Georgetown has finally answered all college counselors’ prayers: They have joined the Common App.
This fall will mark Georgetown’s first appearance on the Common Application, an online system that compiles applications to over 1,000 higher education institutions on one website. Georgetown’s original independent application is already live, and the Common App version will go live for all schools on Aug. 1.
The university says there will be no preference in the admissions process based on which application a student uses.
Georgetown joining the Common App is part of a broader group of admissions process changes announced in March 2025 oriented toward “making a Georgetown education accessible to students of all backgrounds.” Other changes included the university now considering eligibility for federal Pell Grants in the admissions process to admit more students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, while the school also announced they would continue to require standardized testing. Notably, Georgetown continues to practice a preference for legacy students in the admissions process despite student protests.
A university spokesperson tells the Voice that the school is aiming to keep the two applications as similar as possible. The application fee on both platforms is $80, though fee waivers will be available on both. All students that submit applications on either platform will receive an interview, unless it’s impossible to assign based on geographical location.
The questions and essays will also be the same on both. Both applications will have two short essays and two long essays. One asks for a brief “personal or creative essay” which is widely understood as a place for students to use their “college essay” or personal statement. The prompts are as follows:
- Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved (250 words maximum)
- 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? (250 words maximum)
- As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. 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 (650 words maximum)
The fourth question will be specific to the school that students choose to apply to.
Using the Common App, students can reuse their extracurricular information and recommendation letters for each school. On the Georgetown application, students must enter all of their information from scratch.
The deadlines for students to submit each application will also remain the same—to be considered for Georgetown’s Restricted Early Action deadline, students should submit by Nov. 1. The regular admissions deadline is Jan. 1.
