Georgetown isn’t test optional. If you took a test, you must submit the scores.
5 Likes
CUNY-Brooklyn (Brooklyn College.) The City College of New York (CCNY.)
Clarifying….applicants to Gtown must summit ALL their ACT/SAT test scores, from every sitting. There’s no score choice, or test optional option for applicants who have taken a test(s).
5 Likes
Observation: @courtney1 seems to be asking for info about schools with a similar size and atmosphere to Georgetown. Independent of religious affiliation. And not as selective.
Many universities have a vibrant college town area around them… for the obvious reason that nearby businesses would like to attract the nearby customers.
Note: I did not say “all”; I said “many”.
Look for schools that match you academically, that have the program[s] that you are interested, and winnow from there.
2 Likes
ok I’m pretty sure this thread has run its course (thank you to anyone who responded) but just incase anyone comes across it and wants to reply i took an official sat and act and got a 1440 (ebrw: 690 // math 750) and 33 (math: 32, science: 34, english: 34, reading: 33) and I am looking to take the sat again in june to hopefully be able to get 20-30 point higher on the english section :))
4 Likes
Still interested in Georgetown?
Thanks for the update, @courtney1! Are you needing any help in developing a balanced list of schools to research? (Balanced meaning that there are schools that are extremely likely to admit you and that your family afford, and can go then go in decreasing likelihood of admittance).
yes :))
yes! My current list (although it changes pretty constantly) is VCU, American, UVA, Georgetown, Northeastern, Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, Elon, William and Mary, and CNU. I just can’t tell if it is balanced or not and a lot of the schools are quite expensive
What’s your GPA and budget? What kind of extracurriculars/leadership/honors have you had? And apart from Northeastern, it looks like you’re thinking of North Carolina and Virginia as your geographic range, is that correct? What state are you a resident of?
thank you so much for this! I’m going to try to give you as much info as possible, but let me know if I’m missing anything :))
gpa: 4.0 uw and unless things go horribly wrong in the last quarter of this year i’ll have a 4.6 w after this year (but my school calculates weighted GPA weirdly so I’m not sure what it would be on a 5.0 or 6.0 scale).
APs: World-4 psych-5 // not taken exam yet: APUSH, bio, calc ab, lang // not taken class yet but am signed up to take next year: gov, lit, calc bc, apes, (and contemplating comp sci)
school: I go to a public high school #116 in virginia (according to one list) and am in the Medical Program there
extracurriculars: recycling club, model un, 150 hrs community service logged (but not at a specific place/ organization) varsity volleyball, varsity swimming, jv and varsity lacrosse, club volleyball, work as a cashier at a local business, work in nursery at church, and lifeguard in the summers
main extracurricular: operation smile- treasurer sophomore year, president junior year, we have raised enough money to fund 12 surgeries to fix cleft lip/palates in underdeveloped nations so far this school year, I am a member of the regional leadership council where I collaborate with leaders from other school clubs in the area (junior and senior year), and I’m attending an international conference for it this summer.
honors: i’m not really sure what goes in this category, but i’m in NHS and Spanish Honors Society (but I haven’t gotten any academic awards if that’s what it means)
budget: thankfully, my parents are paying for it, but they have not given me an exact budget. They say they can make anything work, but I don’t want to put them through too much economic stress. I know that’s not a very helpful answer, but I was hoping to have <$40,000 tuition, but it could be a little higher if I could get merit aid.
location: I live in Virginia and while I have mainly looked in the NC/VA area, I would really be fine going anywhere east of the Mississippi River (but would prefer within a 10-ish hour drive range). My parents and I are going to look at boston schools relatively soon so more of those will probably go on the list as well once I see the campuses.
Earlier you said you were interested in environmental science or something similar, is that still correct? If it is, is environmental engineering something you’re considering or would you be more inclined to environmental science, environmental health, environmental policy, etc? I ask, because if environmental engineering is an interest, then we’d want to look at ABET-accredited schools for that field, which limits the list a lot (which is not a bad thing, just something to be aware of).
It would be really helpful if your family could run an NFC…say, at Georgetown or another school that meets 100% of need. The school will come up with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number. If your family is able and willing to pay that, great! That means that an expensive school like Georgetown is still in the running because the school will get the price down to that EFC. If that number doesn’t work for your family, however, then we know we’re looking at merit aid or sticker prices to try and stay at $40k or below.
What size enrollment are you looking for? Looking at your list I’d say 5-15k, but are you willing to go smaller or larger, or have preferences within that range? It also appears as though you prefer urban or suburban schools. Are rural schools out?
ETA: Are you interested in playing any of your sports in college? Do you think you might be a recruited athlete, or would you just want to participate in clubs/intramurals or have hopes of being a walk-on?
You have some great accomplishments and will be a strong candidate at many universities. Unfortunately, there are some universities (like those in the Less Likely category below) that receive so many more qualified applicants than they can accept that it’s Less Likely for all students, no matter how well-qualified.
I do not work in college admissions, but below is what I think your chances might be at the colleges on your current list:
Guaranteed
Extremely Likely (80-99%)
- Virginia Commonwealth
- Elon
- Christopher Newport
Likely (60-79%)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
- American
Possible (20-39%)
- U. of Virginia
- William & Mary
Less Likely (0-20%)
- Northeastern
- Georgetown
- Emory
- UNC – Chapel Hill (with an 18% cap on out-of-state students, this makes it very difficult)
Are all of these colleges that you would be happy to attend if admitted? If there are any that you would not be happy to attend, then you would want to remove those (and possibly replace, if they’re in the Extremely Likely category). If your family will not qualify for need-based aid then Northeastern, Georgetown, and Emory should be removed if you’re trying to hit a $40k (ish) budget. If you show lots of love and interest to American (and find out more particulars about its scholarship opportunities), that one might come in around your budget.
You’re very fortunate that you’re from Virginia; there are so many wonderful public colleges there. It will be hard to beat the incredible value in them (great education at a good cost).
Based on the information I have so far, here are some other schools to consider. These are all urban/suburban schools with 3,000-15,000 students with environmental science majors where I think it’s possible to get the price down under budget. At the schools in the likely or extremely likely category, I think you might receive VERY significant merit.
Guaranteed
Extremely Likely (80-99%)
- Duquesne (PA )
- Merrimack (MA)
- Endicott (MA)
- Belmont (TN)
- Drexel (PA )
- Roger Williams (RI)
- Rider (NJ)
Likely (60-79%)
- Marist (NY)
Toss-Up (40-59%)
- Fordham (NY)
- Syracuse (NY)
Possible (20-39%)
- U. of Rochester
- Lehigh
- U. of Richmond
Less Likely (0-20%)
If you’re interested in larger or smaller schools, then other suggestions might be made, like Virginia Tech or University of the South. Also, if you are interested in environmental engineering as a possibility, several of these schools would need to come off the list (and your original one).
1 Like
oh my gosh thank you so much this is so helpful :))
1 Like
You have mentioned the expensive costs on several of your posts. While your parents say they will pay…please please try to get a budget for annual costs from them. You say you would like to have $40,000 a year as your target price for “tuition”. Did you mean full cost of attendance? That full cost is what you need to look at…including tuition, fees, room, board. Not just tuition.
You will need to run the net price calculators on all the schools suggested on this thread. Many are good choices but might end up being too costly. Also, you mentioned you want to be in or near an urban area. Some of the suggested schools are not (e.g. Elon, William and Mary).
This is what you currently posted: VCU, American, UVA, Georgetown, Northeastern, Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, Elon, William and Mary, and CNU
My opinion….UNC Chapel Hill, Georgetown, Northeastern, Emory are your least likely for acceptance…those reaches…and likely for both admissions and cost. These schools give very little merit aid and it’s very competitive.
CNU, Elon, VCU seem like decent matches… it again…how about the costs for Elon?
William and Mary, and UVA are VAs most competitive schools for admission.
Since you have WM on your list….what about James Madison?
If you really want a UNC school…what about Greensboro or Charlotte? Still, OOS costs might be a problem.
Which Boston schools? Many of those will be on the very high end of what you are hoping to spend…or higher.
You have a great GPA, and great ECs, etc.
Since some less urban schools have been suggested…I would suggest looking at Stonehill.
Doing all the right things! Still need to dig a little into the why and $$ on each schools to help you refine your list. Lots of great suggestions on this thread for potential “Possible” and “toss-up” schools but wanted to give you a couple of suggestions for the “Likely” category.
Take a look at St Joe’s (Philly) and Fairfield. Both Jesuit schools, with strong Environmental Science programs. Expected Merit money would make them affordable options.
2 Likes
My d graduated from and loved Georgetown (one of her friends there majored in environmental science and loved the experience and landed an amazing job in the field right out of college). Other schools she liked were Boston College, Vandy, Northwestern. all of these highly selective of course. George Washington is a very common back up to Georgetown among her friends. It wasn’t for us (way too cold and way too religious) but Notre Dame is another school a lot of Georgetown applicants apply to. For those who love DC, American and George Mason are popular GT backup schools.
I’m not sure I would put Northeastern as similarly competitive as the other three on the list. UNC OOS would probably be the toughest of the four as you mention or Georgetown because of the self selection of their applicants (submitting all scores, three subject tests back in the day). I’m thinking UVA even though in-state could be tougher than Northeastern. If you have high school data like Naviance, that could help a little more.