Georgetown's application has always been a little different from most. Historically the university used its own application rather than the Common App, and while it now accepts both, the writing requirements remain distinctive: four essays, each doing a different job. A short essay on meaning, a short essay on disagreement, a long personal essay, and a school-specific essay that asks you to explain why you want to study in one of Georgetown's undergraduate schools. This guide explains each, how they fit together, and how to avoid the most common problems. Confirm the current prompts on Georgetown's application requirements page before you begin.
The Georgetown Essays at a Glance
- Short essay 1 (250 words): Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
- Short essay 2 (250 words): 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?
- Essay 1, personal or creative (650 words): As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. 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. Applicants may use their Common App personal statement.
- Essay 2, school-specific (500 words): The prompt depends on the school you apply to: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Walsh School of Foreign Service, the McDonough School of Business, the Berkley School of Nursing, the School of Health, the McCourt School of Public Policy, or the Earth Commons Institute.
In total that is up to roughly 1,650 words of writing, one of the larger supplements among selective colleges. The essays are best planned together.
Short Essay 1: The Activity That Matters Most
What this prompt is really asking
This is the classic extracurricular elaboration prompt: explain the significance of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. Notice the verb. The prompt asks about significance, not accomplishments. Georgetown has your activities list and, if you submit one, your résumé. This essay is where you explain what the activity means.
How to write it
- Choose the activity with the strongest "why." The one you have put the most into is often the right choice, but only if you can say why you stayed with it.
- Write a small story. Half a page is enough for one scene, one realization, and one takeaway.
- Show what it taught you and how it reflects your values. What did you get from the activity that you did not have before, and what does it say about what you care about?
- Avoid a laundry list. This is not the place for a catalogue of titles and achievements.
A useful tip is to supply a detailed résumé wherever Georgetown allows one. If the résumé lists what you did, the essay is free to focus on why it mattered.
Short Essay 2: A Different Viewpoint
What this prompt is really asking
Georgetown wants students who can engage respectfully with people who see the world differently. This is a "disagreement" prompt in a gentler form: describe an event in which you interacted with someone who held a different viewpoint, and say what you learned.
How to write it
- Choose a moment with some stakes. It should matter enough to be worth reflecting on, without being so charged that the essay becomes about the issue instead of you.
- Show your approach. What did you do when you met the view? Did you ask questions, listen, push back respectfully, change your mind in part?
- Be honest about what you learned. A small, specific insight is better than a sweeping lesson.
- Treat the other person with respect. Describe their position as they would.
Georgetown's Jesuit tradition values thoughtful dialogue, so a measured, curious tone fits. For related advice, read our guide to writing about challenges and leadership essays.
Essay 1: The Personal or Creative Essay (650 Words)
This essay invites you to describe yourself in your own words, reflecting on your background, individual experiences, skills, and talents. Georgetown allows you to submit your Common App personal statement for it, which makes it the natural place to use your best, most polished personal essay.
Reuse, but with intention
If Georgetown is one of several schools on your list, you probably have a Common App essay that fits. The essay does not need to mention Georgetown. You might add a closing sentence or two connecting your story to what you hope to do at Georgetown, but it is not necessary, since the school-specific essay will do that work. If Georgetown is your only school or you are not using the Common App, write a personal essay focused on a defining experience, trait, or relationship, with plenty of specific detail.
Choose the aspect of yourself that other essays do not cover
Since Georgetown asks for four pieces of writing, your personal essay should not duplicate the others. If the first short essay discusses an activity and the second a disagreement, let the long essay take on your background or an inner dimension that neither of them touches.
Essay 2: The School-Specific Essay (500 Words)
Read the leading sentence
The most important thing to notice about Georgetown's school-specific prompts is that they start with a sentence describing the school's mission or founding purpose. The College of Arts and Sciences, for example, is committed to the Jesuit tradition of an integrated education and research across the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. The School of Nursing describes a commitment to ethical, empathetic, and transformational nursing leaders. The School of Foreign Service was founded to prepare leaders with the foundational skills to address global issues. The McDonough School of Business describes what it provides, including global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse perspectives.
These opening sentences are hints. Georgetown wants your response to engage with them. Many applicants read the final question and ignore everything before it. Keep the full prompt at the top of your page while you write, and show at some point that your values align with the school's purpose.
What each school wants to hear
- College of Arts and Sciences: your interest in studying there. Applicants to sciences, mathematics, and languages are encouraged to reference their intended major.
- Walsh School of Foreign Service: your primary motivations for studying international affairs and dedicating your studies to global service.
- McDonough School of Business: your motivations for studying business at Georgetown, ideally tied to its emphasis on ethics and global perspective.
- Berkley School of Nursing: the factors that have influenced your interest in nursing at Georgetown.
- School of Health: the factors that influenced your interest in healthcare, including your intended related major.
- McCourt School of Public Policy: your motivations for studying public policy and your commitment to public service.
- Earth Commons Institute: your motivations for studying environment and sustainability and effecting positive change.
Structure for 500 words
- Start with the experience that explains your interest. A specific moment or sequence, not a general statement about passion.
- Explain what that experience taught you about the field. What problem or question did it open?
- Connect to the school's mission and offerings. Weave in the school's stated purpose naturally, and name particular programs, courses, or opportunities.
- End with your direction. What do you hope to do with this education, and how does it serve something beyond yourself?
A word on the Jesuit values
Georgetown describes its mission in terms of service, dialogue, and the education of the whole person. You do not need to use that vocabulary, and you should not feign religious interest, but it helps to understand the ethos. Essays that show curiosity about other people, service to a community, and an ethical dimension to your career goals tend to fit.
Putting the Four Essays Together
Plan on the following division of labor:
- Short essay 1 shows commitment and what matters to you.
- Short essay 2 shows how you engage with difference.
- The personal essay shows who you are at a deeper level.
- The school-specific essay shows your academic direction and why Georgetown.
Check for overlap. If the same story appears in two essays, change one. Then read all four in sequence to see if they feel like one person.
Common Mistakes
- Ignoring the leading sentence in the school-specific prompt. It tells you what Georgetown hopes to see.
- Treating the activity essay as a résumé. Explain significance, not accomplishments.
- A one-sided disagreement story. Show respect for the other view.
- Using the same story for multiple essays. Each essay should add something new.
- Forgetting what is distinctive about Georgetown. Location in Washington, DC, the Jesuit tradition, and the mission of each school can all show up.
For help with fit essays, see how to write a Why This College essay and how to write a Why This Major essay.
Weak Versus Strong Sentences
These contrasts are illustrations of the kind of revision that helps. They are not language to copy.
- Weak (activity): "Debate team taught me leadership and public speaking." Stronger: "I once lost a round because I interrupted my partner to correct her. I have been practicing the opposite since: waiting, then building on what she said."
- Weak (different viewpoint): "I disagreed with my friend about politics but we respected each other." Stronger: "I asked him what he was afraid of before I told him what I believed, and for the first time, we talked about the same thing."
- Weak (Foreign Service): "I want to become a diplomat to promote peace." Stronger: "I want to understand why my cousin's visa interview lasted four minutes and what one more question would have changed."
- Weak (Business): "I want to study business to be successful." Stronger: "I want to learn how to price a product so that a family who needs it can afford it and the people who make it can live on it."
- Weak (Nursing): "I want to help people who are sick." Stronger: "I noticed which nurse remembered my grandmother's name at three in the morning, and I want to learn how to be that person."
Responding to the Leading Sentence in Your School's Prompt
Each school-specific prompt starts with a short statement of that school's purpose. Use it as a prompt for your own reflection, not as language to repeat. Here is a simple way to work with it.
- Underline the key phrases in the opening sentence. Examples might include integrated education, ethical leadership, global issues, or health and well-being of communities.
- For each phrase, write a sentence about a moment in your life when it mattered to you.
- Choose the one or two phrases that connect most strongly to your story.
- Build your essay around those connections and let the school's language appear lightly, in your own words.
The goal is not to quote the mission. It is to show that your values and the school's purpose point in the same direction.
Common Questions About the Georgetown Essays
Should I use the Georgetown Application or the Common App?
Georgetown accepts both. Choose based on your overall list. If you use the Common App for other schools, it is usually simpler to use it for Georgetown too, and you can submit your personal statement for the 650-word essay.
How much of the Jesuit tradition should I mention?
Only what is true to you. You do not need to be religious to apply. It helps to understand values such as service, dialogue, and care for the whole person, and to show how your own commitments connect. Do not feign interest in a tradition you have not engaged with.
Should my short essays be formal or personal?
Personal, but clear. Write the way you would explain something important to a thoughtful adult. Avoid both stiff academic language and slang.
A Suggested Order of Work
- Decide which story anchors the 650-word essay. Often this is your Common App essay.
- Draft the school-specific essay, since it defines your academic direction.
- Draft the activity essay with a story you have not told elsewhere.
- Draft the different-viewpoints essay with a distinct moment and a clear learning.
- Read all four together and assign each a different job.
Final Self-Edit Checklist for Georgetown
- Does my activity essay explain significance, not accomplishments?
- Does my viewpoints essay show respect and real learning?
- Does my long essay avoid repeating the other essays?
- Does my school-specific essay engage with the opening statement of the prompt?
- Have I confirmed the current prompts, limits, and application options on Georgetown's admissions site?
Why These Essays Are Hard to Edit Alone
Georgetown's four essays offer a lot of room for repetition and for a school-specific essay that never quite answers the question. A trained reader can tell you whether you have addressed the school's mission, whether the short essays do their jobs, and whether the set tells a coherent story.