Georgetown Supplemental Essays 2025-26 – Prompts and Advice
August 29, 2025
The nation’s oldest Jesuit institution of higher learning is also its most selective, as Georgetown University welcomed just 12% of applicants to the Class of 2029 onto its historical and notably beautiful Washington, DC, campus. Whenever you are applying to a school of Georgetown’s caliber, where the average admitted applicant has a 1470 SAT score and is at (or near) the top of their high school class, you need to find ways to set yourself apart from the pack. Toward that aim, prospective Hoyas need to take advantage of the Georgetown supplemental essays.
Want to learn more about how to create a strong application to Georgetown? In addition to our blog entitled: How to Get Into Georgetown: Admissions Data and Strategies, head to College Transitions Gateway for all our best free tools and resources, including an admissions calculator for 170+ institutions, college planning guides & templates, and example essays from accepted students.
The goal is to write compelling, standout compositions. Your essays should showcase your exceptional writing ability and reveal more about who you are as an individual. Below are Georgetown’s essay prompts for the 2025-26 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.
2025-26 Georgetown Supplemental Essays
1) Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight. (250 words)
If you are a world-class athlete, you are likely already in the recruitment process. If you placed high in AIME or won a National Merit Scholarship, that is already stated in the awards section. Therefore, using the prized 250 words of real estate to merely rehash the fact that you won an award for something you are good at would not be an inspiring move. Instead, use this essay as an opportunity to offer a new level of depth and understanding about your talent(s). In addition to discussing the talent you possess, describe the journey of how you developed your abilities and how they have impacted you.
A few years back, Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that becoming an expert at anything takes 10,000 hours of practice. Consider talking about the grind and sacrifice it took you to become great at a given skill. Describe how you see that skill becoming even more finely tuned/developed over time. If this skill fits into your future academic/career plans, all the better—share that too!
2) Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (approximately 1/2 page, single-spaced)
Perhaps you are the captain of a team, the editor-in-chief of your school paper, or the president of a club. On the other hand, you may simply be a valuable contributing member. Regardless of whether you are a leading man/woman or a still-essential bit player, make sure that you use your writing ability to show the admissions officer what type of involved team member you are rather than merely telling them.
You can also discuss how you have engaged with your high school local/community. Share what you have learned from interacting with people of a different ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual identity, etc. Draw on past evidence of your commitment to being a positive force in the context of your activity/activities. Also, be sure to speculate how that is likely to manifest on Georgetown’s campus. Research and cite Hoya student-run organizations, local nonprofit groups, or anything else you are drawn to. The admissions committee wants to understand precisely how you will contribute to their campus community of 7,000+ undergrads. Drawing the link between your past efforts and future aims is critical here. For example, if you’ve done work with Habitat for Humanity throughout your teens, it will be most impactful if you express your commitment to joining Georgetown’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity in the future.
3) 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. (Approximately one page, single-spaced)
Georgetown uses its own school-specific application, so most applicants simply use their Common App personal statement as-is for this prompt. Whether you decide to write about yourself in a way that is light, creative, humorous, personal, sincere, or vulnerable (any are perfectly fine), aim to reveal a picture of yourself that cannot be gleaned from elsewhere in your application materials.
Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. While there are no limits to the way in which you approach this essay, here are some angles to consider:
- A perspective you hold
- An experience you had
- A community you belong to
- Your cultural or family background
- Something you’ve had to overcome
The admissions officer looking at your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words. So be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and insightful. No matter what type of story you tell, the goal is to have the reader come away saying, “I can definitely see this applicant as a contributing member of our talented and engaged student community.”
Georgetown’s School-Specific Supplemental Essays
Depending on the College or School that you are applying to at Georgetown, you’ll need to write a separate school-specific essay. It should be about one single-spaced page in length. At their core, all of them are “Why Us” essays. As you address each prompt (see below), be sure to include Georgetown-specific offerings and opportunities that support your reasoning, interests, and future plans.
Elements of a great Georgetown “Why Us?” essay
- Cite school-specific academic programs, professors, research opportunities, internship/externship programs, and study abroad programs.
- Reference student-run organizations at Georgetown that align with your passions.
- Describe how you take advantage of Georgetown’s immense resources both inside and outside of the classroom.
- Make sure to touch on both a) why Georgetown is the perfect fit for you and) why you are the perfect fit for Georgetown. Covering both topics is essential.
Common mistakes in a Georgetown “Why Us?” essay.
- Fawning over the picturesque Gothic-style Georgetown campus (it is quite beautiful, but they already know that).
- Georgetown is top-ranked, prestigious, and has a great reputation. Again, they know!
- Too many generic expressions of feeling (e.g., It has been my dream since I was a toddler to be a Hoya…).
- Recycled statements from your other “Why Us?” essays that come across as stale, impersonal, or worst of all–irrelevant/inaccurate.
Georgetown College: Founded in 1789, the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences is committed to the Jesuit traditions of an integrated education and of productive research in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Describe your interest in studying at College of Arts & Sciences. Applicants interested in the sciences, mathematics, or languages are encouraged to make specific reference to their choice of major.
Out of all the attributes they could have chosen, Georgetown chose to reference “integrated education” and “productive research” within the prompt. Accordingly, you may want to do some research on the two aforementioned traditions and think about how they’ll impact your education at Georgetown. You can also write about any other offerings, programs, professors, or opportunities within the College of Arts and Sciences that are especially interesting to you and in line with your experiences and goals. Note that Georgetown encourages certain types of applicants to make specific references to their prospective field of study.
School of Nursing: Georgetown University’s School of Nursing is committed to the formation of ethical, empathetic, and transformational nursing leaders. Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying Nursing at Georgetown University.
School of Health: Georgetown University’s School of Health was founded to advance the health and well-being of people locally, nationally, and globally through innovative research, the delivery of interdisciplinary education, and transformative engagement of communities. Describe the factors that influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University, specifically addressing your intended related major: Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science.
Since these prompts are similar, the below advice applies to both:
“A nurse is not what you do, it is who you are.”
This quote from an anonymous source captures the idea that becoming a nurse is a calling; not a profession you just stumble into. Healthcare is no different. Healthcare professionals are willing to work long shifts in the service of others, be on the frontlines of a pandemic, and deal with life’s toughest challenges (e.g., suffering and death) on a regular basis. Many applicants share stories of caring for sick relatives, experiencing a tough medical episode themselves, or observing the challenges faced by a particular community as inspiration for studying nursing or healthcare.
In addition, you’ll want to include school-specific research that demonstrates your knowledge of the school’s opportunities and resources as well as the skills Georgetown will help you build (and why they are important to you). Overall, show the admissions committee that you are a passionate and mature healthcare or nursing candidate, that this field is genuinely “who you are,” and that attending Georgetown will be the right fit for you.
Walsh School of Foreign Service: Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders with the foundational skills to address global issues. Describe your primary motivations for studying international affairs at Georgetown University and dedicating your undergraduate studies toward a future in global service.
International service is not something every 17/18-year-old in the country is dreaming about doing as a vocation. There is likely a very interesting story surrounding what motivated you to apply to the Walsh School of Foreign Service and this essay invites you to share this very narrative. You don’t need to look any deeper than today’s headlines to identify powerful and immensely challenging global problems. Regardless of your major, you likely have a highly specific set of academic and career goals taking shape in your mind.
If you can communicate these goals and the motivations behind them while sharing a vision for how you will contribute to the betterment of humankind in one or multiple regions of the world, then you are likely to end up with an excellent Walsh essay. Moreover, discuss why Walsh in particular will be a great fit for you.
McDonough School of Business: Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business provides graduates with essential global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse perspectives on the economies of our nation and the world. Describe your primary motivations for studying business at Georgetown University.
Before you start writing, do some McDonough-specific research and think about why a business education from McDonough in particular will be a great fit for your interests and goals. Further, to stand out, applicants need to connect the resources they’ve chosen to experiences they’ve had, demonstrating that they have availed themselves of every opportunity to dive into the business world during their high school years. Of course, not everyone has parents who hand them money to invest in the stock market or land them an internship at Goldman Sachs in 9th grade.
Relevant experiences can include high school investing clubs, participation in activities like FBLA, summer programs/courses in business/finance/economics, running your own local small business or e-business (Etsy, landscaping, etc.), or just a regular old retail job. The important thing to highlight is what you learned from your experiences. You should also note how you’ll bring that newly acquired knowledge to the classroom at Georgetown, and how your experiences have informed & influenced what you hope to continue learning in college.
How important are the Georgetown supplemental essays?
There are a whopping 8 factors that Georgetown considers to be “very important” to the evaluation process. These are: rigor of secondary school record, character/personal qualities, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, recommendations, extracurricular activities, and most relevant to this blog—the application essays. The essays undoubtedly play a significant role in the admissions process at Georgetown. They can help the committee decide who to admit when choosing between similarly credentialed (GPA, test scores, etc.) applicants.
Want personalized assistance with your Georgetown supplemental essays?
Interested in working with one of our experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Georgetown supplemental essays? We encourage you to get a quote today.
Need more writing-related resources? Consider checking out the following:
