Georgetown asks every first-year applicant for four essays: two short answers of up to 250 words, a personal essay of up to 650 words, and a 500-word essay for the specific school you're applying to. That's roughly 1,650 words in total. Starting with the 2026–27 cycle you can apply through either the Georgetown Application or the Common App; Georgetown says neither gives you an advantage and keeps the essays as similar as possible on both.
Prompts and word limits from Georgetown's official application requirements (checked October 2026). Read the exact wording there before you write.
Short essay 1: the activity you're most involved in (250 words)
Georgetown asks you to explain why the school or summer activity you've been most involved in matters to you. The word to answer is significance. Your activities list already shows the title and the hours; this essay is where you show what the involvement changed, for you or for other people.
"I was debate team captain and learned leadership skills." It restates the resume line and tells the reader nothing new.
"Our debate team only recruited from two private middle schools. I rewrote the outreach in Spanish and ran workshops at the public library, and a year later half our novices came from schools we'd never visited." It's specific, it shows a decision you made, and it shows the result.
Short essay 2: someone with a different viewpoint (250 words)
This prompt asks you to describe a time you dealt with someone who saw things differently, and what you learned. With only 250 words, pick one concrete moment rather than a general belief about open-mindedness. The strongest answers say what you actually thought before, what the other person said, and what you think or do differently now.
Avoid essays where the lesson is only that "everyone is entitled to their opinion." Show something that actually shifted, even if it was small.
Essay 1: who you are, in your own words (650 words)
This is Georgetown's personal or creative essay about your background, experiences, skills and talents. Georgetown notes you can reuse your Common App personal statement here, and many applicants will. If you do, reread it as a Georgetown reader: it should still sound like you and stand on its own.
"I'm a hardworking student who loves helping others through volunteering." It's a claim with no evidence, and it could describe almost anyone.
"My ESL teacher stayed after school with me every day of my first year in the U.S. Now I tutor refugee students on Saturdays, and I build lesson plans that use their home languages instead of working around them." A specific cause, a specific action, and a clear sense of who the writer is.
Essay 2: the school you're applying to (500 words)
You write one version of this essay, for the school you're applying to: the College of Arts & Sciences, the Walsh School of Foreign Service, the McDonough School of Business, the Berkley School of Nursing, the School of Health, the McCourt School of Public Policy, or the Earth Commons Institute. Each version asks why you want to study that field at Georgetown, and several ask how it connects to your future.
This is where generic "Why Georgetown" writing does the most damage. Tie a real interest to something specific Georgetown offers, and say what you would do with it. Real examples include the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and the Georgetown Global Cities Initiative for Walsh applicants, or the Center for Social Justice and its DC Schools Project for students drawn to service. Only name a program if you can say how you'd use it.
"I want to study international affairs because I love traveling and learning about other cultures." It describes tourism, not a field of study.
"Interning at an immigration nonprofit, I watched asylum cases fail on paperwork. I want to study at Walsh to understand how those policies are written, and to work on the research that informs them." A concrete experience, a real question, and a reason it has to be this school.
Before you submit: the swap test
Read the first two sentences of each essay. If you could paste them into another school's application without changing a word, rewrite them. Georgetown is asking four different questions; each answer should only make sense for Georgetown and for you.