Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is a relatively small private college overlooking the Potomac River. Its urban campus is situated just a few minutes away from the heart of Washington, DC.
The school was the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the country and maintained its commitment to the Jesuit tradition of research in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and fine arts.
The school’s degree programs in the areas of global studies and political science are well-renowned, which makes sense, given Georgetown’s location in the center of DC, a national hub for political activity.
On top of solid political science program offerings, the college has several well-renowned research programs that feature cutting-edge facilities and a number of knowledgeable faculty members.
Notable alumni include United States Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton.
Although it is not technically one of the Ivy League schools, Georgetown is often considered to be essentially worthy of Ivy League distinction.
Being the highly-esteemed institution that it is, Georgetown’s admissions process is very competitive. Furthermore, it is generally true that acceptance rates are lower for transfer students than for first-year applicants.
It is thus relatively difficult to get accepted to Georgetown at all, let alone as a transfer student. Still, it is possible, and those who do so will get an outstanding education from this elite university.
Read on to learn more about transferring to Georgetown, acceptance rates, deadlines, and other important considerations for any students who are thinking of making the jump.
Georgetown Transfer Acceptance Rate
The transfer acceptance rate at Georgetown University is as low as 6.63%, according to some sources.
This is less than half of the 17% acceptance rate for non-transfer students at the school, and a bit over half the 11.2% early acceptance rate.
Compared to the national mean, this rate is very low.
The average rate of acceptance for transfer students at any college or university in the United States is 62%, according to a report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. On the other hand, first-year applicants enjoy a higher acceptance rate of 66%.
The ratio of admitted transfer students to accepted first-year students is around 1:21, or 5% nationally. Comparatively, transfer students make up only 2% of the Georgetown student body.
In addition to GPA and test scores, Georgetown considers the amount of available space left in the first-year class when making admissions decisions for transfer students.
Depending on how many first-year applicants accept their offers for admission in a given year, transfer students with strong academic backgrounds may not be admitted despite the possibility that they may have been accepted in a different year.
As a result, the transfer acceptance rate varies considerably from year to year.
Application Requirements & GPA for Georgetown Transfers
Georgetown does not mandate a specific GPA for transfer students, but they suggest that transfer students should have at least a 3.7 or B+ average in order to be considered a competitive applicant.
The average GPA of accepted transfer applicants is between 3.8 and 3.9. The majority of Georgetown transfers were in the top 10-20% of their graduating high school class.
To be eligible to transfer to Georgetown, students must have completed high school or an equivalent program and at least one, but no more than four, full-time semesters of university coursework.
Transfer applicants must submit official transcripts from all previously attended universities and a Dean’s report, a professor’s report, and a second school report, including a final high school transcript.
The transfer application also requires that students provide either SAT or ACT scores, unless the student has been out of high school for at least five years prior to their prospective date of enrollment at Georgetown.
However, those who had been intending to take the SAT or ACT but were not able to due to COVID-19 can still submit transfer applications for consideration without penalty. Still, students who have taken these tests may not elect to opt-out of submitting standardized test scores.
Georgetown Transfer Deadline
Georgetown’s deadline for transfer application submissions is March 1st each year for students looking to enroll for the fall semester and November 1st for those who would like to start in the spring semester.
Along with the transfer application, students who want to transfer to Georgetown must also submit the Transfer Supplement and all supporting documents by this deadline. In addition, there is an application fee of $75 that is due at the time of applying.
Students for whom the application fee poses an insurmountable financial barrier can apply for a fee waiver when submitting the transfer application.
Financial aid applications and the associated paperwork, such as the student’s College Board CSS profile, will also be due at the transfer application deadline.
If the transfer applicant is offered admission at Georgetown, they will have June 15th to reply regarding whether or not they intend to accept the offer and enroll in classes.
What is the Decision Date for Georgetown Transfers?
Transfer applicants will receive notification of the Georgetown admissions committee’s decision by June 1st of each year.
After being informed of their acceptance, admitted transfer students who applied for the fall semester have until June 15th to let Georgetown know whether or not they are planning to accept the school’s offer for admission.
For those who applied to transfer in the spring semester, the decision date is around December 1st of each year.
Georgetown only recently decided to accept transfer students in the spring semester as a response to the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic on enrollment rates, first-year retention rates, and incoming class sizes, starting in the spring 2021 semester.
Spring transfer applicants must be rising sophomores, meaning that they must have completed two semesters of full-time, college-level coursework at another institution while matriculating at Georgetown.
When the admissions decisions for transfer students are announced, some students may learn that they have been placed on the waitlist. Although the college does not guarantee that any certain number of applicants on the waitlist will eventually be offered admission, it is certainly a possibility.
Georgetown admits waitlist students based on how many seats in the first- or second-year classes are available, so the likelihood of acceptance following placement on the waitlist depends on how many other admitted students have declined offers for admission, deferred acceptance for up to a year, or decided not to continue studying at Georgetown for whatever reason.
Deciding Whether You Should Transfer to Georgetown
When deciding whether or not transferring to Georgetown is right for you, there are many things to consider.
One important consideration is the school’s remarkably low acceptance rates. With a first-year acceptance rate of 17% and a transfer student acceptance rate of only 6.63%, the Georgetown admissions process is quite selective.
The low acceptance rate may not be troublesome for students who have a 3.7 or higher GPA on top of stellar test scores, but for students who do not meet those criteria, it may be prudent to consider applying elsewhere.
On the other hand, there are many reasons to believe that transferring to Georgetown is a wise decision.
The school is widely acknowledged for its vital academic programs and its focus on student-centered research opportunities.
With the school occupying the #23 spot on US News and World Report’s annual ranking list of the top universities in the country, the high quality of education Georgetown students will receive is unquestionable.
Location is also a factor to consider when applying to transfer to another university.
Georgetown’s urban campus spans 104 acres and includes a wide array of traditional and nontraditional residence halls and townhouses.
The school is situated only a few minutes from downtown DC, so campus residents are within walking distance of a broad selection of restaurants, bars, and high-end shopping retailers.
For those who are enticed by the idea of attending a university in a place with a bustling city atmosphere, Georgetown has a lot to offer.
Ultimately, whether or not you should transfer to Georgetown depends on if highly rigorous academic programs and close proximity to downtown DC are what you are looking for in your undergraduate experience.
RECAP: How to Apply As a Transfer Student to Georgetown
The first step to applying as a transfer student to Georgetown is double-checking the eligibility requirements.
In order to be eligible to transfer to this school, applicants must have a high school diploma or an equivalent certificate, in addition to anywhere from one to four full-time semesters of college-level coursework, under their belts.
The next step is to fill out the application by the deadline.
For fall semester transfer students, the date to remember is March 1st. For students looking to enroll at the start of the spring semester, it is November 1st.
Along with the completed application, all supporting documents will also need to be submitted by no later than the first of March or November.
Application supplements include SAT or ACT scores or a testing requirement waiver, the $75 application fee or a fee waiver, a final high school transcript, a current university transcript, and reports from your previous college from both the dean and a professor you have had in the past.
It is wise to turn in application materials a few days early if possible in order to ensure that they are received by the admissions committee in a timely manner, and to leave a bit of wiggle room in case there is anything you have missed or forgotten.
After all the required application documents have been submitted, the last step is to sit tight until admissions decisions are announced on June 1st or early December for fall or spring applicants respectively.
