<p>does anyone know how much being a semi-finalist helps out? I just found out I got it.</p>
<p>I have a 2230 SAT (800 M, 700 CR, 730 W), am a legacy (grandfather attended the college) and many ECs with leadership positions (model un pres, beta club pres, varsity swim captain)</p>
<p>SAT II- 750 US hist, 680 Bio, and i just took Math II and i think it was around 700</p>
<p>my concern is that my class rank is top 25% rather than top ten, and my gpa is around 96/100% weighted--my school doesn't do rank or unweighted gpa.</p>
<p>At the same time I'm go to a competitive private school with a good history of georgetown acceptances (around 3-5 per year out of a class of roughly 120) </p>
<p>Does georgetown care about National Merit at all/ will it be enough to get me in, or do i look at deferral based on gpa/class rank (I know they care a lot about grades)</p>
<p>They care a lot about grades, because grades are an indicator of how you compare with your classmates. You appear to be a very well-rounded candidate. You obviously are not a slacker, and at the end of the day, that is really what grades are an indicator of. If your grades “suffered” a little because of your swimming and other leadership activities, so what? Georgetown will take that into account. So don’t sweat it.</p>
<p>You didn’t mention anything about your foreign language skills, so that may be an area to work on strengthening if you are interested in SFS. Nevertheless, you are a competitive candidate for Georgetown University.</p>
<p>You may also want to consider researching the College and the majors (Government, Economics, History) that are similar to SFS majors. You may find the college to be a better fit… or not. Nevertheless you can always transfer among colleges, after acceptance if you change your mind.</p>
<p>I’m actually in a program at my school called Global Studies Diploma Program aka SFS at the high school level. There are comparative religion and government courses as well as study abroad and language skill requirements. I’m in Spanish 5 honors this year and lived in Spain for three weeks this summer as part of an immersion program.
My interviewer had heard of this program at my school and thought SFS sounded like a good fit for me. Hopefully those who read my app will think so too! haha. </p>
<p>94% of admitted students to Georgetown last year were in the top 10% of their class. The avg percentile rank of an admitted SFS student EA was 97.7. The Middle 50 percentile on reading is 720-770, meaning 25% of those admitted scored below 720.</p>
<p>The numbers seem to be against you, but national merit along with weak legacy and your uniquely international high school curriculum might give you that edge. Be sure your essays are truly amazing.</p>
<p>The head of one of the language departments at Georgetown told my daughter that NMSF status would get her a pat on the back. We had a great laugh over that. She was accepted EA.</p>