1. Home
  2. What to Support
  3. University-Wide Priorities
  4. Access & Affordability

Access & Affordability

Our Defining Commitment

Georgetown’s commitment to educational opportunity runs deep, building on a centuries-old Jesuit tradition of providing access to higher education. That means not only access to enrollment—but access to the complete college experience.

Our whole-institution approach to inclusive excellence is bringing talented students to campus. It’s unlocking their full potential. It’s enriching the Georgetown experience for all students. And it’s prompting the intercollegiate conversation and collaboration needed to make systemic change.

Ensuring talented students can choose Georgetown

Georgetown has made an enduring commitment to increase the number of philanthropically funded undergraduate scholarships—awards that help clear students’ path to a Georgetown education and shrink their loan burdens.

Scholarships allow us to compete for the best students. And when Georgetown enrolls bright, ambitious, and passionate students with wide-ranging experiences and backgrounds, our entire community benefits. Put simply, giving to scholarship is the single-most direct way you can help secure the future of our university.

Omoyele Okunola

“I initially chose Georgetown for its prestige, but the school also awarded me a full scholarship—removing a significant financial barrier to higher education.”

— Omoyele Okunola (C’20), vice president of Georgetown University Women of Color, winner of Georgetown’s McTighe Prize, and participant in the Baker Scholars Program and Georgetown Scholars Program

  • What’s the scope of Georgetown’s scholarship commitment?

    table that describes: $76,280 as the total undergrad cost of attendance for 2019-20. 55% of Georgetown undergrads received some form of financial aid (scholarship, grant, loan, work study) in 2018-19 academic year. Fact 3: $42,863 is the average undergrad scholarship grant award for 2018-19

    Graphic that reads: $121.2 million spent on undergrad scholarship grants in 2018-19. Figure 1 reads: 92% of scholarship grants are need-based; the remainder are athletics scholarships. Figure 2 reads: Percentage of scholarship spending funded by philanthropy: 34.8% Average COFHE school, 30.9% mediain COFHE school, 19.4% Georgetown. COFHE is the COnsortium on Financing Higher Education. It's an unincorporated, voluntary, institutionally supported organization of 35 highly selective, private librarl arts colleges and universities, all committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need of admitted students.

  • How do scholarships fit in with the rest of a student’s financial aid package?

    Georgetown scholarships are awarded to meet 100 percent of a student’s need, after taking into account the expected family contribution, federal student loans, student earnings from part-time employment, and other outside aid.

    table describing in figure 1: Total cost of attendance: Direct expenses: full time tuition, average class fees, activity/NSO fees, average room & board + Indirect expenses: average books, personal expenses, travel, loan fees. Figure 2: Expected Family Contribution: Calculated using FAFSA and CSS Profile. Figure 3: Demonstrated Need: Georgetown meets 100% of each students demonstrated need through a financial aid package. Every aid package is a unique mix of up to four funding sources: 1. federal grants (i.e. Pell Grants) 2. Federal Loans 3. Federal work-study 4. Scholarship grants (funded by Georgetown and our generous donors)

  • What is the Georgetown Fund?

    The Georgetown Fund is the beneficiary of unrestricted gifts through Georgetown’s Annual Giving program. Georgetown directs 100 percent of Georgetown Fund gifts to 1789 Scholarships for undergraduate students.

  • Why are 1789 Scholarships so important?

    Launched in 2009, donor-funded 1789 Scholarships both fund the outright grant component of a student’s financial aid package and reduce the loan component by as much as $3,000 per year. They are awarded to students with the greatest demonstrated need, and all students receiving a 1789 Scholarship are invited to join the Georgetown Scholars Program.

    Sixty-eight percent of admitted students offered a donor-funded 1789 Scholarship ultimately enroll at Georgetown. (The university’s overall yield is 49 percent.)

    Moreover, students who receive donor-funded 1789 Scholarships graduate with approximately $7,000 in student loan debt, compared to a typical amount of $19,000 for students who accept loans in their Georgetown aid package.

  • How much money does it take to establish a named scholarship?

    Current-use gifts

    • A $100,000 current-use gift paid across four years will create a named domestic undergraduate scholarship (awarded to one student across four years).
    • A $300,000 current-use gift paid across four years will create a named undergraduate scholarship for a student who resides, or has previously resided, outside of the United States (awarded to one student across four years).

    Endowed gifts

    • $150,000 will create a named and endowed scholarship fund that supports domestic undergraduate students year after year.
    • $1.5 million will create a named and endowed scholarship fund that supports undergraduate students who reside, or have previously resided, outside of the United States (preference may be given to a designated region).
    • $5 million will create a named and endowed undergraduate student cohort, with one student in each of the four undergraduate classes. That means every future Georgetown graduating class would have a Hoya Family Scholar.

    “Fully funding” one student

    • $1.5 million will create an endowed scholarship fund with income that covers the equivalent of the full cost of attending Georgetown.
    • $300,000 ($75,000/year) across four years will create a current-use scholarship that covers the equivalent of the full cost of attending Georgetown.

  • How does Georgetown support undergraduate International Students with financial need?

    Georgetown deeply values the contributions of its international students. Georgetown currently provides funding for scholarships for students who reside in or have previously resided outside of the U.S.—most of which is made possible through philanthropy—but is unable to meet the full need of all international students.

    We seek to significantly increase philanthropic support for students who reside, or have previously resided, outside of the U.S. through scholarships. Achieving this will require the partnership of alumni and friends from around the world who are committed to making our campus community even more globally representative.

Learn About Giving to Scholarship

See why increasing the number of philanthropically funded undergraduate scholarships is a top priority—and learn how you can set in motion the exponential impact of a Georgetown education.

View Prospectus
: https://giving.georgetown.edu/what-to-support/university-wide-priorities/access-affordability/#

Supporting students to and through their Georgetown experience

The work of creating an inclusive institution goes beyond ensuring financial accessibility: we must also provide equitable opportunity to all students once they arrive at Georgetown.

Across the past 50 years, Georgetown has developed a range of campus resources and targeted programs to ensure that every student can flourish.

Center for Multicultural Equity & Access

Through intentional programming, services, and opportunities, the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access (CMEA) enhances the education of students who have historically experienced barriers to access and success in higher education.

Learn More

Undocumented Student Resources

Georgetown is committed to supporting undocumented students and the unique challenges they may face, and has convened a working group of representatives from a variety of offices across campus.

Learn More

LGBTQ Resource Center

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Resource Center—the first such Center of its kind at a Catholic/Jesuit institution in the country—provides education, programming, support services, and voice to Georgetown students, faculty, staff, and alumni of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Learn More

Georgetown University’s Veterans Office

Georgetown University’s Veterans Office serves military-connected students as they apply to, attend, and advance beyond Georgetown, connecting military students with the resources they need to successfully transition from military service to classroom to career.

Learn More

Community Scholars Program

For nearly 60 years, Georgetown University’s Community Scholars Program has been a pioneer in supporting the academic success of first-generation college students from under-resourced high schools. The program’s hallmark is a rigorous five-week summer pre-orientation on Georgetown’s campus before students’ first year.

Learn More

Georgetown Scholars Program

The Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), founded in 2005, provides community support services that foster first-generation and low-income students’ engagement, leadership, and academic and personal growth.

Learn More

Regents STEM Scholars Program

The Regents STEM Scholars Program, launched in 2014, addresses the critical shortage of first-generation students who successfully complete degrees in STEM fields.

Learn More

Prisons and Justice Initiative

The Prisons and Justice Initiative (PJI) convenes scholars, practitioners, and students to examine mass incarceration from multiple perspectives. PJI also has become a national leader in higher education for incarcerated people, professional training for returning citizens, support for families of the incarcerated, and exonerations after wrongful convictions.

Learn More

We also seek to ensure that every Hoya can access the experiential opportunities and educational innovations that make a Georgetown education so special. Historically, unpaid internships, travel, fieldwork, and other transformational learning opportunities have been an “extra” that not all students are able to pursue. Initiatives like The Baker Trust and Penner Family Experiences Fund build these into the educational journey, enhancing the learning experience—equitably.

“Georgetown established the playbook for supporting undergraduates from under-resourced high schools.”

— Harvard Magazine, November 2017
screenshot of feed website

Have you subscribed to THE FEED yet?

Don’t miss this free, award-winning round-up of the latest and most interesting news on access and affordability in higher education, published weekly by Georgetown University’s Office of Advancement.

Sign up today
: https://giving.georgetown.edu/what-to-support/university-wide-priorities/access-affordability/#

Taking a whole institution approach

At Georgetown, we are called to care for the whole person and develop people for others—values that place equity, diversity, inclusion, and access at the center of our identity. Through the Office of Student Equity and Inclusion, Georgetown works to increase resource-sharing, programming, and awareness of available support systems at the university, amplifying their impact.

Leading the national conversation

Georgetown is deeply engaged in the national conversation about cost and equity of opportunity in 21st century higher education. We recognize the need for new models—and for decades, we’ve played a crucial role in driving that change.

1968

Georgetown formed the Community Scholars Program (CSP) to support first-generation college students as they transition to higher education.

1978

Georgetown became one of the first top-tier universities to adopt meet-full-need financial aid policies.

2004

Georgetown launched the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) to help first-generation students thrive at the university.

2016

Georgetown created the Regents STEM Scholars Program to address the critical shortage of underserved and first-generation college students who successfully complete degrees in the sciences.

2017

Georgetown became a founding member of the American Talent Initiative as part of an ongoing effort to make education accessible to students of all scocioeconomic backgrounds.

2018

Georgetown launched a weekly newsfeed in order to support the national conversation about the cost and equality of opportunity in 21st century higher education. In addition a member of the GSP staff is now dedicated to national outreach, visiting schools and conferences to share Georgetown’s best practices.

2019

Georgetown created the Office of Student Equity and Inclusion (OSEI), which supports a “whole institution” approach to equity and seeks to increase collaboration and resource sharing. Georgetown also hosted teams from 18 colleges and universities for the first annual Summer Institute on Equity in the Academic Experience.

“Our identity as one of the world’s great universities is inextricably tied to our ability to ensure that the best and brightest students—from a broad range of backgrounds—are able to become a part of our Georgetown community.”

Georgetown University President Emeritus John J. DeGioia

Supporting inclusive excellence at Georgetown

Members of the university’s philanthropic community are crucial partners as we seek to ensure that talented students can both afford Georgetown and fully engage in their education once they’re here. Their generosity is strengthening Georgetown in incalculable ways, giving every student a more expansive learning experience—and giving the world its strongest citizens and leaders.

On behalf of the future Georgetown graduates whose educational opportunity depends on your support—and on behalf of the communities they’ll enrich for a lifetime—we thank you for your consideration.

To learn more or contribute to these priorities, please contact us at scholarshipgiving@georgetown.edu.