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Common App Goes Live, Adds Clemson, Auburn, and 40 Others

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Clemson University

The Common Application, colloquially referred to as the Common App, goes live for the 2020-2021 application cycle on August 1, 2020, and in the process is adding forty-two new members, including big name southern public universities such as Clemson, Auburn, and Virginia Tech.

The Amazon of the American undergraduate admissions process, the Common App is user-friendly and entirely uninspiring. Yet, it keeps growing because colleges yearn for more applications year after year in a manner similar to a drug addict yearning for a greater hit high after high. The Common App’s ease of use is very good at delivering the application numbers colleges crave, which in turn helps colleges appear far more selective than they otherwise would appear if students had to actually take the time and energy to apply to each college one at a time using college-specific applications.

In any case, there are still some big-name holdouts that refuse to go Common App. These include University of Maryland (one of only two remaining colleges that accept first-year applications exclusively through to the failed and ever-ghoulish Coalition for College app), MIT, Georgetown, the UCs, and University of Texas among others.

Here are the colleges that couldn’t hold out any longer and were seduced by the Common App for the application season ahead:

Mid-Atlantic

Bryn Athyn College (PA)

Carlow University (PA)

Holy Family University (PA)

Medaille College (NY)

Mid-West

Baker College (MI)

Buena Vista University (IA)

Bethel University (MN)

Cornerstone University (MI)

Lake Superior State University (MI)

Indiana Wesleyan University (IN)

Loyola University Chicago (IL)

Northern Illinois University (IL)

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI)

Wilmington College (OH)

South

Arkansas Baptist College (AR)

Auburn University (AL)

Augusta University (GA)

Clemson University (SC)

Coastal Carolina University (SC)

Lees-McRae College (NC)

Milligan University (TN)

Norfolk State University (VA)

Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL)

Richard Bland College of William and Mary (VA)

Spalding University (KY)

Texas Tech University (TX)

Trevecca Nazarene University (TN)

Tuskegee University (AL)

University of Georgia (GA)

University of Louisville (KY)

University of Texas at Dallas (TX)

University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)

University of South Florida (FL)

Virginia Tech (VA)

Winthrop University (SC)

West

Fresno Pacific University (CA)

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (CO)

International

New College of the Humanities, London

With plague sure to shutter a growing number of colleges over the coming years, expect more – particularly small – colleges to join the Common App sooner rather than later.

August 12, 2020 Update: University of Maryland College Park, the land grant university of the northern-most southern state, Maryland, also joined the Common App for the 2020-2021 admissions cycle just twelve days into the official application season.

Georgetown’s 2020 School-Specific Acceptance Rates

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Georgetown University has released its school-by-school acceptance rates for students applying during the 2019-2020 admissions cycle for the D.C. university’s Class of 2024.

Georgetown continues to be one of the most proactively transparent universities when it comes to sharing both its overall acceptance rate and its acceptance rates broken down at the school level (Business, Foreign Service, Arts and Sciences, and Nursing). We wish more selective universities would follow Georgetown’s lead. Georgetown, of course, always has a lot of impressive statistics to share.

“This year, the Admissions Committee reviewed more than 21,300 applications and offered admission to 15% of these candidates. Because of the precautions against COVID-19 that we have been asked by the University to take, for the first time we are not sending decision letters in the mail. Admissions decisions were posted in the applicant portal on March 20. Students can view and print their decision letters from their applicant portals.” shared Charles A. Deacon, Georgetown University’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions.

Deacon went on to add that financial aid decisions will be sent by the Office of Student Financial Services early this week and that candidates accepting a place on Georgetown’s Waiting List will be informed of their status by May 15. “As the Waiting List is not ranked in advance, it is not possible to offer an estimate of chances of admission.”


If you got into Georgetown this year, or any year for that matter, congratulations! Have you bought some Georgetown gear yet?

Of note, in just the past two years, the number of students who have applied to Georgetown College has dropped by 1,126 students, which represents the bulk in Georgetown’s overall drop in applicants over the past two years (which totals 1,579). While total applications are not where they were at their peak, Georgetown is still accepting students at roughly the same rate as it has in recent years. When reviewing the table below, do note that rows with an asterisk (*) are filled with statistics reflecting numbers applicable to admitted students only.

 Admitted Students 2019-2020 Cycle (Class of 2024)
Georgetown
College		 Walsh School
of Foreign Service		 McDonough School of Business School of
Nursing & Health
Studies		 Total
Applied
 12,683 4,027 3,219 1,389 21,318
Admitted
 1,950 590 543 226 3,309
Admission Rate 15% 15% 17% 16% 15%
*Mean Class Rank Percentile 94.5% 95.4% 93.3% 95.0% 94.5%
*Middle 50%
SAT EBRW
 710-770 730-770 690-760 700-770 710-770
*Middle 50%
SAT Math
 710-790 730-790 730-800 710-790 720-790
*Middle 50%
ACT Composite		 32-35 33-35 32-35 32-35 32-35

Recent Acceptance Rates of Candidates From the Waiting List

2019  2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Georgetown College 6% None 14% 7% 14% 12% 10% 7%
McDonough School of Business 3% None 3% 1% 4% None 6% 10%
School of Nursing & Health Studies 11% 14% 9% 28% 4% 22% None 10%
Walsh School of Foreign Service 3% None None None 17% 13% 8% 6%

Again, thanks for the transparency Georgetown. Hopefully the Class of 2024 will be able to start on campus safe and well in a few months.

The neighborhood around the university is usually bustling, but currently is boarding up because of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Georgetown’s School-By-School Acceptance Rates for Class of 2022

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Georgetown University has announced its school-by-school acceptance rates for students applying during the 2017-2108 admissions cycle, and while another cycle is just about at a close, Georgetown hasn’t made much news with this year’s admissions stats, as they are quite consistent with last year’s numbers. See below for the full stats.

According to The Hoya, the Georgetown student newspaper, last year (the 2016-2017 admissions cycle) Georgetown reported acceptance rates by school that were pretty similar to this year’s acceptance rates.

Bottom line: Georgetown is tough to get into statistically. But is this really news? No, but we hope you appreciate the up to date intel.

Also fun to note, Georgetown shared that nobody should be making predictions about whether or not they will be taken off this year’s Georgetown University “Waiting List.” That’s because recent years’ waitlist stats indicate that anything is possible.

 Admitted Students 2018
Georgetown
College		 Walsh School
of Foreign Service		 McDonough School of Business School of
Nursing & Health
Studies		 Total
Applied
 13,809 4,166 3,422 1,500 22,897
Admitted
 1,932 630 540 225 3,327
Admission Rate 14% 15% 16% 15% 15%
Mean Class Rank Percentile 94.4% 96.0% 94.4% 94.3% 94.8%
Middle 50%
SAT Verbal
 700-760 720-770 690-750 690-750 700-760
Middle 50%
SAT Math
 710-790 710-790 720-790 700-780 710-790
Middle 50%
ACT Composite		 31-35 32-35 32-35 31-34 32-35
Recent Acceptance Rates of Candidates From the Waiting List
2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Georgetown College 4% 7% 14% 11% 10% 7%
McDonough School of Business 3% 1% 4% None 6% 10%
School of Nursing & Health Studies 9% 28% 4% 22% None 10%
Walsh School of Foreign Service None None 17% 13% 8% 6%

Thanks for the transparency Georgetown!