SchoolScoops

Oh no, something went wrong. Please check your network connection and try again.

All posts
Admissions

Hoya or Revolutionary? What the Numbers (and a Real Student) Can Tell You About Georgetown vs George Washington

5 min read
Healy Hall on the Georgetown University campus in Washington DC

Georgetown University and George Washington University are about two miles apart in Washington, D.C., and they recruit many of the same students: future diplomats, policy people, pre-law students and anyone who wants the capital as a classroom. On paper they look like siblings. In practice they differ in admissions odds, campus feel and how close you actually live to the federal city. Here's the side-by-side. SchoolScoops has student guides at Georgetown if you want to ask the questions below in person.

By the Numbers

  • Acceptance rate: Georgetown admitted about 12% of applicants to the Class of 2029 and about 13% to the Class of 2030. GW admitted 47.1% of 27,034 applicants for fall 2025, per its Common Data Set.
  • Testing: Georgetown requires the SAT or ACT. GW is test-optional.
  • Tuition, 2026-27: Georgetown is $74,520, a 4.75% increase (Georgetown's announcement). GW is $72,000 plus $770 in fees, a 3% increase (GW Today).
  • Housing and dining: GW's base rate for first-years is $18,160. Georgetown's food and housing runs about $23,000.
  • Early options: Georgetown offers non-binding Early Action but bars EA applicants from applying Early Decision elsewhere. GW offers binding ED I (November 1) and ED II (January 5), with no Early Action. GW's ED admit rate has run far above its overall rate, 66% in fall 2024.

Admissions: Two Very Different Bets

Georgetown is a reach for almost everyone, and its EA round doesn't offer the bump that ED does at many peers. For the Class of 2029, the EA and regular admit rates were close, and applicants who aren't admitted early are deferred rather than rejected. The big change this year: Georgetown now accepts the Common App alongside its own application, starting with applicants for fall 2027, and says neither route has an advantage (details here). It still requires test scores and offers alumni interviews. GW is a realistic target for strong students, and ED is a meaningful lever there if your student is sure and the family can commit without comparing aid offers. Check the GW admissions site for current deadlines.

International Affairs: SFS vs. Elliott

This is the comparison many families care about most. Georgetown's Walsh School of Foreign Service is the brand name in the field, with a core curriculum that includes economics, history, theology and a language proficiency requirement. It's demanding and structured, and you apply to SFS directly. GW's Elliott School of International Affairs sits blocks from the State Department and the World Bank, and its students tend to stack internships during the semester because the commute is a short walk. Students at both land in government and policy jobs. The difference is feel: SFS is more academic and cohort-based, while Elliott is more hands-on and city-embedded.

Campus and Neighborhood

Georgetown has a traditional hilltop campus with Gothic buildings, a front lawn and the Georgetown neighborhood's rowhouses and waterfront at its edge. It feels like a campus first and a city second. The tradeoff is transit. There's no Metro station in Georgetown, so students rely on university shuttles, buses and walking. GW is the reverse. Its Foggy Bottom campus blends into the city, with office buildings next to residence halls and the Metro stop on campus. GW's fee includes unlimited Metrorail and Metrobus. Students who want a campus with edges tend to prefer Georgetown. Students who want to be in D.C. every day tend to prefer GW.

Housing

Both schools require first-years to live on campus. At Georgetown, upperclassmen split between university apartments and townhouses in the neighborhood. See Georgetown Residential Living. GW's halls are city buildings scattered through Foggy Bottom rather than grouped around a quad, so the residential feel is closer to apartment living downtown. Compare options on GW Campus Living.

Athletics and School Spirit

Georgetown Athletics means Big East basketball, and Hoyas games are a part of the culture even in down years. GW plays in the Atlantic 10 and changed its nickname to the Revolutionaries in 2023. GW Athletics is a smaller part of campus identity, and students there tend to talk more about internships and city life than game days.

Where They Diverge Most

  • Odds: Georgetown admits about one in eight. GW admits nearly half, and more through ED.
  • Early strategy: Georgetown's EA is non-binding with little admit-rate advantage. GW's binding ED gives a real boost.
  • Setting: Georgetown is a campus in a neighborhood. GW is a neighborhood in a city.
  • Getting around: GW has a Metro stop and includes transit in fees. Georgetown depends on shuttles and buses.
  • Identity: Georgetown's Jesuit roots show up in its core curriculum. GW is secular and more flexible.

Questions Worth Asking Current Students

  • How many hours a week do you spend off campus, and on what?
  • Did you have an internship during the semester? How did you find it, and how did you fit classes around it?
  • At Georgetown: how do the required theology and philosophy courses land for non-Catholic students?
  • At GW: does campus ever feel like it's missing a center?
  • What did you give up by choosing this school over the other one?

The Bottom Line

Apply to both if D.C. is the point, but treat them differently: Georgetown is a reach with a test requirement and a new Common App option, and GW is a strong target where ED can tilt the odds. Then visit both on the same day. They're a short ride apart, and the contrast between Georgetown's hilltop and GW's city blocks answers a lot on its own. To hear from a current student before you go, see how SchoolScoops works.

→ Ready to book? Visit SchoolScoops.com or browse all available schools.

Photo: Warren LeMay / CC0; cropped from the original.