Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C., is a historically Catholic and Jesuit institution that embraces students of all faiths. Known for their global research community and vibrant student life, Georgetown attracts over 25,000 applicants every year. However, Georgetown admits only around 13% of their applicants. Their accomplished alumni include Bill Clinton, Bradley Cooper, John Kelly, and Jim Gaffigan. Hoping to join their ranks? First, you’ll need to nail your Georgetown supplemental essays. Let’s dive in.
Georgetown’s 2024-2025 Prompts
Required Short Essays
- Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
- As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief personal or creative essay which you feel best describes you and reflects on your personal background and individual experiences, skills, and talents. (approximately one page, single-spaced)
School-Specific Essays (approximately one page, single-spaced)
- APPLICANTS TO THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES: Founded in 1789, the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences is committed to the Jesuit traditions of an integrated education and of productive research in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Describe your interest in studying at College of Arts & Sciences. Applicants interested in the sciences, mathematics, or languages are encouraged to make specific reference to their choice of major.
- APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF NURSING: Georgetown University’s School of Nursing is committed to the formation of ethical, empathetic, and transformational nursing leaders. Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying Nursing at Georgetown University.
- APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH: Georgetown University’s School of Health was founded to advance the health and well-being of people locally, nationally, and globally through innovative research, the delivery of interdisciplinary education, and transformative engagement of communities. Describe the factors that influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University, specifically addressing your intended related major: Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science.
- APPLICANTS TO THE WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders with the foundational skills to address global issues. Describe your primary motivations for studying international affairs at Georgetown University and dedicating your undergraduate studies toward a future in global service.
- APPLICANTS TO THE MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business provides graduates with essential global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse perspectives on the economies of our nation and the world. Describe your primary motivations for studying business at Georgetown University.
General Tips
A running theme of all of these prompts is understanding what makes you you. In other words, what are your unique qualities, interests, and academic/career goals?
Before you begin writing these essays, it can be helpful to read through the prompts. This will help you better understand what you’re being asked to provide in each essay. Note that you will only need to answer one school-specific essay. This is because you can only apply to one school at Georgetown.
After you’ve read through the prompts, make a brief list of all the pieces of information the prompt requires. Be specific. Within your prospective major, what specialties are of particular interest to you? Among your formative personal experiences, what particular experiences have most significantly shaped the person (and student) you are today? Then, identify what pieces of information will satisfy the prompt that you are comfortable sharing with strangers.
Often, applicants feel overwhelmed by the expectation to get vulnerable in their college essays. However, the Georgetown supplemental essays do not require vulnerability. Instead, they require specific details about your academic interests and career goals. You only need to provide minimal information about your personal background and experiences in the second required essay. Thus, you shouldn’t feel pressured to get vulnerable in your Georgetown supplemental essays. In fact, it may be advisable to stay focused on academics and your intended career.
Now, let’s dive into the prompts themselves.
Georgetown Required Short Essays
Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
Georgetown’s admissions team seeks to understand what drives you to pursue the activities listed on your application. Some high school students only pursue a set of activities because they think it’s what they’re “supposed” to do. However, top universities like Georgetown seek applicants who are self-motivated and pursue their activities due to genuine interest and curiosity.
Therefore, consider which activities you’ve pursued because you felt internally driven to get involved. Writing about these activities will give your application that authentic, personal quality that distinguishes remarkable essays from unremarkable essays.
Moreover, be sure to explain not only the significance of the activity you choose to write about, but also what exactly the activity is. Where and when did you get involved in this activity? Who else was involved? How did your involvement begin? Even if you don’t have room to answer all of these questions in your essay, at least some of the answers should be clarified so that the reader understands the context of the activity.
As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief personal or creative essay which you feel best describes you and reflects on your personal background and individual experiences, skills, and talents. (approximately one page, single-spaced)
This essay prompt is similar to a Common App personal essay. Although Georgetown University doesn’t accept the Common App, or the Coalition App for that matter, their admissions team seeks many of the same qualities in their applicants as other universities do. A single-spaced page of typed writing is around 500 words. Thus, this essay will likely be just a bit shorter than your Common App personal essay.
That said, the prompt does say “approximately,” so you could likely push your essay just beyond the length of a page without repercussions. In other words, feel free to repurpose your Common App personal essay for this prompt if desired. Still, consider shortening it just a bit if it is near 650 words.
If you do repurpose your Common App personal essay, make sure that it still fits with the Georgetown prompt. Think about each aspects of the question above. Does your essay describe who you are? Does it reflect on your personal background? And does it reflect on your individual experiences, skills, and talents? If not, you must modify or rewrite your essay so that all aspects of the prompt are addressed.
Georgetown School-Specific Essays
You will need to write only one of the essays below. This is because you can only apply to one school at Georgetown. Your essay must be approximately one page long, single-spaced.
APPLICANTS TO THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES: Founded in 1789, the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences is committed to the Jesuit traditions of an integrated education and of productive research in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Describe your interest in studying at College of Arts & Sciences. Applicants interested in the sciences, mathematics, or languages are encouraged to make specific reference to their choice of major.
Although this prompt does not require all applicants to “make specific reference to their choice of major,” all applicants likely should do so. Moreover, students interested in the sciences, mathematics, or languages should feel more than encouraged to do so. If you have not yet settled upon a particular major or two, you can indicate what majors interest you. Further, provide brief explanation as to your uncertainty about which to choose. A strong reason for your indecision could be that you haven’t yet had the opportunity to study certain subjects. Therefore, you look forward to exploring those areas of study while at Georgetown.
A strong argument for why the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences is a great fit for you will require specificity. That means explaining how your specific intended area of study is taught at Georgetown. Further, clarify why that method of teaching aligns with your academic goals. That also means indicating what opportunities at Georgetown specifically align with your goals and interests. In order to do this, you’ll need to research the courses, professors, programs, research, and other opportunities/programs available to College of Arts & Sciences students that interest you.
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF NURSING: Georgetown University’s School of Nursing is committed to the formation of ethical, empathetic, and transformational nursing leaders. Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying Nursing at Georgetown University.
Before you begin writing, consider making a list for yourself of your reasons for pursuing Nursing at Georgetown University. These reasons can range from specific courses that interest you, the location of the program, a particular professor whose work relates to your intended specialization, or even the career outcomes of Georgetown Nursing students. Whatever your reasons may be, identify them for yourself before you begin writing.
Then, in your essay, focus on explaining why these reasons are important to you specifically. Instead of merely listing the reasons, express their significance to you and your goals. This will make your essay far more compelling. In other words, it will demonstrate to the reader why you are a good fit for Georgetown. In addition, you may want to describe how you hope to maximize the opportunities available to Georgetown Nursing students.
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH: Georgetown University’s School of Health was founded to advance the health and well-being of people locally, nationally, and globally through innovative research, the delivery of interdisciplinary education, and transformative engagement of communities. Describe the factors that influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University, specifically addressing your intended related major: Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science.
First things first, identify your intended major for the reader, and consider briefly explaining why this major interests you. Then, link your reasons for pursuing a degree in health care to your reasons for pursuing a degree in health care specifically at Georgetown. What differentiates Georgetown’s programs? What makes Georgetown a uniquely good fit for you?
In other words, you’ll need to answer multiple questions whose answers will build upon one another. As you answer these questions, you’ll need to provide evidence to back up your points. Name specific courses, clubs, professors, and other opportunities available to Georgetown School of Health applicants that excite you and have compelled you to apply. Consider mentioning how these programs are uniquely suited to your unique interests and goals. This specificity will demonstrate how and why Georgetown is a great fit for you.
APPLICANTS TO THE WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders with the foundational skills to address global issues. Describe your primary motivations for studying international affairs at Georgetown University and dedicating your undergraduate studies toward a future in global service.
This essay prompt requires you to look critically at your past, present, and future. Consider the following questions:
- Past: What experiences, worldviews, aspects of your background, and influential people in your past have motivated you to pursue a degree in international affairs?
- Present: How do you currently pursue international affairs? Put differently, how are you preparing yourself for an undergraduate career in international affairs?
- Future: How do you hope to pursue international affairs after graduation? What are your career aspirations? How will a Georgetown education bring you closer to your goals?
After answering each of these questions for yourself, incorporate their sentiments into your essay. Then, provide the reader with specific examples of programs, courses, professors, clubs, and other opportunities available to students in the Walsh School of Foreign Service that are of particular interest to you.
APPLICANTS TO THE MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business provides graduates with essential global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse perspectives on the economies of our nation and the world. Describe your primary motivations for studying business at Georgetown University.
Before you begin writing this essay, you may want to make a list for yourself of your reasons for pursuing international affairs at Georgetown University. These reasons can range from specific courses that interest you, the location of the program, a particular professor whose work relates to your intended specialization, or even the career outcomes of graduates from the McDonough School of Business. Whatever your reasons may be, identify them for yourself before you begin writing.
In addition, this prompt specifically mentions the “essential global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse perspectives” developed by students at the McDonough School of Business. Thus, you may want to bring up the particular global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse programs, courses, and other opportunities at the McDonough School of Business that you hope to get involved in.
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