Georgetown Application Solicitation Email

[Anonymous]

So, I went to Georgetown back in the mid 90s and I still live in the area. I attended for free because one of my parents was faculty but I didn't enjoy it. I appreciated graduating with a respectable degree and doing so gratis, but it is not what I would have picked at all. My DS is a senior this year and we did the tour last fall mostly out of it being close by and convenient. It isn't for him either and doubtful he'd get in anyway (1300/3.9, white, athlete), but yesterday they sent us an email basically begging us to apply and iterated several times that the class of 2028 still has several spots open.

So my question is- have they slipped so much that they need to beg kids to apply? Is this some legacy email deal? Is their AO so sloppy that they send this out to any prospect that have an email for?

He's not going to apply, but I can see this being very misleading for the kids that are interested in the school.

[Anonymous]

I suspect everyone who has expressed any interest this cycle (e.g., by touring) and hasn’t yet submitted an application got this email.

[Anonymous]

Show the email. RD deadline is Jan 10th. EA acceptance was below 10%.

[Anonymous]

DD also got an email from Georgetown and similar "apply now" emails from other schools as well. We don't have any connections to the schools that sent these emails, but they are ones that she'd "flagged" or is following in the college application portal.

[Anonymous]

They want to reject more people so the school will have a lower acceptance rate.

For some reason, people equate rejecting more applicant as as “success.” In business, this would look like not doing a good job qualifying prospects. In academia, it’s a goal to have unqualified people apply.

I would only apply if they ask me to apply and their ask is binding—like reverse ED. They would never do that, so I would never apply. 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They want to reject more people so the school will have a lower acceptance rate.

For some reason, people equate rejecting more applicant as as “success.” In business, this would look like not doing a good job qualifying prospects. In academia, it’s a goal to have unqualified people apply.

I would only apply if they ask me to apply and their ask is binding—like reverse ED. They would never do that, so I would never apply. 😂

They don't do ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They want to reject more people so the school will have a lower acceptance rate.

For some reason, people equate rejecting more applicant as as “success.” In business, this would look like not doing a good job qualifying prospects. In academia, it’s a goal to have unqualified people apply.

I would only apply if they ask me to apply and their ask is binding—like reverse ED. They would never do that, so I would never apply. 😂

Not really. Georgetown’s admissions office has a hard target of 10% or above. They refuse to go to a “single-digit” acceptance rate. This is the primary reason why they are test-mandatory: to deflate the applicant pool and inflate the acceptance rate. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but that is how they operate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They want to reject more people so the school will have a lower acceptance rate.

For some reason, people equate rejecting more applicant as as “success.” In business, this would look like not doing a good job qualifying prospects. In academia, it’s a goal to have unqualified people apply.

I would only apply if they ask me to apply and their ask is binding—like reverse ED. They would never do that, so I would never apply. 😂

That’ll show ‘em!

[Anonymous]

This is just normal marketing. I got at least a dozen of these over the past week. Many, like Georgetown, reminding that the deadline is approaching. Many of them actually saying they were extending the application deadline. (In Georgetown's case, the deadline hasn't yet passed so it's not even anything unusual.)

Georgetown makes a specific effort for students to have the same 'chance' of admission whether they apply EA or RD. So what they were saying in the email (I also received it) is that unlike most schools (or the perception about most schools) they specifically limited their EA admissions to keep a proportional number of slots available for January applications.

[Anonymous]

Agree with a PP. If anything, Georgetown goes to a lot of trouble to limit applications, not inflate them. My kid spent yesterday filling out their proprietary application, which meant re-filling what she did on the common app (name, address, parent occupation, etc etc) and writing new essays, which are fairly different in length for Georgetown compared to most since they don't take common app essay. They require you submit all test scores, not selected ones, and are not test optional.

I found myself wondering why they are making it so difficult to apply. (I guess it's a way of measuring demonstrated interest?).

(I know where you're coming from, though, OP. I attended in the 80s and probably would have had a better time elsewhere. My kid is applying because academically it's a perfect fit (SFS) and I'd like to keep her close for various reasons. But not sure it's socially the best place for her, either.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with a PP. If anything, Georgetown goes to a lot of trouble to limit applications, not inflate them. My kid spent yesterday filling out their proprietary application, which meant re-filling what she did on the common app (name, address, parent occupation, etc etc) and writing new essays, which are fairly different in length for Georgetown compared to most since they don't take common app essay. They require you submit all test scores, not selected ones, and are not test optional.

I found myself wondering why they are making it so difficult to apply. (I guess it's a way of measuring demonstrated interest?).

(I know where you're coming from, though, OP. I attended in the 80s and probably would have had a better time elsewhere. My kid is applying because academically it's a perfect fit (SFS) and I'd like to keep her close for various reasons. But not sure it's socially the best place for her, either.)

Yes. The Dean of Admissions has been there for 40+ years, and he believes that the separate application weeds out people who aren’t really interested and makes for a stronger applicant pool. (He’s also extremely change-averse.) Georgetown has always been fine with the trade-off of having a low-double digits acceptance rate for a more focused set of applicants (and presumably higher yield).

The full complement of test scores is to see how many takes it took to get the scores; this helps with equity inasmuch as they can see the students who prepped and retook five times to break 1500 (vs. kids who don’t have the resources to do that and get a 1450 on their first try).

[Anonymous]

Correction to above^^^

The Dean of Admissions has been there 50+ years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, I went to Georgetown back in the mid 90s and I still live in the area. I attended for free because one of my parents was faculty but I didn't enjoy it. I appreciated graduating with a respectable degree and doing so gratis, but it is not what I would have picked at all. My DS is a senior this year and we did the tour last fall mostly out of it being close by and convenient. It isn't for him either and doubtful he'd get in anyway (1300/3.9, white, athlete), but yesterday they sent us an email basically begging us to apply and iterated several times that the class of 2028 still has several spots open.

So my question is- have they slipped so much that they need to beg kids to apply? Is this some legacy email deal? Is their AO so sloppy that they send this out to any prospect that have an email for?

He's not going to apply, but I can see this being very misleading for the kids that are interested in the school.

I don’t have an answer for you but I went to Wake Forest and I received a similar email urging me to encourage my daughter to apply - and she never even toured or expressed any other interest in the school.

[Anonymous]

The University of Chicago excels with this type of bait and switch. They blast these solicitation emails and mailers to students who have no chance -hoping they apply- so they can be quickly rejected. Their admit rates will go down and they get $ from the fee. Classless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You got one thing right, OP. Your kid will never get in. Sorry you didn't fit in there and feel the need to put down thousands and thousands of other people because you're still bitter decades later. You should move on. Georgetown is doing just fine.

Jeez, take a breath. All the OP said was "I didn't enjoy it" and "it's not what I would have picked at all". That's not some scathing criticism of Georgetown, and even if it were - two people can have different experiences and they both be valid. If you are this sensitive and feel so easily targeted in your real life I suggest therapy. And I'm not saying that to be mean, I would imagine it would be difficult to navigate the world if you're so easily triggered.