Hi! I was wondering if it’s easier to get into Georgetown College or to the School of Foreign Service. I’m also still kind of undeclared but the areas of international relations and sciences interest me. Which of the schools is harder to get into? And which would you recommend to apply to if I’m still basically undeclared? Thank you!
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SFS is regarded as the most difficult to get admitted to.
@anxiousenior1 is correct–SFS is significantly more selective (and self-selecting), and if you’re not set on a gov or poli sci major, you should apply to the College rather than SFS.
Can I transfer from the College to SFS from freshman to sophomore year?
Actually untrue; at least in the past few years the College has had a lower acceptance rate than the overall and the SFS a slightly higher rate.
http://www.thehoya.com/early-admissions-rate-remains-consistent/
http://www.thehoya.com/regular-decision-admissions-rate-holds-steady/
That all said, you have access to largely the same pool of classes and clubs and opportunities irrespective of which you attend. I am going to the College, but strongly considered applying to the SFS for a long time, eventually deciding that my specific combination of interests would be better suited to the structure (or relative lack thereof) of the College. A friend of mine made the same judgement in favour of the SFS. Look at the core curricula of the two schools and the major and minor options and go with whichever you like better; there isn’t much difference in the two and depending on the major a College student could have the exact same coursework as an SFS student.
In your case, that you’re undecided shouldn’t affect which school you apply to too much. The SFS is very highly structured; in the first two years you have a very specific core curriculum (with a pretty good amount of flexibility) after which you go on to a relatively open study of a major of your choice. In the College it’s more of a “you have four years, you need to get these things done in that time, do what you want” kind of feel; it’s much more unstructured and would arguably make more sense if you want to study something not directly IR/politics related as well as IR/politics. In my case, I have a strong interest in math and foreign languages and I found I wouldn’t be able to study those to the same depth in the SFS, so I ended up applying and getting into the College.You can still transfer to the SFS from the College or vice versa if you feel that you’re better suited to the other; the option is there although they don’t accept every single transfer request.
https://bulletin.georgetown.edu/sfs#CoreCurriculum
https://college.georgetown.edu/academics/core-requirements
Best of luck deciding what to do! Feel free to PM me if you need anything.
Students from the College can transfer into SFS just as SFS students can transfer into the College.
In the past, some students admitted to the College transferred into SFS during the summer before their freshman year. There have also been additional transfer periods after the end of freshman year and (I believe) following the fall semester of sophomore year.
Transferring from the College into SFS is subject to a competitive admission process. Grades, an essay, etc. are obviously important. So, too, are the courses you choose. Doing well in Intro to Econ is highly recommended. It also helps to take courses that meet the core requirements of both the College and SFS.
I have never seen data regarding the admission rate for internal transfers from the College to SFS. Perhaps others may be able to provide you these statistics. I would imagine, however, that the difficulty of admission varies from year to year based upon the number of seats available.
If I were you, I’d review the majors SFS and the College respectively offer. I’d also carefully take a look at how the core requirements of the College and SFS differ. Doing so should hopefully help to clarify your initial choice between SFS and the College.
The College has a slightly lower admission rate than SFS, but SFS has marginally higher SAT scores and high school GPAs than the College (https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/xani81o0z2iq0anudhge). Some regard SFS as more prestigious than the College. Others prefer the greater range of academic options the College offers.
Good luck with your choice and with the college admission process!
I definitely agree with what everyone else is saying. I just attended high school summer school at Georgetown for poli sci and we got to get pretty close with some students. Several of them suggested that I apply to the college instead of SFS and then simply switch over later. I’m interested in international relations so the SFS obviously attracted me to Georgetown in the first place, but from what I hear the applicant pool is much more competitive. So this year I’m applying to the college as a poli sci major and then if admitted I’ll be able to switch to SFS for international relations.
SFS requires more economics for all 4 of its majors. My D was looking at its international history major but didn’t want all that Econ, so she applied to the College. The percents on admits I saw showed what @veregudmen linked to, but as was mentioned above SFS applicants are self-selecting. You can get a sense of what “self-selecting” means by going through past Georgetown threads and looking for SFS applicant profiles.
Thank you so much!
Dear Prospective Applicants,
Some gentle advice: If your goal is to study at SFS, don’t apply to the College in the hope it will provide a back door entry to SFS. Doing so, of course, may adversely impact other applicants to the College. You may also frustrate your own academic desires for possibly no substantial benefit.
Having the right to transfer from the College to SFS obviously does not guarantee you will be able to exercise that right successfully. Again, I don’t know the internal transfer admission rate for SFS. As a point of comparison, however, the average internal transfer rate to the McDonough School of Business is 30 percent depending “upon the number of spaces available”.* Hence, it seems a prudent bet that internal transfer admission to SFS may be highly competitive as well.
Keep in mind that SFS internal transfer applicants must provide “evidence of academic accomplishment in fields directly related to the SFS curriculum, particularly the social sciences, economics, and foreign languages … In addition, a serious interest in international affairs and participation in activities beyond the normal scope of the classroom are major factors in determining … admission.” ** In other words, applicants should have great grades and compelling ECs.
Typically, students apply for internal transfers after their freshman year or during their sophomore year.** Thus, even if SFS accepts your transfer application, you will spend considerable time in the College if you seek to transfer after you begin Georgetown. Last summer, some students sought to transfer from the College to SFS before school started. But they needed a compelling reason to do so, and there’s no certainty this option will be available next summer.
Keep in mind, as well, that you cannot apply for an internal transfer until you matriculate to Georgetown. You will also get only bite at the apple since “It is not possible to re-apply for a transfer admission if your initial request is denied.”** Given the uncertainty of the internal transfer admission process, do you want to take that risk? Isn’t it wiser to just apply for direct admission to SFS?
I know some think it’s easier to get admitted to the College than SFS. But last year SFS and the College had the same middle 50 percent ACT range of 31 to 34. The average class rank at SFS was 97.4 percent compared to 96.3 percent at the College, and the middle 50 percent SAT for math and reading was a 1,380 to a 1,560 at SFS and a 1,360 to a 1,530 at the College.*** I could be wrong, but I doubt these variations mean too terribly much.
You can’t go wrong at either the College or SFS. Those who want greater academic freedom may choose the College, while those who seek a more pre-professional approach may select SFS. At this point in the college admission process, you should review the majors each school offers as well as the core courses each school requires. If you decide you want to attend SFS, apply to SFS. The quickest and best path between two points is a straight line.
Good luck!
*http://www.msbnews.com/ugnews/WebsiteMaterials/InternalApplicationsFAQ.pdf
**https://docs.google.com/a/georgetown.edu/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfnCtNv_NDywtMhQyX3KotG2B8rCC0xiDtxs6qdvd87Mp0Qsg/viewform (If this site does not respond, Google “Internal Transfer SFS Georgetown” and then click “How to Apply - School of Foreign Service - Georgetown University”).