Duke is a reach but there will be people with your profile admitted, so why not you. Most won’t but some will. If you don’t try, you won’t get in - that I know.
Gtown - recommended = required.
Take a class. Don’t submit a test. What do you think they’ll think? Not submitting will come off as bombing.
I’m aware (and terrified) that Georgetown is obsessed with scores. I have all 5’s on classes that matter - my humanities classes. 4 on Macro but Im not an Econ major. And a 3 in stats, but it was the only STEM course I took APES, which I did pretty good in. I was also 99th percent in my state exam for bio, 97th in math, and 94th in English
I think you’ll be competitive for Duke. As I said before, their head of admissions has told us that they like to see kids that are excelling in NC public schools, especially those that are not Wake/Mecklenburg/super well-funded districts.
Adding that at least four kids from my kid’s class were accepted to Duke this year (from Durham), and we know a few more from the neighboring school who were too, and a few from privates in the area. So at least 10 from DPS.
Not bad, but you are from the triangle to be fair. I think CMS/Charlotte kids have it a bit harder, but I could be mistaken. I’ve heard that Wake county kids make Chapel almost ivy level.
Why are you terrified?
So worst case, you apply and don’t get in. Actually, worse is you apply, get in, don’t get the aid you need, and don’t go because for your degree, taking out loans is not an option - unless you want to strangle yourself financially for many years.
I got news for you - no need to be terrified.
If you don’t get into Gtown, Duke or others on your lists, there’s a zillion greats schools of all size - from Gettysburg to Georgia - where you could have a wonderful education with your major.
Getting rejected from a college is a small bump on the the long game called life - not a big deal at all.
Correct, I’ve been told many times that ‘the college I go to is where I belong.’ I’m very passionate about Georgetown considering it has the exact major I want - International History - the exact Certificate of Study I want - European Studies with a concentration on France - and, most importantly, the French Embassy is basically on the grounds of Georgetown. Of course, I understand that I can still have an excellent education, but I’d also love to have access to the amenities that Georgetown offers, and connect myself with Georgetown’s Alumni and Professors.
I got news for you - you can study Europe and France at many schools - and many schools have a DC semester (mine did one) and you can have access to DC. Whether you can have access to the French embassy is a different issue but it’s likely not the place to study history (the embassy - it’s just a building you won’t be able to access).
Gtown is in a great location and it’s in a great school - but it’s not the only school - sorry.
Go for it of course- but have a balanced list of schools that have the curriculum that meets your needs.
You are creating a narrative, that while nice, has the potential to set you up for disappointment and frankly, is not correct.
Gtown is a wonderful school - if it’s affordable and you get admitted.
If not, there are many wonderful schools that will provide a similar education and experience (and likely, better food and dorms than Gtown).
Good luck.
PS - funny if you look up schools for European or French studies, Gtown not even in the top 25.
I wish you luck - but don’t put so much focus on one place is the point - because the likelihood of admission is not great. If it happens wonderful, but if not, make sure you have wonderful alternatives set up.
So I get the appeal of Georgetown for you, but I am going to gently suggest these are reasons why you should probably make a point of getting over whatever “awkwardness” you feel about GW. I know that kids used to high levels of achievement through the high school level often balk at the idea they might not end up at the best ranked college for their interests, but it happens a lot and then it often works out well anyway.
Don’t worry about it.
I would not get caught up in nomenclature. If you look at the courses and offerings that compose the international history major or the European Studies certification or the concentration on France, I am sure you will find additional universities that would be possibilities.
These are the US locations of French consulates (source):
Of particular note, there are only two of these consulates that are not responsible for multiple states: Miami and New Orleans. I am not as familiar with the ties between France and Florida, but there are significant ties between France and Louisiana historically, many of which have been maintained to the present.
Thus, you may want to consider some schools in Louisiana:
Louisiana State: An extremely likely admit and its location in the state capital means that there improved opportunities for archival research as well as for state activities involving France.
Loyola New Orleans: Like Georgetown, this is a Jesuit institution and it’s just a streetcar ride away from the French consulate. Additionally, it’s adjacent to Tulane where students can take classes and (I believe) eat in the residential facilities using their meal cards. This would be an extremely likely admit.
Tulane: This would need a lot of demonstrated interest and is not a likely admit, but is a strong school that you may want to consider.
Another Jesuit school you may want to think about is Fordham (NY). It has two locations, one (Rose Hill) a bit more bucolic and one near Lincoln Center, the latter of which is a little over a mile from the French consulate. Its history offerings are quite strong and this would be a likely admit for you.
Another reach option you may want to consider is the Columbia-Sciences Po dual program, spending part of your time at Columbia and then part of your time at Sciences Po in France.
So, I sort of disagree with this advice. I would say instead that the college you go to is one of the many places where you belong.
Remember that schools are choosing admits based on their institutional priorities, not on whether you would thrive there (because you are an excellent candidate and would thrive at any of these schools.) The problem is that many of these schools have very limited slots, and their institutional priorities are beyond your control. For example, they reserve slots for athletes, for legacies, for students from certain locations, for the relatives of mega-donors, for legacies, for first-gen students, for Pell students, for students who have celebrity parents. The list goes on.
So don’t be thinking that where you get in is some sort of referendum on whether you belong or not.
Best wishes!
Another institutional priority may be based on your intended major. A school with few history majors may prefer a history major applicant over one intending a major that is overloaded there. But if history is a popular major at the school, it may disfavor history major applicants to reduce the risk of overloading the history department.
Of course, this can mean that the schools with the strongest reputations for a specific major may be the ones most likely to have that major get overloaded and therefore be more selective for applicants with that intended major than they are overall.
Yeah, not too sure about Colombia. To be honest, its such a far reach, why even bother? But, there’s no harm in applying. I’ve also considered applying to Sorbonne and the Science Po., (and I wish I did IB so my credits could transfer) but the language barrier is a herculean task and the exam is quite difficult, plus I’m also considering doing ROTC, and that obviously would conflict with my future plans if I decided to do ROTC unless I was able to find an overseas program, which could be possible.
I actually did not know Tulane was that competitive of a school. In fact, I hadn’t really heard of it before you mentioned it today. I suppose it is the Emory of Louisiana.
As for Loyola and Fordham, those would be interesting choices for sure. I wouldn’t mind being an LSU fan, but I do want a school which is a little more academically prestigious.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I know Georgetown is extremely well known for its political science (which they only call a ‘government’ major apparently) and they will most likely have a very large influx of poli-sci applicants. However, I did a little bit of research and found out their history class is only ~43 people large. I’m not sure what the yield for history majors was though, but I reached out to someone who got in for anthropology and apparently they had substantially lower stats than me.
I’m also not sure if I should apply to SFS. SFS has a great reputation and I’m sure that more people would apply there and the bar would be a bit higher, considering it is ‘the’ school of Georgetown Humanities. But once again, I’d be in a International History major, and tbh, I’m probably well qualified for that specific major. But, once again, I don’t believe that the major you put on your application makes a difference on whether or not you are accepted. I could be mistaken though.
I appreciate that. Thanks for the advice.
I think I’ve put such a fixation on Georgetown I’d be extremely upset about not getting in, and I don’t want that to taint my college experience. I know I can excell at many other universities, but so far I haven’t been able to shake myself from the delusion… idk, everything about that school seems to fit with me so well even though there are others.
Even in the situation that I got into both Duke and Georgetown (extremely unlikely for sure, but still a small possibility) I’d prefer to take the Georgetown offer, even though I’d be obliged for Duke because I’d be applying ED. Duke would be the offer of a lifetime though, and fortunately my parents would be willing to pay the entire tuition for me considering the level of achievement, which would be wonderful. They would for Georgetown as well, and UNC. Not too sure about other schools, though.
If you are thinking about applying to Georgetown early, just be aware that they do an REA, meaning you aren’t suppose to apply ED anywhere else.
Yeah, you have to choose one of Duke or Georgetown for ED/REA, or of course you can do neither if you are undecided.
“Legacy” in the context of UNC admissions is definitely restricted to OOS applicants.
If that’s the case, what’s the point in applying EA to Georgetown? I believe their EA acceptance rate is lower than their Regular acceptance rate. That being said, I guess it does show demonstrated interest? I’ve already sent emails out to some professors and I will soon send an email out to the Office of Admissions (still not sure if this is a good idea, I was also going to ask about that.)
I’d also like to attend Duke, and I think my only chance of getting in would be if I applied ED. My application just isn’t strong enough to survive Regular Decision, I think.
Even if I applied Duke ED, I’m not sure if I’d get in. Probably still have low chances tbh.
That being said, I’d take Duke over Georgetown, but I think Duke would be unlikely, thus I’d choose Georgetown as my top pic. But I guess ill have to decide on whether I should sacrifice chances at Duke for better chances at Georgetown, or take the gamble that I may be admitted in Regular Decision for Georgetown and hope that Duke ED works out.
