Writing the Georgetown Essay Supplemental Essay Prompts

Writing the Georgetown Essay Supplemental Essay Prompts
Table of Contents
  1. Writing the Georgetown Essay Supplemental Essay Prompts
  2. How to Write the Georgetown University General Supplemental Essays
  3. “ Prompt 1: Indicate any special talents or skills you possess. (250 words). ”
  4. “ Prompt 2: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. ”
  5. “ Prompt 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 essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you. ”
  6. Georgetown University School-Specific Prompts
  7. Georgetown College Prompt
  8. School of Nursing & Health Studies Prompt
  9. Walsh School of Foreign Service Prompt
  10. McDonough School of Business Prompt
  11. Summary

Georgetown University is a desired educational establishment for thousands of students annually. With an acceptance rate of 15%, the chances to get in are high. If you follow all the rules and complete your application form according to the requirements of the admissions committee, you are in. The estimated average GPA for Georgetown University is 4.1. Besides, you need to complete a Georgetown essay. There is the option to get college admission essay help and succeed with no effort. Georgetown opportunity is yours to grab as long as you have a good academic record and writing skills. 

Set the goals to get in, study the history of the university, and tailor your application to satisfy the needs of the Georgetown community. All the tests the establishment puts in front of you are aimed at finding out how compatible your background is with its ambitions.

How to Write the Georgetown University General Supplemental Essays 

To become a part of the Georgetown community, a student needs to pay the application fee and write the “Why Georgetown” essay. It is a common practice for colleges and universities to ask students to show their knowledge, worldview, and ambitions in writing. Regardless of what faculty you apply for, engineering department, or journalism, basic writing skills are obligatory. The essay aims at students writing a text that showcases the academic skills and vision of future careers.

Prompt 1: Indicate any special talents or skills you possess. (250 words).

Similar to the Common App essay prompt regarding one's background, identity, and interests, this essay is meant to allow you to express who you are and is, thus, intentionally open-ended. Supplementary questions, generally speaking, are a part of an application to enable you to provide admissions officers with the fullest possible sense of who you are. To this end, you should use this essay to highlight a topic or aspect of yourself that is not extensively covered in other sections of your application--give the committee a proverbial peek behind the veil.

This essay prompt aims at finding out how students see the future. The ambitions, visions, and self-development that a student seeks in academic life are of special interest to the scientific community of the university. For that reason, the admissions committee is composed of the members who decide whether the student fits into their group based on the experience of many years of work.

In doing so, you need to demonstrate what makes you unique and therefore, show what you can contribute to the university community as a potential member of the student body. This is where your background and identity really come into play. Did your background pose any unique challenges that you've had to overcome, or did your identity play a pivotal role in guiding your personal development? 'Background' includes experiences, such as interactions and relationships with family and friends; training in the arts, music, and sports; and political, social, and economic environments. 'Identity' is closely related to background and includes ethnic, cultural, sexual, and religious identity. If framed and discussed correctly, these topics can lead to compelling essays.

For example, you could discuss the unique challenges you faced given your socio-economic background and how that impacted you. Or you can explore how your multi-cultural background taught you the importance of intercultural dialogue and how to act as an ambassador between two different worlds. The latter example provides an opportunity to highlight the intersection between multiple backgrounds/identities and show how it has positively impacted your personal growth.

So, what are the ideas that you can use to describe yourself from all the best angles? It is all about planning and working on every element of your application as on the puzzle. Look through the application and identify the gaps. Are there any skills, talents, or achievements you still have not indicated in it?  If so, write them down in this piece. Mind that this college applicant essay has a word limit for a reason. Avoid repeating the information you used somewhere else in your application essay. 

Prompt 2: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.

Unlike the previous prompt, this one does not require bringing something fresh. On the opposite, look through your application and find a juicy story that taught you something, hit home hard, in other words. It might be a case of you trying to master some skill, and failing in it. It might be a story of rejection and realization of the need for improvement. Another good idea is writing about the case of you showing leadership potential. The setting given in the requirements is school or summer activity, and it narrows down your choice. The intention is to see how easy it is for you to adjust to the community. The campus life is similar to school. It will demand you to be proactive and involved. The admissions committee is looking to find proof that you are unique. Writing down a set of epithets that describe your well-rounded personality is not a valid way to persuade the assessment officers. Find the real stories that serve as evidence. 

You should use the essay to highlight how the activity you are passionate about has shaped you as a person - always remember to relate the activity to a personal narrative. Like with the first essay, make sure to write from experience. Pick vivid moments you remember from starting, practicing, or participating in the pursuit you're describing. Then, think about how your involvement with the activity has changed over time. Did persistence in pursuing it teach you something about determination? Work ethic? Emotional expression? Forming friendships or communities? You should ask yourself why you spend time on this activity; thinking this through will help you to understand what about the pursuit of this activity is unique or individual to you. Why is/was it significant, how did the experience transform you, your previously held conceptions, or goals? For example, you could discuss your involvement in a volunteer program for underprivileged kids, and demonstrate how it inspired you to pursue public policy in education or child development. For this example, you would, if possible, express how you have followed up on (or plan to) this interest through other activities. Similarly, you could write about their experience as a peer-tutor and how it became an unlikely vehicle by which you simultaneously made new friendships, became more sympathetic to others, or learned about your strengths and weaknesses.

Prompt 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 essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.” 

This section lets you be semi-formal. It allows you to showcase your sense of humor and weird passions. The funny occasion that happened to you and lessons learned can be described here. By introducing your life experiences your essay becomes unique. The grades and certificates all candidates provide may coincide, meanwhile the life events are different for everyone. So, dedicate enough time to thinking and recalling the life-changing occasions that enhanced your knowledge or understanding of the world.

Since the community at Georgetown is quite diverse, members of the Admissions Board would love to learn about you in words of your own choosing. Write a short Georgetown university essay, either of a creative or personal nature, in which you describe yourself as best you can.

Even though Georgetown University does not accept Common Applications, this second prompt is really asking the same questions as the prompts in the year 2019-2020 Common Application. Your response here is a chance for the admissions committee to become acquainted with you and the person you are. From what you write, readers want to understand who you really are, what values you live by, what makes you get up each morning and drives you through the day - i.e. what is unique about you. In this case, the best approach may be to copy the personal statement from your common application.

Take note that the emphasis in this prompt is diversity and its importance. Irrespective of whether you use your Common Application essay or not, be sure to highlight the unique contribution you will make to the community at Georgetown in your essay. Do bear in mind that discussing diversity does not absolutely mean membership of a particular religion or ethnic group, a belief that a lot of students are initially prone to gravitating towards. If, for instance, you have spent a lot of time traveling, you could mention that exploring new places is an integral part of your character and personality. If all your spare time is devoted to creating theatrical sets for your school's performances, you could draw attention to your artistic talents and the fact you enjoy teamwork.

Remember, the committee you are addressing will have countless applications to choose from and many of the candidates will be similar to you in terms of their academic achievements, scores, and grades. The real key to succeeding in your response to this prompt is to make yourself memorable to your readers.

Georgetown University School-Specific Prompts

Georgetown College Prompt

“Describe what you think being educated means with specific reference to your own definition. How do you think your aim might be achieved at Georgetown College? (Students applying to the Mathematics and Sciences Faculty or to the Languages and Linguistics Faculty are asked to address the course they have chosen).”

Describe what you think being educated means with specific reference to your own definition. How do you think your aim might be achieved at Georgetown College? (Students applying to the Mathematics and Sciences Faculty or to the Languages and Linguistics Faculty are asked to address the course they have chosen).

When answering this prompt, you should emphasize your education and career goals in your essay and say why the perfect place to achieve these is Georgetown. Make sure you make reference to the special Jesuit values at Georgetown and the university's other unique characteristics. If, for instance, you hope to major in politics, talk about your desire to improve the lives of other people and link this to Georgetown's principle for serving and/or helping others.

With regards to this particular prompt, another thing that is important is establishing the meaning of education for you. Define this in the early part of your essay before providing real-life examples. Getting educated can have several meanings and an open-ended question like this is an opportunity for you to describe education in a manner that reflects and draws attention to your unique life experiences.

You may want to talk about the fact that, to you, education means widening your horizons outside the classroom by visiting events in your local town, e.g., movies, art exhibitions, and so on. Your definition of education may center on being open to new perspectives and ideas by engaging with people whose viewpoints and opinions are different to your own. It may be that you see education as the process of learning other languages so that you can discover more about different beliefs and cultures. However, irrespective of the stance you take, make sure you directly address your view of education and its explicit meaning for you in the introductory section of your essay.

Try not to put your sole focus on the advantages of DC to the detriment of the unique opportunities at Georgetown. In the event you decide to talk about the National Archives and the numerous resources it offers, focus your discussion on how being a student at Georgetown will have you unprecedented access to these. Any resident or tourist can visit a museum but speaking to a museum specialist and observing some conservation activity or process is something only a Georgetown student has the chance to do!

Do not forget that being asked what education means for you is not an exclusive reference to attendance at classes. The primary difference between an average and an outstanding response means highlighting the outside-classroom opportunities afforded to Georgetown students.

School of Nursing & Health Studies Prompt

“Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, Human Science, or Nursing).”

This question isn't quite a clear-cut "Why Us?" or "Why You?" question, unlike the previous ones. Instead, it's asking "Why Health Care?" Think beyond health care being a reliable and well-paying field. Why do you want to care for people? Why the health field, specifically? Tying Georgetown's mission into this question is a great way to demonstrate your interest in the field, but also in the specific ways that this school teaches.

There is an opportunity in this prompt to elaborate on or explain why you are electing to study health sciences. Make absolutely sure you research your chosen major before starting to write your essay in order to understand what distinguishes it from others and to show your understanding to the admissions committee.

For instance, majors in policy and healthcare management are very much focused on the policy aspects of this sector, understanding how policy is made, learning who the main stakeholders are, and having a firm grasp of the industry processes involved in improving and managing healthcare. Therefore, when applying to major in healthcare, you need to draw attention to the managerial and legislative elements of this sector instead of just discussing your desire to look after the patients who may come your way. More than anything, this prompt is a chance for reflecting upon and narrowing down your academic interests.

As is the case with almost every essay aimed at a specific school, be it Georgetown, Emory supplemental essays, Johns Hopkins supplemental essays, or Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays, it is important that what you write makes you stand out from other candidates. Most likely, they will also be able to talk about having worked in laboratories and/or volunteered at a hospital. Hence, it is essential you find a focus or angle that draws attention to your special approach and perspective.

Some more ideas:

  1. If it is the case you have suffered a chronic or serious illness, it may be that you want to refer to your unique experiences in your essay as a means of illustrating why the health sector is of specific interest to you. Although writing about a serious illness can be a very personal or emotive topic to cover in an essay and extremely challenging, it is possible to focus on how this created a passion within you to help others or to carry out some research - this is one way of portraying your academic achievements in a relevant context.
  2. In the event a member of your family already works in healthcare, you may want to talk about how you first came into contact with this field through someone you love. Maybe your doctor aunt has devoted many hours to highlighting inefficiencies in how larger hospitals are currently managed. You may want to reminisce on her conversations as a way of introducing your interest in healthcare and possibly list a few projects you would like to work on in your future career to solve problems you have heard about.
  3. If it is the case you have spent many hours after school or during the summer working as a volunteer in a hospital or some other medical institution, you could recount an anecdote that describes a particular experience as a way of underlining why you are interested in the health industry. Remember that a lot of other applicants are likely to have written similar things in their resumes. Your just is to attempt to identify an angle that exemplifies your unique experience(s).

At what particular moment did it dawn on you that you wanted to start studying health? What was it you were doing when this realization struck you? Did a particular event or conversation lead to your decision? It may be that you worked as a volunteer in a caregiving center or hospital for children and time spent with a special child made you realize you derived great fulfillment from caring for others. Maybe it was while you were working on a biology-based research project that you developed a fascination for genetic illnesses and this prompted you to look for a summer holiday internship in a laboratory. Regardless of the angle you decide on, make sure you study the questions in the prompt when preparing to write and do your best to choose an anecdote that reveals your unique personality.

Walsh School of Foreign Service Prompt

“Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it.”

To prepare a strong supplemental essay in this case, you should be prepared to address an appropriately specific global issue, justifying both its importance to you, and how exposure to foreign service education like that offered at Georgetown might help better clarify or craft a solution of reformation. To write this essay, you will need to prepare in two ways. Firstly, you should be well-versed on a narrow topic of international importance. Issues like "the economy" will read as overly vague - topics like "the economy of apartment rentals in fast-growing African and Asian cities" will provide a more manageable arena for a 1-page essay to seem well-reasoned. Secondly, you must be prepared to craft a personal narrative around your chosen issue. How did you happen to become aware of the issue? Has it affected you or one of your own communities intimately? Does it concern the violation or manipulation of a value that is central to you? Are academicians, especially those at Georgetown, striving to remedy it? Not trying hard enough? Explaining your passion, i.e., why you think it is important, takes deeper insight and personalizes a rather impersonal topic.

It is expected that anyone applying to this school is conversant with international affairs. Your application essay is a great chance to show how passionate you are about issues that are currently important and that you understand them. Choosing an essay prompt for Georgetown's School of Foreign Service should be done with care and it is very important you select one that is quite unique and has a bearing on your experiences and interests. It is best not to try writing about finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict since this topic is currently a very hot one. Try and think of one that is unique to you, whether this means something you have extensively researched or something that has personal meaning for you.

The admissions committee will want to gain an understanding of why you feel strongly about the issue you have chosen and the best way to get this across is by relating personal stories and anecdotes.

A few examples of good responses:

  1. In the event you have raised money for a charitable organization that finances education for needy children, you could link your experience of this to the bigger issue of disparities in education or income. Devote a paragraph to talking about how you first became interested in this particular issue and flesh it out the topic with a more detailed analysis of it.
  2. Perhaps you have attended classes or participated in a project that gave you exposure to various global issues that now explain your interest in this topic. Even if you have no direct knowledge or experience of a particular issue, you could try finding ways of connecting it in some way to your life.
  3. If you feel passionately that more women should participate in politics, then you might want to talk about the first time you voted and draw attention to how your interest was aroused by the absence of female names on the ballot. Or it may be you want to mention how there are too few female political role models and that struck a chord with you when you were still a child.
  4. Even in the event you cannot draw on any extracurricular or scholarly experience that you can connect to current affairs, you can still personally connect yourself to this topic in other ways. For example, if you have read a book or watched a movie concerning a global issue of great significance and one that still arouses curiosity in you, this could be your connection! Just ensure the admissions committee can see why you are interested in this particular topic and that they can see your intellectual passion and curiosity.

Regardless of which college essay ideas you decide on, just remember that what you write should be thoroughly researched. While citations may not be necessary, you do need to be familiar with your chosen issue, anything that has been done to resolve or resist it, and the main players involved. This application essay is an opportunity for you to showcase your ability to think in an analytical manner and your research skills. Remember also to end your essay with a policy recommendation - it does not have to be very long but it should be appropriate, realistic, and accurate.

McDonough School of Business Prompt

“The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Please discuss your motivations for studying business at Georgetown.”

To answer this question, consider the university's ethos and curriculum. Look at their course offerings and consider those as well as whatever reasons you have for applying. Think specifically, not generally - beyond it being a well-respected university, what does Georgetown have to offer you that other well-respected universities do not?

This question is very clear and direct with the task presented to the applicant–explain their interest in pursuing business studies at Georgetown. Note that the prompt is not asking for a vague discussion about your passion for business or finances; rather, it wants you to connect your passion with the specific elements offered by the McDonough School of Business (MSB). Therefore, you must address the following question: why, out of any business school available to you, does this one appeal to or complement your interests best? To this end, carefully studying both academic and extracurricular offerings at the MSB will be crucial to writing an effective supplement essay. Lots of strong, analytical sentences that directly relate the necessity of MSB programs to pursuing an ideal field of inquiry or topic of study will create successful supplement essays. Additionally, the applicant should mention aspects about Georgetown as a whole that truly makes studying there appealing. For example, the applicant could mention how Georgetown's global perspective, inherent in its location in D.C. (a hub for international politics and finance), perfectly supports their interest in international finance or international business development, especially given the university's proximity to related organizations and institutions, such as the Treasury Department, Department of Commerce, the International Money Fund, and the World Bank. If you are interested in entrepreneurship, you could mention an interest in developing their business acumen and that Georgetown offers a variety of opportunities for students to participate in real-life financial, business, and social ventures, whether by participating in the Compass Fellowship program or by working at the Georgetown University Alumni & Student Federal Credit Union. Specifics like this are what make an essay stand out, and are recommended not only for the MSB essay, but also the supplemental essays for the School of Foreign Service (SFS), College, and School of Nursing and Health Studies (SNHS).

Summary 

Aim at impressing the reader with your writing. Learning to ace the essay prompts is vital for your successful university enrollments. It can save your application or ruin it. So, approach the 

Issue responsibly. Writing a response to an essay prompt is not a piece of cake. In reality, this text is a tricky task that the university/college admissions committee puts forward to select the most talented students. If you have any doubts while preparing for your admissions, try using the admission writer’s help.