The Case for Scholarships

for generations to come | The Campaign for Georgetown

Why Scholarships Matter Enrolling the most highly qualified young people—the core of the intellectually stimulating,

dynamic campus community that defines Georgetown—has made it one of the most sought-

after schools in the country and, indeed, the world.

As Jesuit schools have done from their earliest days, Georgetown offers admission to the

most talented students, even those unable to pay in full or at all. This 450-year-old tradition

of merit-based admission inspires Georgetown’s ongoing commitment to need-blind

admissions and meet-full-need financial aid. This commitment is important to Georgetown

for three critical reasons:

Attracting Talented Students: The educational experience of the whole Georgetown community relies on enrolling the brightest and most talented students. To enroll them, we must provide scholarship for those students who require it.

Living Our Values: Our Catholic and Jesuit values compel us to provide access to higher education for all who merit it—prioritizing students’ accomplishments and promise over their abilities to pay.

Staying Competitive: Our peer institutions and competitors are providing generous scholarships, and to continue competing with them, we must do the same.

More than half of all Georgetown undergraduates receive some form of financial assistance,

and the economic challenges of the past few years have only intensified the financial needs of

many of these students.

For these reasons, the highest priority in For Generations to Come: The Campaign for

Georgetown, is to secure $500 million for financial aid to keep Georgetown accessible and

affordable for all students who merit admission.

“A strong financial aid program is essential for Georgetown to attract highly qualified students and ensure that family income is not a barrier for entry and success. I can’t think of a more important investment Georgetown can make than in the futures of our bright and talented students.”

Charles Deacon, Dean, Undergraduate Admissions

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Attracting Talented StudentsEach year, Georgetown University admits a full class of talented students, on the basis of their

academic merit alone. The university never considers what applicants can afford to pay when

deciding whether or not to admit them.

This ensures that each admitted class is, of all the students who applied, a cohort of the very

best and most qualified applicants—each bringing something to contribute to the Georgetown

community and each poised to enhance the experience of all students on the Hilltop.

This practice—known widely as “need-blind admissions”—has brought Georgetown some of

the brightest and most talented students from across the United States and abroad, and it has

contributed to its reputation as a place for passionate young people who want to change the world.

As the second oldest of eleven children, Eileen

Marino (N’15) grew up knowing that her family’s

resources had to go a long way. When she

received her scholarship to Georgetown—her

first-choice school—she was thrilled. After

internships at the World Bank and the Catholic

Health Association, Eileen declared her major

in health care management, with a minor in

economics.

Eileen wants all donors to Georgetown

to understand how grateful she and other

scholarship recipients are to them. “They are

taking kids of out of nothing and giving them a

future. It’s an incredible gift.”

“I know I want to do something important to help people, and that’s going to be easier with a great education.” —Eileen Marino (N’15)

“I have the best job in the world. I’m teaching very bright students, not just bright but they’re quality.”

Otto H. Hentz, S.J., associate professor, Department of Theology

Living Our ValuesGeorgetown’s policy of admitting the very best students—even if they are unable to pay in

full or at all—is a tradition that has characterized Jesuit schools from their earliest days. This

tradition stems from the Jesuits’ deep moral commitment to social justice, which compels us to

recognize that the opportunity to attend a university should be awarded based on an applicant’s

merits—and not his or her ability to pay.

This commitment inspires Georgetown’s conviction that no qualified and talented student

should be denied the opportunity for a Georgetown education due to financial reasons. As a

Catholic and Jesuit institution, we answer the call to keep the doors of higher education open to

all those whose accomplishments merit admission to the university.

Georgetown’s scholarship and meet-full-need financial aid programs are the university’s way

of living out these long-standing and deeply rooted values in the modern context of higher

education. Not only does providing support for students bring us the most talented students

and help our institution stay competitive, it is the right thing to do. Georgetown is one of only

a handful of universities in the nation that admit students on a need-blind basis and provide

scholarships to every student with financial need.

“Scholarships are integral part of our identity as both a Jesuit and Catholic institution and a competitive university. Putting cura personalis in action and ensuring the best students—regardless of their ability to pay—are able to attend, we keep the Georgetown experience within financial reach for many qualified applicants and give a wide range of students the possi-bility for what we believe will be an opportunity of a lifetime.”

Chester Gillis, Dean, Georgetown College

Before coming to Georgetown, Meyalit Ortiz

(C’15) won a scholarship to the local Cristo Rey

High School and began to set her sights set on

the Hilltop. “I applied for early action and when

I was awarded a 1789 Scholarship, I put all other

options aside,” she says.

Majoring in government with a minor in

sociology, Meyalit hopes to go to law school and

perhaps become an immigration lawyer. She

will be the first in her family to graduate from a

four-year college. She volunteers as a tutor in a

program that helps northeast D.C. day laborers

learn English. “Because so many people have

helped me, I like helping others,” she says.

“It’s amazing to experience Georgetown’s Jesuit values in such a profound and personal way. I want to do well to pay them back and someday pay it forward for another student like me.” —Meyalit Ortiz (C’15)

Before she ever set foot on Georgetown’s campus,

Khadijah Brydson (C’14) had founded a nonprofit

to help children resist gangs, won President

Obama’s Volunteer Service Award and served as

class valedictorian.

She had her pick of top universities, but she

chose Georgetown because of its emphasis on

community service and public policy and because

of the generous scholarship she received.

“My scholarship means more than financial aid to me. It is the foundation for my journey to change the world.” —Khadijah Brydson (C’14)

What is Meet-Full-Need Financial Aid?For all Georgetown students, the difference between "expected family contribution" and "full cost of attendance" equals their financial aid package—a combination of scholarships, workstudy and federal student loans. Non-meet-full-need schools only meet a fraction of expected family contributions—rendering many students unable to attend for financial reasons.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

YALE UNIVERSITY

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

PENN

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

BROWN

DUKE

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

DARTMOUTH

Our Competition for TalentTop-Tier Institutions Who Meet-Full-Need

Staying Competitive Out of nearly twenty thousand applicants each year, Georgetown admits only a small

fraction annually, often close to just 15 percent. Nearly all have scored in the top five percent

nationally on standardized tests, and many are elite athletes, budding entrepreneurs and

valedictorians.

It is no surprise that many of these elite students consider universities other than Georgetown

when deciding where to enroll for college. And while many factors play a role in this

decision, one of the top reasons admitted students choose to go elsewhere is that they receive

a better financial aid offer at another university.

Georgetown recognizes that its excellence among national universities today is due, in

large part, to the caliber of the students who have attended to date. To continue attracting

and enrolling these top-tier students, the university must provide scholarships that are

competitive with those offered by peer institutions.

For these reasons, Georgetown launched the 1789 Scholarship Imperative in 2009 and made

scholarship support the highest priority in its current campaign, For Generations to Come.

The imperative seeks to sustain our commitment to meeting the full financial need of every

admitted student by increasing the percentage of scholarships funded by philanthropy.

Additionally, every student receiving a scholarship funded through the 1789 Scholarship

Imperative receives a reduction in their loan burden—this increases the competitiveness of

the financial aid packages Georgetown is able to offer.

“Why is it important to raise money for scholarships? It is key to our competitive status because it allows us to compete for the very best students—no one wants Duke or Notre Dame to take a student who wanted to go to Georgetown but couldn’t because of lack of scholarship funds.”

William J. Doyle (C’72, Parent’06)

More than Money: A Network of Scholarship ResourcesGeorgetown Scholarship Program (GSP)

The Georgetown Scholarship Program (GSP) is Georgetown’s response to the critical problem

of college perseverance—ensuring that scholarship students continue to be successful after

matriculation. Every 1789 scholarship recipient is invited to join GSP.

Students who are the first in their families to attend college or who are from under-resourced

backgrounds, often lack the mentor, peer and family support networks enjoyed by many of their

classmates. Nationally, these students graduate at far lower rates than their peers—with only 11

percent of low-income first-generation students successfully obtaining a college degree within

six years, according to a report by the Pell Institute.

GSP creates an on-campus community and support network for more than 640 scholarship

students at Georgetown, 70 percent of whom are first-generation college students. The program

brings scholarship students together for community events and academic and professional

workshops, including seminars on resume writing and networking. GSP also connects its

students with alumni mentors, who play a crucial role in the success of the program, providing

professional advice and guiding students through the college process.

This community-support program has helped GSP students achieve considerable success both

at Georgetown and after graduation. Participants in the program graduate at a rate of 97%, far

above the national average, and alumni of the program have won prestigious fellowships and

gone on to careers in business, technology and academia.

“My life and everything I have achieved in my career is simply unimag-inable without Georgetown at its beginning. The only way I can thank those who made that possible for me is by paying it forward for someone else—and it brings me great joy to do so.”

Ted Leonsis (C’77, Parent’14,’15)

Attracting Students through 1789 ScholarshipsCompetitive 1789 scholarships funded by donors reduce student loan burden and increase admitted student yield

46%39%

61%

All Admitted Students

Regular Scholarship Recipients

1789 Scholarship Recipients

“The single most impactful way someone can make a difference at Georgetown is to make the opportunity of the experience available to a qualified student who would otherwise not have that chance. Not only does it change the university, it changes the person, and places the impossible within reach. That is why recipients of scholarships are more likely, by a wide margin, to give back to the university—it is something you never forget, always appreciate and forever aspire to return.”

L.T. Tosi (C’90, MBA’94, L’94)

The 1789 Scholarship Imperative

The 1789 Scholarship Imperative is Georgetown’s commitment to raise $400 million to

support undergraduate scholarships for Georgetown students. The funds raised through

the imperative will support the university’s commitment to continue providing financial aid

to meet the full need of every admitted undergraduate. The funds also go toward making

Georgetown’s scholarship packages more competitive by reducing the portion of 1789

Scholarship recipients’ financial aid packages that would normally be covered by loans.

With Gratitude“Our tradition of excellence is made possible by the enduring commitment that we have to

the most talented young women and men from around our world who wish to realize the

promise of a Georgetown education.” —John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University

Increasing philanthropic support for scholarship is the highest priority of the For

Generations to Come campaign, and we cannot achieve our goal without your help.

Your generosity will ensure that Georgetown is forever home to exceptional women and

men—students with varying financial means but whose common ambition is to improve our

world in transformative ways.

On behalf of all Georgetown’s exceptional students we gratefully invite you to support

scholarships at Georgetown.

“Every time I walk through those gates I remember the first time I ever walked through them. I was in complete awe and thanked God for giving me the opportunity to come here. Georgetown gave me much more than a scholarship; it gave me the opportunity to live a completely different life. Not a day passes that I don’t think about how much I owe the donors who did not forget about me.”

Micheal Merino (C’15)

for generations to comeThe Campaign for Georgetown