Hi! I am a prospective transfer student for Georgetown University and am really invested in getting in for the Fall 2025 semester. I just had my interview (and it went really well in my opinion!) and my whole application is done and submitted, so now we play the waiting game. I also want to be realistic with it LOL. Thank you for your time!
Demographics
US domestic
Currently go to T50 school in Pennsylvania (don’t know if I should put the name LOL), I live in NY the rest of the time
First generation
Intended Major(s): Psychology (with a concentration in policies for special education and such matters)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
College GPA: (for transfer applicants) 3.6 (dean’s list)
SAT Score: 1340 (1280 first time) all as of 2023
9 APs: 5 on AP Psych, 5 on AP Lang, 4 on AP Research, 4 on AP Seminar, 4 on AP World History, 3 on AP US History, 4 on AP Government and Politics, 3 on AP Statistics, and 3 on AP Literature
4 dual enrollment classes
List your HS coursework
English: AP Literature, AP Language, AP Seminar (counted as English class), Honors English in 9th grade
Math: geometry (regents), honors algebra 2, honors pre-calc (dual-enrollment with local community college), and AP Statistics
History and social studies: pre-AP world, AP world history, introduction to psychology, AP psychology, AP US history, AP government and politics
Language other than English: Spanish 1, Spanish 2, Spanish 3, and 2 duel enrollment classes with St. John’s University for Spanish
Visual or performing arts: studio art, photography, advanced photography
Other academic courses: humanities class (dual enrollment), astronomy, AP Research
College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)*:
Philosophy esque class (called what makes for a meaningful life, listed as psychology and religion)-- A
Calculus 1-- B+
Advanced writing-- A
Arts/languages class on Israel and Palestine-- A
I am currently taking an earth science class, an earth science lab, introduction to cognitive science, learning sciences, and an English/film/gender studies class on Jane Austen
Awards
Award for demonstrated resilience
AP Capstone diploma
AP Scholar with Distinction (2x)
Extracurriculars
100+ hours of volunteering, in best buddies club (HS and college), 3 national honor societies in HS (I was president of social studies honor society), first generation club (college), interact club In HS (vice president and treasurer), recently just joined the women’s network and I am a campus ambassador (got this after I applied so this isn’t on my application), applied for first-gen honor society (as well as for the historian role) for college
Essays/LORs/Other
I believe my essays and LORs are very strong. One of my LORs is actually from a professor that used to teach at Georgetown but now teaches at my school! One is from my learning sciences professor and the other (from the one who taught at Georgetown) is from my writing professor. My HS guidance counselor also submitted a LOR, not sure if that will even do anything but she did it without me even realizing LOL
It looks like you are in your first year in college? Did you apply to Georgetown last year? Your test scores are below their averages, but time will tell if you are accepted.
Did you apply anywhere else, or are you happy to stay where you are? Good luck.
Yes, I am a first year. I did not apply to Georgetown last year as I wasn’t really sure exactly what I wanted to do for my career, but this year I started to realize what I want to do and found that Georgetown has way more to offer for it (classes, opportunities, etc.).
I didn’t apply anywhere else since I’m not completely miserable where I am now, but I would be over the moon to leave and go to Georgetown.
Would you say that my test scores (SAT?) are going to affect my chances? I knew going into it that it is in the lower percentile of their average, but I’m hoping my other test scores (AP) as well as the rest of my application will smooth any wrinkles.
All your test scores are below what Georgetown commonly sees and admits. I obviously can’t see your entire app so I don’t know how important the test scores will be in Gtown’s holistic evaluation of your application. In general though, test scores are very important to Georgetown, as noted on their CDS. Good luck!
If not, did you apply for need-based financial aid and do you know Georgetown’s policy regarding financial aid for transfer applicants (need aware or need blind/does or does not meet full need for transfers) ?
Last year Gtown accepted 296 out of 2241 transfer applicants.
At this point your application is in, so all you can do is wait and see what happens. In the meantime, it is best to have the mindset that you will stay at your current college so make the most of it.
This concerns me a bit. It might matter which classes were A’s and which were B’s (having A’s in classes more closely related to your major might help).
This is quite good in general, but is low by Georgetown standards. Whether this matter for transfer applications is not clear to me.
If you have a good reason to transfer then this might help you chances.
However, I think that it is more likely that you will not get in and will end up staying where you are (which sounds like a still good outcome).
My understanding is that psychology is a major where some form of graduate study is quite likely. It is very common for students who get any form of graduate degree, whether master’s or something else, to get their last degree at a different university compared to where they get their bachelor’s degree. If this applies to you, then Georgetown will still be there when you are applying to graduate programs.
I would try to keep your GPA up and look for appropriate internship or research or similar opportunities with the understanding that this will help you in multiple ways, with graduate admissions just being one of the multiple ways.
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Honor society membership is unlikely to affect your chances for an offer of admission. Georgetown is among the most prestigious universities in the world so admission is difficult even for applicants with perfect numbers.
Based on the information that you have shared, the most effective transfer application might be to focus on the lack of desired courses or major at your current school if that major/courses are offered by your target transfer school.
It would be helpful to know your current school or, at least, the size of the undergraduate student body as that typically limits the number and type of courses and majors offered.
For a psychology major, examine the offerings in this major at the Big Ten Conference schools. You might be surprised at the resources and options offered to undergraduate students at these universities for your area of interest.
Thank you, you learn something new every day! I go to Lehigh (I wasn’t sure if I should say it earlier but here I am). As of fall 2023, there were about 5,811 (this number seems pretty consistent) undergraduates.
In my essays (especially the why Georgetown one) I really emphasized the opportunities there for my specific interest (policies dealing with educational rights), as well as naming a specific professor (obviously I went more into this, but I’m not going to copy and paste my entire essay here ) and certain clubs I would love to be a part of.
) and certain clubs I would love to be a part of.