messages regarding the admissions process for transferring into Georgetown University. Given that much of these questions are the same, that I would rather not retype long and elaborate responses, and that such responses would be of significantly greater benefit if published for the greater CC community, I've decided to start this thread.</p>

<p>Please post any questions (including chances) here if you want a response from me, or any other posters who have had experience with the admissions process at Georgetown University.</p>

2

<p>How great of a shot would I have for Mcdonough with these stats?</p>

<p>CCC GPA: 3.9-4.0
SAT: 1460/2100
H.S. GPA: 2.3
EC: 4/5
Preps: Done by time of application</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

3

<p>How long did you stay at your CC before transferring to Georgetown?</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
How long did you stay at your CC before transferring to Georgetown?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I didn't attend a CC. I attended a small four-year college for one year.</p>

<p>
[quote]
CCC GPA: 3.9-4.0
SAT: 1460/2100
H.S. GPA: 2.3
EC: 4/5
Preps: Done by time of application

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Your chances do not look so good: your SAT is too low, and you might need more credits. If you are a junior transfer, I think you have a good shot. Otherwise, don't get your hopes up, and perhaps wait another year before considering the MSB.</p>

5

<p>Oh...</p>

<p>Would you happen to know what the median SAT would be for Mcdonough? Its scary to think a 1460 is too low for Georgetown.....</p>

<p>If I retake it in college, what should I aim for? Thank you</p>

6

<p>Wait, is that 1460 out of 2400? If it is out of 1600, then your chances are great!</p>

<p>Good luck:)</p>

7

<p>Oh its 1460 (V + M) and 2100 (Out of 2400)</p>

<p>Phew....</p>

<p>You should pay compensations for nearly giving me a heart attack....</p>

<p>Haha, thank you. Hope I will be able to see you in Georgetown soon :D</p>

8

<p>yes, since the test is either scaled out of 1600 or 2400, it would be impossible for someone to score a 1460 out of 2100. ;) You have a good shot at McDonough and are well above the median of admitted applicants both with respect to GPA and SAT.</p>

<p>Here's my question for you nspeds:</p>

<p>Do you notice that people at Georgetown look down on McDonough and its students, or is this just a rumor?</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
Hope I will be able to see you in Georgetown soon

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yup. I hope to be participating in NSO, so I wouldn't be surprised if I met many of the transfers.</p>

<p>
[quote]
yes, since the test is either scaled out of 1600 or 2400, it would be impossible for someone to score a 1460 out of 2100

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yeah, I kinda realized that after the fact. Oh well.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Do you notice that people at Georgetown look down on McDonough and its students, or is this just a rumor?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's difficult to describe; we very lightheartedly joke about MSB students, and the SFSers very lightheartedly joke about the College students, and the MSB, College, and SFSers very lightheartedly joke about the NHSers, but that kind of humor usually lasts one through the first week. No one really cares which school you are in, and you are far more likely to hear jokes with respect to a major rather than with respect to a school, which is common at any university, ie., you take American Studies, therefore you are a frickin' idiot, or something of the sort.</p>

<p>I have good friends in the MSB, so I know I don't care. Some professors look down on the professional programs here (expect that from the philosophy, english, and history profs, for instance), but once again, these things are really just jokes. Anyone who takes them very seriously doesn't really belong here.</p>

<p>I hope that makes sense. I mean, I might disagree with the intellectual disposition of some of my friends, but that doesn't make them any less of friend to me, and in the end, we are still laughing our butts off at the same movies and having a great time off campus. One professor mentioned that Georgetown is a place where the members of the future ruling class are acquainted with other members of the future ruling class. While I agree with this, I <em>do</em> think that Georgetown is a place where intelligent people can meet other intelligent people, maintain their disagreements, but still form a mature academic and social outlook from which a very cohesive community results.</p>

10

<p>I just finished a semester at American University's School of International Service. I am not happy here, but love Washington DC. I also would like a school that has more focus on Security Issues, and is more rigorous. So, I was hoping I could transfer to SFS.</p>

<p>HS Stats:
GPA: 3.5 unweighted
SAT: 1310 (out of 1600, forget the writing portion)</p>

<p>College Stats
GPA: 4.0 (includes 300-level course)
-My paper was chosen for presentation at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research, could be published
-Could be published in a few other journals, waiting to hear back.
EC's: VP of Student Alumni Assocation, VP of Arabic Club, College Democrats, AU Foreign Policy Assocation, Intramural Sports, Finance Club, a few others.
Work: Intramural Basketball Referee</p>

<p>-Recommendation from one of the best professors at American University, who is an alumn from Georgetown University.</p>

<p>-I started a charitable organization that helps orphans in Afghanistan. I am traveling to the Iran-Afghan border this summer to help with the charity. I will then spend a month traveling through various places in the middle east.</p>

<p>-I have traveled extensively in Europe.</p>

<p>-I think i have pretty good essays which talk about the charity and my travels to the middle east. I pointed out specific professors whose works i have read and who i would look forward to learning from.</p>

<p>-Will be taking summer courses back home at Wake forest university, do not know if this make any difference, or if they care.</p>

<p>Do you all think I have a chance of transfering? Any response or recommendation is welcome.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

11

<p>md, you have pretty good shot. I know students who transferred into the SFS from AU and CUA. </p>

<p>Write some good essays, and make sure you wow the adcom on the soft factors:)</p>

12

<p>Soft factors? Like essays and stuff? </p>

<p>Anything else I can do?</p>

13

<p>Thanks for starting this thread, nspeds! I have a few questions...</p>

<p>first, I have read different things regarding the selectivity of Georgetown admissions... is the transfer rate insanely hard or what?</p>

<p>also... I am applying as a Government major, which I know is extremely huge at Georgetown. Given the popularity of the major, is that a bad thing for me to be applying to? I am a Government major here at UT-Austin so at least I will be consistent with that.</p>

<p>How important are essays? I know that I wrote some stunners for the freshman admissions process (to other schools, I didnt apply to Georgetown) and they didn't seem to make much of a difference. Would you say they are given more weight in transfer applications?</p>

<p>Last thing... how does the housing process for transfers work? Are they typically housed in one particular building? I thought it would be cool to try and live in one of those Gtown townhouses but I am sure that prior freshman get first dibs.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
Soft factors? Like essays and stuff?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Anything else I can do?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Just be yourself. </p>

<p>
[quote]
first, I have read different things regarding the selectivity of Georgetown admissions... is the transfer rate insanely hard or what?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It is difficult, but its difficulty is not on par with, say, getting into Harvard or Yale as a transfer. Georgetown is, like other top 25 schools, committed to admitting around 25% of applicants (with the SFS acceptance rate being much lower. On some years, the rate can be 27% or or 23%, but 25% is a pretty good expectation.</p>

<p>
[quote]
How important are essays? I know that I wrote some stunners for the freshman admissions process (to other schools, I didnt apply to Georgetown) and they didn't seem to make much of a difference. Would you say they are given more weight in transfer applications?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>My impression is that they are only really important if your grades and SAT scores are not compelling enough. If your GPA and SAT are high enough, I wouldn't worry too much about the essays; however, be sure to explicate well why you want to attend Georgetown. I am convinced that the admissions committee takes that information into account, and that it figures heavily in one's decision.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Last thing... how does the housing process for transfers work? Are they typically housed in one particular building? I thought it would be cool to try and live in one of those Gtown townhouses but I am sure that prior freshman get first dibs.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>1) Getting in the townhouses is nearly impossible for even regular students; to stand a chance, a student needs to be somewhere in the first 10 students to select housing during the housing lottery, which is rare.
2) Transfer students, at least when I arrived, where generally placed in two locations: the Southwest Quandrangle or Village B. I was placed in and prefer the Southwest Quad; it was built in 2003 and the facility is beautiful. Also, it is around a one minute walk from the dining hall. Village B is just in front of the front gates, and necessitates around a 5-7 minute walk to the dining hall.</p>

15

<p>Do you think the adcom at Georgetown is pretty conservative (in terms of what they're willing to consider from essays, not politically)? Perhaps it's only the fact that there's no online application that is making me feel this way, but I get the impression that they're a bunch of stubborn old men. I'm trying to gauge whether my UChicago essays, which are pretty absurd, can be adapted for use on my Georgetown app.</p>

<p>and of course, I can't forget chances...
applying to: SFS (international economics)
HS
GPA: 3.1 UW, 3.4 W
SAT I: 2150
SAT II: 750 Biology, 710 Math IIC, 700 Literature</p>

<p>Current School: CCC
GPA: 4.0</p>

<p>I have pretty normal EC's, like officer positions in clubs, 4 years of debate, a couple other random things, but nothing that makes me stand out. </p>

<p>I'm a freshman but I've already taken two quarters worth of credits and am again taking a heavy courseload this quarter. I hope this will help me, but I realize I don't have a very good shot. I was originally going to apply to MSB, but I realized that I had very little interest in studying business.</p>

16

<p>are you currently a freshman or sophomore from UT Austin, and also which program?</p>

17

<p>Does georgetown limit the number of transfers from a certain college?</p>

18

<p>I would also like an answer to md6488a's question...and I'd liketo know if being a legacy helps for transfer. Also , does it hurt that I wasn't admitted out of high school? I'm in college now with a 3.933 gpa.</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
Do you think the adcom at Georgetown is pretty conservative (in terms of what they're willing to consider from essays, not politically)?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, not really. My essays were structurally very controversial.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I'm trying to gauge whether my UChicago essays, which are pretty absurd, can be adapted for use on my Georgetown app.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>They probably can be. Be careful, though: especially for CC applicants, you will want to devote space to clarifying your reasons for wanting to attend Georgetown. Since these reasons need to be specific to Georgetown, using an essay that you submitted for another school will not help that much.</p>

<p>A dirty ol' trick I used back in the day was that I would create a generic "reasons" essay, with placeholders for specific information. Since I wanted to transfer into the philosophy department, I left some blanks here and there for specific faculty members I wanted to work with and their areas of concentration, I left a space for specific qualities of the departments to which I wanted to be admitted, and so forth. It worked out pretty well for me.</p>

<p>I'm afraid, however, that your chances for the SFS aren't great. I am not using such a phrase euphemistically, though. To be sure, you have a solid shot; however, there will be applicants who are more competitive than you are, and they will have a better shot. Your chances aren't bad; they're just not great either.</p>

<p>
[quote]
and I'd liketo know if being a legacy helps for transfer.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It does, but in specific forms. I believe pretty much only one's immediate family counts, though I think it may even be restricted to father/mother, grandfather/grandmother, and further up the line. I don't know about siblings. Cousins definitely don't count.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Does georgetown limit the number of transfers from a certain college?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Not that I know of, though I wouldn't be surprised if they did. At any rate, there was an ENORMOUS amount of GWU transfers this year. We all know why;)</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also , does it hurt that I wasn't admitted out of high school?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No. Had I applied fresh out of high school, my application would have been laughed at all the way to the reject pile.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I'm in college now with a 3.933 gpa.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's great! Keep it up.</p>

<p>Keep the questions coming:)</p>

<p>Wait a minute? What happened to Mildrid and her famous saying.... that I discouraged people from transferrin?. Geez, this thread must make my very existence paradoxical.</p>

20

<p>nspeds, what do you think of my chances to McDonough? Is it worth a shot?</p>

<p>Also, did you get a Dean's report from your previous school? Georgetown recommends one, but since my school is so big... I've never met the Dean. It seems like he would be hard to approach given the circumstances (me leaving his school for a better one).</p>

<p>Anyways... thanks.</p>

<p>Stats:
-Out of State
-White Male
-Sophmore at UMass Amherst - 45 credits (44 graded)
- Member of Commonwealth College (Honors College)
-3.91 GPA (last 2 semesters were 4.0, I've gotten all A's except for one B- in Calculus). Will take 15-18 credits this semester.
- Taking 15 credits this semester with some pretty hard classes.
- Business major (leaning toward finance or management)
- I think I can get 2 good recs and I can write some good essays.</p>

<p>ECs
-Member of Finance Society, Investment Club and Business Schools Honor Council (with possible leadership position) groups.
-Work as tutor, intramural sports official about 10 hours per week.
-Volunteer work in orphanages in Nicaragua during summers.
- Sponsor and correspond with impoverished child from Tanzania, Africa.</p>

<p>H.S. Stats - I was an underachiever and never really tried.
- 3.5 GPA weighted
- 1180 SAT old - I know this will probably hurt, but I feel I've proved I can do college work. I will not retake anything.</p>

<p>I called Georgetown about this... I see it as a negative, but they made it seem like they may view the vast improvement as a positive.</p>