In fact, there’s good news – and bad news. Applying to Georgetown University this year just got easier. Getting accepted just got harder.
Georgetown announced it would no longer require applicants to submit every standardized test score but rather allow them to send in one full SAT or ACT test score, or scores from as many test sittings as they would like. This is a major relief for students who may have had a subpar section score on a past SAT or ACT and worried about its impact on their admission chances. It is also less pricey: the cost to send a single test score report to a college is $15 for the SAT and $20 for the ACT.
It’s important to note that Georgetown does not accept superscores but essentially has an internal superscoring process. The admissions office will consider the highest SAT Reading and Writing score and the highest Math section score from the test or tests submitted. It will do the same for the four ACT section scores – English, Math, Reading, and Science. While Georgetown does not require the ACT Science section, it is still “strongly recommended.”
This 2026-2027 application cycle is also the first year students can apply to Georgetown through the Common App as of August 1st, which is expected to prompt a significant boost in applications. In the past, students were required to complete a separate Georgetown application for background information, test scores, recommendations, activities, and supplemental essays. The 2026-2027 Georgetown application is still an option and opened to students on June 18th, giving them access to the short answer and school-specific supplemental essay prompts six weeks before the Common App opens. Students must request the application through an email form and then receive an email with their account information. One distinct difference between the two application options is that the Common App allows a maximum of 650 words for the main essay; the Georgetown application requires a one-page, single-spaced, typed document, which allows for more leeway in the word count.
While Georgetown said it doesn’t prefer one application over another, we recommend students use the Georgetown application to show demonstrated interest right away, get a jump on the application and supplements, and secure their place in the queue for local alumni interviews.
Why these policy changes? There has been a changing of the guard in the admissions office. Admissions Dean Charles Deacon stepped away from his post on May 1st after a 54-year tenure to serve as dean emeritus and special advisor to the provost for two years. Deacon has long been known as a proponent of mandatory standardized testing, and Georgetown was among the first schools to reinstate the standardized test requirement after the COVID pandemic. His successor, Melissa Costanzi, is not exactly new to Hoya terrain. She has served in Georgetown’s undergraduate admissions office for more than 30 years.
Georgetown is just an example of colleges and universities changing policies – from testing requirements to application options – in today’s ever-evolving college admissions landscape. So it’s all the more important that students (and parents) check specific policies on each school’s admissions website every step of the way.
For an updated list of schools requiring the SAT and/or ACT, check out our College Admissions Update: The Shift Back to SAT/ACT Requirements blog post.
