Photo: Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States (CC0)
School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Georgetown, founded in 1789, is the country's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, set on a hilltop above the Potomac in Washington, D.C. Its identity blends the Jesuit emphasis on ethical formation and service to others with the practical advantages of a capital-city location, and it draws students oriented toward government, international affairs, law, and public life more than perhaps any other university in the country. The religiously diverse student body engages with that Jesuit heritage even when not Catholic themselves.
Academics
The School of Foreign Service is a premier training ground for diplomacy and international affairs, with its own admission track, language requirements, and regional concentrations, and draws students specifically for that program's reputation. The McDonough School of Business is likewise a separate undergraduate school with its own admission. All students, regardless of school, complete a core in philosophy and theology reflecting Georgetown's Jesuit tradition. Government, business, and pre-law tracks all benefit from proximity to Capitol Hill, embassies, and federal agencies, which translate into real semester-time internships, not just summer placements, and study-abroad participation is unusually high, especially from the SFS.
Campus & student life
The Jesuit character shows up in service requirements and a values-oriented campus culture, even as the student body itself is religiously diverse. Healy Hall's clocktower is the campus's visual signature. The historic Georgetown neighborhood is upscale but has no Metro stop, so students rely on university shuttle buses to get around the city. Hoyas athletics carry real weight, especially a storied Big East basketball tradition, and student life leans heavily into DC's political and cultural scene beyond the campus gates.
Getting in
Admission is among the most competitive in the country, and applicants apply directly to one of Georgetown's separate undergraduate schools -- the College, the School of Foreign Service, McDonough, or Nursing -- rather than to the university generally, which shapes the whole application. The school uses its own application rather than the Common App, with distinctive supplemental essays, and offers alumni interviews that are informational rather than heavily evaluative. Demonstrated interest in public affairs and engagement beyond the classroom is valued highly.
After graduation
Graduates funnel heavily into government agencies, Capitol Hill staff jobs, the State Department and foreign service, international organizations, law, consulting, and finance. The alumni network is deeply embedded in Washington institutions specifically, which makes early-career networking here unusually effective compared to peer research universities located outside a capital city.
Worth knowing
Being in Washington, D.C. is not incidental: internships on the Hill and at federal agencies are a routine, semester-time part of undergraduate life here in a way that's hard to replicate elsewhere. Applying to a specific school within Georgetown up front, rather than to the university broadly, is a structural quirk that catches some applicants off guard.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying (2026-27 cycle)
Apply through Common App or Own application.
Early Action is non-binding, so you can apply Early Action to Georgetown alongside other non-binding early programs, just not alongside a binding Early Decision plan elsewhere.
Interviews: Alumni interviews are offered to as many applicants as possible and are typically assigned on a rolling basis soon after you submit the initial part of your application, even before you finish the writing supplement.
Supplemental essays (10)
Personal Essay
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.
Short Essay 1
Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
Short Essay 2
In all our lives, we interact with people who hold different viewpoints than our own. Describe such an event you experienced. What did you learn from the experience?
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 in the College of Arts & Sciences.
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