Official Georgetown transfer thread fall 2013

<p>Did you get wait listed? The only reason I ask is because I read the transfer thread from last and have talked to a lot of people about how to get in. Most people that applied in high school that were put on the wait list and didn’t get in, applied again after a year. They were the first ones to get acceptance letters last year in the beginning of April…just trying to give a better feeling. It might be worth reading last years thread. If anything the fact that you have already applied once should help you.</p>

<p>@transfer</p>

<p>You’re correct that all transfer appliants start to look after a few minutes. Their essays all start to sound alike as well, but the exceptional essays quickly pushes you to the top of the list.</p>

<p>@SFS </p>

<p>Do you work in admissions? </p>

<p>I’m just making assumptions based on the facts that I’ve read on the Internet…haha! I guess I’m a bit of a nerd and have to war game everything to make myself feel better. The college admission process is a bit of a stessful mystery!</p>

<p>I already know for a fact that I will be rejected. With a 3.76 GPA, an even lower high school GPA, and a 30 on the ACTs, I have no chance, no matter how good my essays and extracurricular activities are. I better start preparing to transfer as a junior in fall 2014.
I’ll get to Georgetown one day, just not as a sophomore.</p>

<p>Don’t be so hard on yourself! Your stats are not that bad. I think a good essay can still justify you getting in. Either way, if you have to apply again next year, no big deal! That’s just one more year of Georgetown tuition that you don’t have to pay!!!</p>

<p>@ transferAP</p>

<p>LOL… I use to work at the GU Admission Office while a student there.</p>

<p>Let’s just say I’ve seen enough applications; their are EXCEPTIONAL essays, and then there are the rest that requires scrutinizing the entire application to determine if they’re a fit for GU.</p>

<p>@SFS</p>

<p>LOL…good to know my theories have been at least somewhat correct. Too bad you didn’t post on this forum earlier! I would have asked you to read my essays…haha. I’m applying to SFS…look forward go going next year. I hope…</p>

<p>Yeah, I’ve been a way from this forum for awhile. Just got back on 2-3 days ago.</p>

<p>I try not to advertise that I use to work at the admissions office (as a student!). I try to offer words of encouragement since there are no guarantees.</p>

<p>Good luck with admissions… HOYA SAXA!</p>

<p>Well…sorry for exposing your secret to the world; or at least this forom. Get ready for the barrage of chance questions!</p>

<p>And GU still sends out acceptance letters in a regular No. 10 envelope, so don’t freak out when you get it.</p>

<p>@SFS</p>

<p>I was wondering if G-town notifies their applicants when they have any portion of their application missing/not handed in. If so, will they do it via e-mail or land mail?</p>

<p>Thanks xD</p>

<p>^^^^</p>

<p>It’s been a “long” while since I’ve worked there so I’m not sure how they’re notifying applicants of what information is missing. I’d recommend that if you’re unsure, to email them to confirm they have all your information.</p>

<p>SFS, what made an essay seem really exceptional?</p>

<p>I always had the feeling that people who read and write a lot, especially humanities/english types, are at a huge advantage in undergraduate admissions due to their superior writing skills and being able to express themselves very well in their essays and show their personalities. Since a lot of applicants are more or less the same on paper with regards to their grades, test scores, and activities, the essays seems to be extremely important in order to distinguish oneself</p>

<p>From my brief time at the office, I can only remember ONE essay… that’s how impressive I thought it was… and if I remember correctly, that applicant was admitted (they had solid GPAs and SATs as well). </p>

<p>The essay above was about the app’s given name and how the app kept encountering the “meaning” of the name at important moments in his endeavors. It was very well written and a change from the “usual” essays.</p>

<p>My observations, take with a grain of salt, are that most essays follows: “the adversity (personal/academic) I’ve overcome”, “I didn’t do well in xxx courses because …”, “my GPA does not reflect my abilities because …”,etc, etc, approach. Remember, admissions officials have a lot of essays to read… A LOT! Luckily the essays are limited by word or page count; they probably spend at the most 2-3 minutes per essay. </p>

<p>I’m not discounting these essays. The applicants put a lot of thought and personal information into them, but when everyone has the same story to tell, the applicants start to blend into one another. How can an admission official decide who overcame the most adversity and therefore can contribute the most to the GU student body? </p>

<p>As for applicants who enjoy reading and writing, they theoretically should have an “easier” time writing their essays. But, as you and many on this forum who strive for the elite schools already know, it’s the content and how well the “story” is told. Unfortunately, even the most avid readers and writers have difficulty presenting their story in a succinct manner.</p>

<p>And for those who may be interested, my essay for the SFS prompt was straight forward (only 1 page, single-space):

  1. Intro: This is my career/goal aspiration and how GU fits in it
  2. Para 1: This is how I became interested in my aspriration
  3. Para 2: This is what I have done to reach my goal
  4. Conclusion: This is why I want to attend GU</p>

<p>Each section was abut 3-4 sentences and to the point.</p>

<p>Apologizes for the semi-long post xD</p>

<p>thanks for the insightful post, and thanks for helping us all out and sharing your experiences SFS. you represent georgetown very well.</p>

<p>@SFS</p>

<p>Apologies for replying bit late. Thank you so much!
I am a SFS applicant so I am looking forward to what will happen in ~1 month :D</p>

<p>I heard that students with more credits (of course solid GPA too) usually have higher chance of getting admitted to the school? Is that the case for Georgetown? Anyone knows?</p>

<p>I don’t know, but a rigorous course load certainly helps. How many credits are you taking now?</p>

<p>@ jay</p>

<p>The more credits, the more solid the GPA, but it alone increasing the odds of admission is not necessarily true. It can be a liability if the rest of the application is not as strong as the GPA. Let’s say you apply with 75-80 credits:</p>

<ol>
<li> Only 60 will count towards your GU degree</li>
<li> The university may question your transfer since you’re already in junior standing</li>
<li> There’s a 2 year (4-semesters) of on-campus course requirement to graduate; summer sessions and semester abroad do not count</li>
</ol>

<p>@rain202, I have 65 credits completed before this semester, so I decided to take a semester off…took classes like accounting, econ, astronomy ect…I mean, these classes are not extremely hard, but they’re solid courses.</p>

<p>@SFS Rules, The overall quality of my application was good. 3.7 gpa, essays were decent too; Surprisingly, I formatted my essays exactly the same way as you have mentioned above. I realize that only 60 credits will transfer. However, I do worry about transferring as junior, and I’m getting my aa degree in May, I don’t know if that hurts my chance though…</p>