The best way to answer an essay question about why you want to go to a particular college is to apply to the right colleges in the first place.
Students suffering from “name-brand-itis” might apply to both Georgetown and Brown just because they’re prestigious. But most students wouldn’t be a good fit at both those schools simultaneously.
Georgetown is a great place for students who are already envisioning what they want to do with their education after they graduate from college. That’s why Georgetown has such strong majors in business, government, international politics, political economy, foreign service, and even nursing. The “About” section of their website comes right out and says in the first sentence that a Georgetown education “prepares the next generation of global citizens to lead and make a difference in the world.”
A student who’s applying to Georgetown for the right reasons won’t struggle with their essay questions.
Applicants to Georgetown College
Please relate your interest in studying at Georgetown University to your goals. How do
these thoughts relate to your chosen course of study? (If you are applying to major in the FLL or in a Science, please specifically address those interests.)Applicants to the School of Nursing and Health Studies
Describe how your experiences or ideas shaped your decision to pursue a health profession and how these experiences or ideas may aid your future contribution to the field.Applicants to the School of Foreign Service
Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it.Applicants to the McDonough School of Business
Briefly describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying business.
Now, contrast Georgetown with Brown.
Brown is all about academic freedom. If you love both physics and music, you’ll be able to create a major that combines both. You can take courses on a wide variety of subjects that have nothing to do with each other if you want to. And you can take pretty much every class on a pass/fail option so even a math major who wants to take a philosophy course won’t have to worry about taking a hit to the GPA. The “Welcome to Brown” section of their website touts their offering of “…degrees in more than 70 concentrations, ranging from Egyptology to cognitive neuroscience.” And they emphasize that you’ll need to be the architect of your own education. You’ll work closely with academic advisors, but nobody will tell you what to take or when to take it at Brown.
Nobody who would really fit at Brown would ask a college counselor, “What should I say?” when faced with these essay questions.
1. Brown students choose a degree and concentration (major) by the end of their 2nd (sophomore) year. We are not asking you to make a final decision now, but take a look at Brown degrees and fields of concentration shown in the Guide for Applying to Brown, and tell us which two areas of study seem most attractive to you currently. (We know that with about a hundred choices it may be difficult to select just two, but give it a try.)
2. Why are you drawn to the area(s) of study you indicated? (50 words or fewer)
3. A distinctive feature of the Brown Curriculum is the opportunity to be the “architect of your education.” Why does this academic environment appeal to you? (100 words or fewer)
I’m not suggesting that everybody who goes to Georgetown has their life mapped out or that students at Brown aren’t career-oriented. But those two schools exist to serve different types of students. If you’re applying to either just because they’re famous, that’s not a good reason. And your application will show it.
No matter where you’re applying to college, make sure you’ve picked that school for the right reasons. Whatever your goals are (even if what you really want to do is figure out what you like, what you’re good at, and what you want to do after college), there are colleges out there that are made for you. The key is to find them.
Applying just because of the name isn’t a good strategy for getting in. And it’s a terrible strategy for finding the right college for you.