Misc. Questions + Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Georgetown University
1

Hello I’ll be applying to Georgetown Fall 2018, and I have some questions about it; if someone is willing to “chance” me it would be very, very much appreciated.

White Male
W GPA: 3.95
UW GPA: 3.7
Note that I attend a school that brands itself as “college prep;” grading scales are significantly more rigorous than normal.

ACT Composite: 32
I plan on taking SAT Subject tests, and I don’t like “predicting” test scores.

AP/Honors Classes:

AP World History
AP Psychology
AP US History
AP Comparative Gov.
AP Physics 1
AP Chemistry
AP Biology
AP Macroeconomics
AP Literature
Honors Algebra and Algebra 2
Honors English 3 Years
Honors Biology 1 and Biology 2
Honors Chemistry 1

Extracurricular:

Play piano for ~8 years (Pit Orchestra)
Saxophone for ~5 years (Jazz Band, Concert Band, Pep Band)

Debate Club President (3 Speaking awards from conferences)
NHS Member
Music Honors Society Member
MUN Cabinet Chair (2 leadership awards from conferences)
Varsity Academic Bowl
Varsity Science team; 2nd place winner in regional and district competitions in English

Volunteer for local democrat’s office for 1 year
Attend various political protests (though I have no way to verify this)
Worked for a relative’s law office doing extremely basic paralegal work

That’s it. The rigor of courses taken is very strong but my weak unweighted GPA bothers me, even if my school notifies admissions about harsh grading scales.

As for the questions:

Considering it’s D.C., I’ll take it for granted that LGBT people are accepted; if someone has any insight into what that scene is like, though, it would be appreciated.

In spite of the liberal campus, are somewhat conservative students still able to voice opinions?

How large of a role does Greek life play?

I realize it’s a lot, and any time taken is appreciated, advice even more so.

Thanks

2

Classes are certainly very strong, but your ACT is on the weak side. Do you plan on taking SAT or retaking ACT? That’ll help cover your lower than usual GPA, too. Which school are you applying to? I’m assuming either College or SFS? Your ECs are pretty standard. I’d say you have a decent chance if you raise that ACT and write a good essay.

As for your questions, I have to note that I am an incoming student and aren’t as exposed to Georgetown as others, but from what I got through acceptance day and their emails, it seems that Georgetown is pretty good about balancing political views. The administration is, being Jesuit, going to be more conservative towards social issues, and Georgetown Republicans was pretty well represented at accepted student day. That being said, it’s definitely a left-leaning campus. Greek organizations aren’t officially recognized by Georgetown, so it’s there if you want it, but if you don’t, it doesn’t affect you socially. You can definitely still have a great time if you join the unofficial ones, or one of the service-oriented officially recognized ones.

3

Hey there! I’m not really familiar with the American admissions process so I thought I’d take a shot at your other questions. Just graduated from GT the past semester and already miss it haha.

  1. LGBT is perfectly fine at Georgetown! I'm gay myself and considering where I'm from, I'd say that the community at Georgetown was really what helped me accept myself and start feeling a lot more comfortable with my sexuality and all. Jesuit doesn't mean conservative really. Georgetown has the rep for being the most secular of Catholic schools for good reason and I think we had an openly gay student government president just a few years back. Don't need to say much about DC but the scene's all good fun!
  2. It really depends on your definition of somewhat conservative. Georgetown like the previous poster said is definitely left-leaning, very much so especially on social issues. If somewhat conservative for you means debating fiscal policy and welfare benefits, I can find you a few stuck-up rich kids who can go at it all day. If you are however, say a Trump supporter stereotype, railing against immigrants and calling for white supremacy, you probably won't have a great time.
  3. Greek life...I think relatively to many schools does not dominate and in fact barely is present. Georgetown does not officially recognise any fraternity/sorority but we do have a few which exist. most of which have either a service or professional bent to them. I lived with two frat kids last sem and they were pretty good guys haha, nothing crazy I heard about the hazing.

I hope you apply and succeed! Georgetown, especially the SFS (I’m biased), is an excellent academic environment and arguably an even better communal one with the Jesuit support. Granted, it’s not all rainbow and unicorns and you might take a while to settle in but most people eventually find their place!

4
  1. LBGT programs on campus are pretty good as far as I can tell and there are plenty of gay men on campus. I
  2. Georgetown is very leftist and it is becoming more so. The year I graduated, there was a major protest to get Jeh Johnson, PRESIDENT OBAMA's DHS Secretary kicked off campus, which ought to tell you quite a bit about the state of campus politics. The President of College Republicans a few years ago had her dorm room vandalized and threats made against her, for which the university did not do a thing about. Campus discourse is dying and you have to be very careful about what you say if you want to advance in clubs, because leftist organizations on campus such as the unofficial Hoya Blaxa group do have a blacklist they try and enforce to keep outspoken conservatives out of popular clubs and publicly "drag" them every now and then. I'm not sure how successful they have been, but I know attempts have been made. Professors also insult conservatives on a daily basis, you need to listen carefully to see how they will approach opposing views. Christine Fair still has a job after viciously slandering another Gtown Professor and abusing her for months, so you shouldn;t be too hopeful.
  3. Greek life is not officially recognized, but it is growing, as more and more people join unoffical groups. If paying a bunch of money to drink alcohol and get hazed are things you are into, the oppurtunity is there. Otherwise, the other social groups I found were much more open and fun.