Georgetown University admitted 12% of regular decision applicants into the undergraduate Class of 2026, a slight increase from last year’s acceptance rate of 11.7%. 

The university accepted 3,229 students from a pool of 26,670 applicants in the early action and regular decision cycles. Total applications this year increased by 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels, continuing last year’s trend of a rapidly growing applicant pool. Applicants received their admissions decision through an online portal March 29. 

Georgetown College saw the lowest acceptance rate, admitting 1,863 of 16,307 applicants for an acceptance rate of 11%. The McDonough School of Business admitted 541 of 4,505 applicants for an acceptance rate of 12%. The School of Nursing and Health Studies admitted 225 of 1,721 applicants for an acceptance rate of 13%. The Walsh School of Foreign Service admitted 600 of 4,137 applicants for an acceptance rate of 15%. 

Charles Deacon (CAS ’64, GRD ’69), dean of undergraduate admissions, said the COVID-19 pandemic influenced applicants’ decisions regarding their course of study. 

“Within our applicant pool, there is a notable shift toward business and undecided in the College,” Deacon wrote to The Hoya. “This is not surprising as students are likely hedging their options in this uncertain environment.”

Melissa Costanzi, senior associate director in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, said that 48% of admitted students identified as Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, while 11% of applicants are first-generation prospective college students. The university admitted 3,229 students, including international students representing 98 different countries and over 500 dual citizens.

Despite the recent upward trend in applicant numbers, Deacon said that this growth will likely subside in the near future. 

“The number of high school graduates is not increasing so either this represents a major increase in market share for Georgetown or more likely that students seeking competitive universities are filing more applications,” Deacon wrote. 

Georgetown required either SAT or ACT standardized test scores for all students applying this year with exceptions for pandemic-related circumstances, such as a last minute testing administration cancellation. 

This admissions cycle was competitive, with the average admitted student ranking in the top 6% of their high school class. In addition, the SAT Verbal middle 50% range was 750 to 770, the SAT Math middle 50% range was 770 to 790 and the ACT middle 50% range was 34 to 35. Applicants in the Class of 2025 were not required to submit standardized testing scores in an effort to increase flexibility during the pandemic. 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced March 28 that it will be reinstating its SAT and ACT requirements for students applying in 2022, after temporarily removing the requirement in July 2020. More than 1,815 colleges and universities removed their standardized test requirements for students applying to be enrolled in fall 2022. 

Deacon said that selective institutions will likely continue to require applicants to submit standardized test scores.   

Lily Marino, a current senior at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in New Jersey who was accepted to Georgetown College this week, said that she is excited to be a part of the campus community. 

“The best part about going to Georgetown is that because it’s such a well-known university, I would be able to meet all different sorts of people and really have that great opportunity,” Marino told The Hoya. 

The Georgetown Admissions Ambassador Program (GAAP), a student-run organization that aims to help prospective and admitted students, will host two GAAP weekends April 8-9 and April 22-23 to introduce prospective students to Georgetown before the May 1 commitment deadline. 

Elisabeth Mellen, a current senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, said that she was excited to be accepted to Georgetown, as she hopes to major in history or government and attend law school in the future.

“Georgetown is 100% my dream school. Because I live right outside of the area, I’ve been visiting Georgeotwn since I was little,” Mellen said in an interview with The Hoya. “First, the campus is just so beautiful but also the students that I see are honestly inspiring to me, and for my entire life I’ve dreamed about becoming one of them.”

This article was updated on 4/1 to correct the number of students who had been admitted.