Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia | Admissions Phone: 202-687-3600
E-mail: guadmiss@georgetown.edu | Website: www.georgetown.edu
ADMISSION
Admission Rate: 15%
Admission Rate - Men: 16%
Admission Rate - Women: 14%
EA Admission Rate: N/A
ED Admission Rate: Not Offered
Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -3%
ED Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): Not Offered
% of Admits Attending (Yield): 49%
Transfer Admission Rate: 7%
# Offered Wait List: 2,593
# Accepted Wait List: 1,754
# Admitted Wait List: 16
SAT Reading/Writing (Middle 50%): 680-750
SAT Math (Middle 50%): 690-780
ACT Composite (Middle 50%): 31-34
Testing Policy: ACT/SAT Required
SAT Superscore: Yes
ACT Superscore: No
% Graduated in Top 10% of HS Class: 89%
% Graduated in Top 25% of HS Class: 97%
% Graduated in Top 50% of HS Class: 99%
ENROLLMENT
Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,459
% Part-Time: 6%
% Male: 44%
% Female: 56%
% Out-of-State: 98%
% Fraternity: Not Offered
% Sorority: Not Offered
% On-Campus (Freshman): 100%
% On-Campus (All Undergraduate): 77%
% African-American: 6%
% Asian: 9%
% Hispanic: 10%
% White: 50%
% Other: 5%
% Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 5%
% International: 15%
% Low-Income: 13%
ACADEMICS
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 11:1
% of Classes Under 20: 60%
% of Classes Under 40: 87%
% Full-Time Faculty: 49%
% Full-Time Faculty w/ Terminal Degree: 80%
Top Programs
Economics
Finance
Global Health
Government
History
International Business
International Politics
Psychology
Retention Rate: 96%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 89%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 94%
Curricular Flexibility: Somewhat Flexible
Academic Rating: 
FINANCIAL
Institutional Type: Private
In-State Tuition: $55,440
Out-of-State Tuition: $55,440
Room & Board: $17,638
Required Fees: $618
Books & Supplies: N/A
Avg. Need-Based Aid: $45,572
Avg. % of Need Met: 100%
Avg. Merit-Based Aid: $0
% Receiving Merit-Based Aid: 0%
Avg. Cumulative Debt: $25,726
% of Students Borrowing: 37%
CAREER
Who Recruits
1. BMO Capital Markets
2. AlphaSights
3. RBC Capital Markets
4. Capital One
5. Charles River Associates
Notable Internships
1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
2. Vanguard
3. Goldman Sachs
Top Industries
1. Business
2. Education
3. Social Services
4. Operations
5. Media
Top Employers
1. Deloitte
2. Google
3. PwC
4. Citi
5. Goldman Sachs
Where Alumni Work
1. Washington, DC
2. New York City
3. San Francisco
4. Boston
5. Los Angeles
Median Earnings
College Scorecard (Early Career): $93,500
EOP (Early Career): $84,400
PayScale (Mid-Career): $122,200
RANKINGS
Forbes: 15
Money: 61
U.S. News: 24, National Universities
Wall Street Journal/THE: 29
Washington Monthly: 9, National Universities
Inside the Classroom
The nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university also happens to be one of the best institutions in the country and one of the premier training grounds for future political bigwigs. Spired campus buildings, cobblestone walkways, and tree-lined streets give Georgetown an elegant aesthetic and an air of sophistication that perfectly matches the rigorous educational experience and conservative/traditional campus vibe.
The university’s 7,400 undergraduates and 11,700 graduate students are divided among nine schools/colleges, but only four are open to undergrads. Applicants to Georgetown must select one of these four schools: Georgetown College, McDonough School of Business, the Walsh School of Foreign Service, or the School of Nursing & Health Studies. Core requirements vary by school but are fairly extensive. For example, Georgetown College requires one course in the humanities and writing and two courses per discipline in theology, philosophy, math/science, social science, foreign language, and diversity for a total of fourteen required courses. There are forty-four majors within Georgetown College, seven business-oriented majors within McDonough, four tracks in the nursing school, and eight majors within the Walsh School of Foreign Service.
For a large university with a heavy presence of graduate students, Georgetown maintains a personalized and intimate learning environment. The student-faculty ratio is 11:1, and 60 percent of classes enroll fewer than twenty students. While some classes are a bit larger, only 6 percent cross the fifty-student threshold. There are many ways that students can seek funding for independent research projects or become an assistant to faculty members via the Georgetown Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. Summer research can lead to the completion of a senior thesis that can be presented at the College Academic Council Research Colloquium every spring. A phenomenal 57 percent of Hoya undergrads participate in one of the schools 200 study abroad programs that are spread across fifty countries.
Those desiring to join the world of politics or diplomacy are in the right place. The Government and International Affairs programs are among the best in the country. For those with their eyes on a finance career, McDonough is one of the most esteemed business schools one can find. The greatest number of degrees are conferred in the social sciences (35 percent) followed by business (26 percent), interdisciplinary studies (6 percent), and foreign language (5 percent). Georgetown is regularly a top producer of distinguished fellowship winners. In 2018, it produced thirty Fulbright Scholars, placing it in the top five in the nation. It typically also sees multiple Truman, Boren, Gilman International, and Marshall Scholars from each graduating class.
Outside the Classroom
The scenic and safe Georgetown area of DC is littered with high-end restaurants and shops. Only a short Metro ride away, the opportunities for museums, live music, fine cuisine, sporting events, and a pulsating nightlife are endless. A touch over three-quarters of undergrads live on campus.
The twenty-three NCAA Division I sports teams are part of the fabric of Hoya life, particularly the men’s basketball team. More than 2,500 students participate in intramural sports, utilizing the school’s superb facilities that include Yates Field House. Due to the clash of values between the Jesuits and Greek life, fraternities and sororities are not recognized by the school, but they have enjoyed a recent rise in popularity despite their unofficial status. Religion is a guiding force at the university as more than half of the student body identify as Catholic. The campus ministry is popular, and many students are part of faith-based or secular volunteer organizations. In total, there are 250 active student organizations that offer an array of clubs focused on spirituality, culture, academics, and the arts. The Georgetown University Lecture Fund brings an incredible lineup of luminaries from the realms of politics, entertainment, business, media, and social activism to speak on campus.
Career Services
The Cawley Career Education Center is manned by fourteen professionals (not counting office managers and administrative assistants). That gives it a student-to-advisor ratio of 531:1, below average compared to the pool of institutions included in this book. Yet, that does not translate to a poor delivery of services. In fact, the staff boasts over 13,000 interactions with undergraduate students each year, almost twice the population of the student body; by graduation, over 90 percent have engaged with the career center. In a given year, counselors spend approximately 800 collective hours meeting one-on-one with students to discuss professional pathways and dole out career/graduate school advice.
In a single school year Georgetown arranged for 2,460 interviews on campus and attracted more than 1,800 attendees at both its fall and spring career expos. Over 200 corporations, government, and nonprofit employers met with students at those events. Additionally, sixty-five companies visited campus to host information sessions with undergraduates. With a strong and active alumni base, the Hoya Career Connection sees roughly 15,000 internship/employment opportunities posted per year. Despite not having an elite student-advisor ratio, Cawley’s extensive counseling offerings/events, proficiency with facilitating on-campus recruiting by top-level employers, and tremendous student outcomes earned it top grades from our staff.
Professional Outcomes
Within six months of graduating 75 percent of members of the Class of 2018 entered the workforce, 16 percent went directly into a graduate or professional program of study, and 5 percent were still seeking employment. In past years the number of fresh alums entering grad school has been significantly greater—as high as 24 percent. The Class of 2018 sent massive numbers of graduates to a number of major corporations including Deloitte (26), Citi (24), JPMorgan Chase (22), PricewaterhouseCoopers (21), EY (18), Morgan Stanley (17), McKinsey & Company (11) and Goldman Sachs (10), and a number of other multinational financial institutions. As one might ascertain from this list of companies, the most popular industries were consulting (15 percent), investment banking (14 percent), and internet and software (8 percent). By far, New York and remaining in DC are the two most popular postgraduate destinations, although a fair number also migrate to Virginia, California, Massachusetts, and Maryland. The financial picture for Georgetown graduates is rosy. They enjoy an average starting salary of $61,000, well above the national average.
Over the past six years, medicine and law have been the top two graduate fields chosen by Hoya alumni. Each year roughly forty to fifty-five grads entered law school, and another forty to fifty-five entered med school. An incredibly high percentage elect to remain at Georgetown—forty-seven members of the Class of 2018 entered graduate school at their alma mater. The number two choice was Columbia with eighteen students. In fact, since 2007 Georgetown and Columbia have been the two most frequently attended graduate schools. The other schools on that list are almost exclusively elite institutions including Harvard, Yale, Duke, Northwestern, USC, NYU, Tufts, and the University of Chicago.
Admission
Like many other prestigious universities, Georgetown registered its all-time high in applications received and all-time low acceptance rate for the class of 2022. Of the almost 23,000 applications, slightly more than 3,330 were admitted for an acceptance rate of 14.5 percent. The average SAT score of those accepted was the highest ever at 1467. For enrolled freshmen in 2018-19, the mid-50 percent range was 1370-1530 on the SAT and 31-34 on the ACT. Grades must be equally exceptional for serious consideration; 89 percent of enrolled students finished in the top 10 percent of their high school class. The profile of students admitted today has much in common with those admitted five years ago.
Georgetown does not have an early decision option but does offer nonbinding early action. However, applying early yields little advantage as the university’s early round acceptance rates tend to be lower than in the regular round. Also noteworthy, the university does not allow Score Choice, the option that permits applicants to select which standardized scores are reported to prospective schools and which are not. The admissions office rates nine factors as being “very important,” most notably first-generation status, a consideration weighted this heavily by few other schools. In the 2018-19 academic year 11 percent of admitted students were the first in their family to attend college. The most selective school in the DC Metro area, Georgetown attracts growing lines of extremely well-qualified candidates each year. There are few admissions surprises here. Test scores around the 97th percentile and near-perfect grades in an AP-heavy course load are required.
Worth Your Money?
A year at Georgetown will cost you close to $78,000 if you do not receive any financial aid. Like many similarly elite institutions, it is more focused on providing sizable grants to those with true financial need. For the 38 percent of current students who qualify for financial aid, Georgetown meets 100 percent of their demonstrated need, which works out to an average annual amount of $45,572. Unless you plan to enter a low-paying field and need to take on an excessive amount of debt, this school is well worth paying for as the Georgetown name will open doors for you well into adulthood.