I am a 2025 Applicant trying to decide where I should apply ED. Currently, I am thinking an REA to Georgetown or an ED to BC, but am open to suggestions (east coast ideally). White, male student from NC private school (no class rank), 4.65 Weighted 3.84 Unweighted, 11 APs after this year (2 5s and 2 4s and a 2 (NOT submitting) on exams going into this year), 32 superscore 31 composite ACT (willing to apply test optional), 1 B all of high school which was a B+ in AB Calc last year. Strong (8.5/10) extracurriculars with strong leadership. Strong (7.5-8/ 10) Essays and likely recommendations as well.
These are unusual times so it’s difficult to to say where you will stand in admissions. Your scores are a bit on low side for Georgetown, I believe, unless you have some compelling hook. BC for ED, , you are in midstream, for my kids’ highschool which means about half with those scores accepted.
If you can look at Naviance for your highschool, if they have sent a number of students to those schools, you’d get a better idea of where you stand. My kids’ school had a lot of data in this regard because both Georgetown and BC were popular choices.
If GTU is your first choice, go to it with REA. I’d pair that with at least one target and Safety school that has rolling admissions, maybe your some public state schools, including your own that are permitted under REA rules. If GTU comes back a “no”, then try ED2 with BC. You’ll have to make a decision whether to try to lock yourself into BC if GTU defers the decision till spring, something they tended to do a lot at my kids’ school. But you’ll have time to make that decision. Also, outcomes from your other early choices may guide you towards other possibilities for RD.
Thank you for your comments. @cptofthehouse , thank you in particular. That was the plan I was thinking, but if the REA is just a waste of time, then I might want to weigh other options as I bet the early admissions phases will be weighed strongly (particularly ED). What are some other, east coast colleges seen on the same level as GTU or better than BC than might be worth looking into as an ED? I also think that if they are just going to defer me (much like @wisteria100 discusses), then what’s the point of again wasting that slot imo.
Also, for more context, perspective business major. Ideally, these other schools would have business schools, but if not then so be it.
In addition, my school’s naviance has no projection for GTU but I am in the green for BC and UNC-CH accepts a ton of kids from my school every year and I am very far into the green for them. I do not want to go there really, but it’s such a good option to have. Being able to see if I get in there (which is likely) is why I wanted to REA (to have that ability) so badly.
I know this is a bit all over the place, I just have so many things to consider…
Georgetown is not fully embracing “test optional” but I would guess that scores will be less important this year overall due to the situation, and the other aspects of your application seem like they might be strong enough, so I would give REA a shot if it’s your top choice. If your extracurriculars and essays are as good as you say they are, and you give a really compelling explanation of “why Georgetown?”, with almost all As I think you would have a shot. Also people who get deferred REA really do get in, so applying REA at the least won’t lower your chances. If GU is really your top choice then you’re not really wasting the slot if it means you have a chance here vs a second choice binding ED elsewhere.
I appreciate your positivity! To clarify, you are saying that I should apply test optional? Also, I think that if GTU stays true to the December 15th realest date (which I see as not a guarantee) then having the ability to ED2 is great.
This is such an unusual year that it’s impossible to predict right now how things will shake out with test optional.
Back in the day, when GTU and BC were both EA that allowed other EA apps, my son with stats close to yours, lower GPA, he applied to GTU as high reach, BC as Reach, SUNY Binghamton as match and St Bonaventure as a safety. He was deferred from GTU, accepted at The rest with merit money at St Bonaventure. He was ultimately waitlisted at GTU and declined to stay on the WL. He was denied at schools at most schools at GTU’s selectivity Level except for Cornell which took him off the Waitlist. He was accepted to all schools to which he applied that fell below the GTU’s accept rate So his EA choices were a close reflection of his outcomes.
I am just opining here, but IMO, I think GTU will delay decisions that are not definite high flying candidates on an early basis just to see what shakes out. I agree with above poster that they tend to do this anyways and with this year’s uncertainties, waiting to see what happens seems to me to give the school most flexibility. Grab the ones you absolutely know you want and see what’s on the playing field for the rest. Being test optional could bring more applications into the picture from those kids whose test scores would not ordinarily be in GTU’s striking range but with high GPAs. I knew many such kids. They didn’t bother to apply to schools like GTU with ACT scores in the 20s but test optional would have opened up that possibility. I went through this with another one of my kids with good grades and low test scores that focused on Fairtest schools and did not submit those test scores. GTU was not a viable option for him with his test scores. With them, it would have possibly been.
This what we were told too at the info session we attended - that they only admit REA those they know would be the cream of any pool of applicants and defer most. With an ACT at the lower end of the middle 50 and not all 5s on APs, I’d think you’d be deferred. So I’m tempted to say don’t “waste” an early application here but, if you ED anywhere you have to be happy that it’s your top choice and you won’t have any “what if’s” about accepting a place there. So if Georgetown is your top choice you may want to EA elsewhere (having an early admit somewhere is always nice) and RD Georgetown. Would only ED to BC if it was a clear top choice.
Do you particularly like Jesuit schools or is it just coincidence both of these are? Fordham happens to be Jesuit but it also has a well regarded business school and has EA, so that may be one to consider.
To reply to your test optional question, I am personally confused reading their policy about what it actually means, but my reading is that, if you have taken the test already it is not optional. So, if I am reading their announcement correctly, you should submit your test, but it will likely mean less than usual since many applicants will not have test scores so they will be harder to use as a comparison factor.
My reading is the same as yours: “ However, we understand that some students may be prevented from taking either the SAT or ACT due to challenges brought about by COVID-19. For this reason, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will be flexible and fully consider applications from students who encounter difficulties completing standardized tests due to the pandemic.” https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/flexible-testing-requirements/
WSJ said “ Georgetown University will consider applications from those who can’t take SAT or ACT exams, but still expects those who can take the tests to submit their scores.” https://www.wsj.com/articles/stanford-princeton-northwestern-latest-to-not-require-sat-act-11592505889 - note this comment was printed as a correction to an earlier statement it had gone test optional this year.
Also Georgetown does not superscore and requires all test scores to be submitted.
“This what we were told too at the info session we attended - that they only admit REA those they know would be the cream of any pool of applicants and defer most.”
Was this pre-COVID or when COVID was more known? Anyway if Georgetown is OP’s first choice, then for sure don’t ED anywhere, maybe EA to a public in NC and RD Georgetown and the rest. I thought the numbers showed acceptance rate of 11% for EA and 14-15% for RD for Gtown, so RD is your best bet. good luck!
Pre Covid, but why would Covid change this? 11% out of an at least partly self-selecting pool with somewhat higher average stats than the RD pool supports that too. When do your stats come from? (My kid lost interest in Georgetown after the info session so we never looked too deeply into the stats after that.)
Late to the party, but Georgetown is explicit that they give no admissions boost for REA, so it defeats me why you would use up your ED-type boosts on it. As other posters have noted, their, REA acceptance rate (12%) is lower than the RD rate (14%).
A student whose first choice is Georgetown would not be ED-ing elsewhere anyway (since ED acceptance elsewhere would mean giving up on Georgetown). They have nothing to lose by applying early to Georgetown and a chance at an early acceptance. They might get deferred, but I think that is the only other possible outcome.
@collegemom3717 agreed, but I will probably just ED II elsewhere if I (likely) get deferred (denial is not an option). Not sure though, ED 1 and 2 but especially 1 is sure to be sooo POWERFUL with COVID… ahhhhhhhh!!