Children of Georgetown University graduates were nearly three times more likely to be admitted to the university’s entering class than applicants without parental connections to Georgetown, according to an internal presentation given in March by a senior university official, released publicly April 24.
Interim Provost Soyica Diggs Colbert (COL ’01) also told the school’s faculty senate March 20 that in a typical year, about one-third of all legacy applicants admitted are accepted after a second review of their application and a “tip” due to their legacy status. In her presentation, Diggs Colbert described legacy admissions as a key attribute of Georgetown undergraduate admissions.
The minutes and presentation did not clarify whether Diggs Colbert defined these legacies as only children of graduates or also included applicants with other familial connections to graduates or faculty and staff. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hoya’s request for comment or clarification.
In her presentation, Diggs Colbert appeared to deny that financial considerations play a role in the university’s decision to maintain legacy admissions and rather attributed it to “historical perspective, culture, and cohesion,” according to a summary of her presentation in the meeting minutes. University admissions officials have repeatedly said legacy admissions helps the university solicit alumni donations.
“There is no university call to dismiss it,” the minutes read, referring to legacy admissions.
Diggs Colbert said Georgetown typically accepts roughly 30% of legacy applicants and that 25% of applicants admitted to the entering class are children of Georgetown graduates.
This rate would be nearly triple this year’s admission rate for non-legacy students — an overall admissions rate of 12% this year and a rate of about 25% for legacies imply that approximately 9.4% of non-legacies gained admission to Georgetown.
Diggs Colbert said that of this 25%, approximately one-quarter, 6% of the total admitted class, were “admitted with a second review based on legacy status,” which she termed a “tip.”
The university received about 26,800 applications for the Class of 2029 and admitted about 3,200 students. These statistics imply that approximately 190 members of the entering class received the legacy “tip” to get into Georgetown.
Diggs Colbert said the GPAs of legacy applicants receiving special consideration were only slightly lower than other applicants.
The data’s release comes amid student advocacy for ending legacy admissions. The student group Hoyas Against Legacy Admissions has pushed local lawmakers to ban legacy admissions, with members of the D.C. Council considering proposing a bill to deny funding to most Washington, D.C. colleges practicing legacy admissions.
Diggs Colbert said applicants with parental or sibling ties to Georgetown are slightly less racially diverse than non-legacy applicants, with 22.2% of non-legacy applicants to the Class of 2027 defined as “underrepresented minority” students as opposed to 21.3% of legacy applicants. Comparatively, there was a 4.5% gap in underrepresented applicants between non-legacy and legacy applicants to the Class of 2022.
It was not clear whether the university also included siblings of current students or Georgetown graduates in their other statistics or how Diggs Colbert defined the term “underrepresented minority.” The College Board, an association of schools and colleges, defines it as including Black, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander students.
GUSA President Ethan Henshaw (CAS ’26) said the legacy admissions statistics show inequitable admissions practices.
“This bombshell reporting shows clearly that the administration does not care about enrolling students from all backgrounds and communities,” Henshaw wrote to The Hoya.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
