After reviewing its admissions processes, Georgetown will launch a three-year pilot program to allow applicants to use the Common Application and will maintain other existing admissions policies, including the mandatory submission of SAT/ACT scores, the continuation of admissions policies regarding legacy applicants, and the identification of low-income students prior to admission.
Collectively, these admissions practices are aimed at maintaining the important role of higher education in fostering social mobility, making a Georgetown education accessible to students of all backgrounds and maintaining a lifelong pipeline to learning, scholarship and service.
The Common App
Georgetown will begin accepting the Common App, in addition to its current application, in August 2026 for the class entering in fall 2027.
The Common App, used by more than a million students, allows students to streamline their application process by applying to multiple universities and colleges through one platform.
After reviewing its admissions practices, university leaders determined that adopting the Common App would make Georgetown’s admissions process more accessible to students from a wide variety of backgrounds, said Soyica Diggs Colbert (C’01), interim provost.
“The Common App will ensure Georgetown’s applicant pool contains a rich set of backgrounds and life experiences,” Colbert said.
More than 1,100 colleges and universities use the application platform, according to the Common App website, including all of Georgetown’s peers, except for MIT.
“While we will now offer the option of using the Common Application, our admissions standards will not change,” said Charles Deacon (C’64, G’69), the university’s dean of admissions. “Our rigorous admissions process will continue to be as personalized and holistic as possible to recruit, enroll and support students from all backgrounds.”
In adopting the Common App, the university will be able to reach larger percentages of low-income students and other applicants who are interested in Georgetown and might not have otherwise applied for admission, Colbert said.
SAT/ACT Submission
Georgetown will continue to require applicants to submit an ACT/SAT score. During the COVID-19 pandemic, applicants who were unable to access testing were not required to submit results, but if applicants were able to take the tests, results were required.
Going forward, the university will maintain the requirement, as new analysis from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that for selective universities, making test scores optional disproportionately harms students from poorly-resourced high schools.
Legacy Admissions Policy
After studying the admissions process, Georgetown leaders also determined the university will not be making any changes to its practices for legacy admissions at this time.
Georgetown, among other universities and colleges, has given extra care and attention when reviewing the applications of students who are relatives of faculty, staff or alumni. This legacy consideration is one of many factors in complex admissions decisions, though not determinative, to recruit, enroll and support students from all backgrounds. In analyzing the practice, Georgetown found the pool of legacy applicants represents a similarly broad array of backgrounds as the applicants in the regular admission pool. As a result, removing the consideration of applicants’ relation to the university would not have any significant impact on the demographic makeup of the student body at this time.
Use of Pell-Eligibility to Increase Socioeconomic Diversity
Georgetown has worked steadily to build a more inclusive and socioeconomically diverse student community — a crucial part of its Catholic, Jesuit mission.
In 2024, the university reported the highest percentage of Pell-eligible students in more than a decade, at 15% of the undergraduate Class of 2028. The Department of Education awards Pell Grants to undergraduate students who demonstrate significant financial need.
To increase this percentage, Georgetown began considering students’ Pell eligibility as part of its comprehensive admissions process in 2024 and will continue to do so.
In addition to Pell Grants, Georgetown offers a financial aid package that includes grants, scholarships, school employment and educational loans. In the past academic year, Georgetown budgeted $265 million in financial aid to support undergraduate and graduate students. Georgetown has increased its financial aid budget for the upcoming academic year to $285 million, the largest-ever commitment to financial aid in the university’s history. This commitment will continue to help expand the enrollment of Pell-eligible students.
Supporting Students at Georgetown
Georgetown also continues to provide programs and resources to attract, enroll and support students of all backgrounds throughout their undergraduate education. The Georgetown Scholars Program, for example, supports first-generation and low-income college students in their time on the Hilltop.
One of Georgetown’s longest-running programs for first-generation college students is the Georgetown Community Scholars Program (CSP), established in 1968. CSP offers a five-week summer pre-orientation to ease the transition into college. The program also supports students throughout their Georgetown careers with mentoring, personal counseling, academic advising, workshops and study groups.
