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How religious is Georgetown? I mean is there a prevalent religious atmosphere? When I went on the tour the guy kept talking about religion and how the school's open to all religions and he even supplied a breakdown of the student body's religious affiliations (leaving out nondenominational). I'm not religious at all and honestly the whole emphasis the tour seemed to put on it kind of turned me off. Is the school really as religious at they made it seem? Or did I was that just my unfounded impression?

By Miami2000 (Miami2000) on Friday, March 05, 2004 - 07:14 am: Edit

I'd say of the 3 top Catholic schools, it's the least religious. I haven't visited it yet but my gut feeling says that it's not overwhelmingly Catholic like ND...if you're not into religion, you should be fine, in my opinion

By Blade409usa (Blade409usa) on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 09:17 pm: Edit

My interviewer said that you don't even notice that Georgetown is Catholic. The only reminder is the occassional Jesuit walking around.

By Cornellhopeful (Cornellhopeful) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 06:15 pm: Edit

i'd beg to differ. I stayed at Georgetown for the summer College, and in every classroom there's a crucifix. The church is right on campus(with a beautiful fountain in front of it), and many students have to pass it to go to the dorms. A day didn't pass without seeing a priest walking around. So, i think that Catholicism is evident on campus, though not to a high level.

By Almost_Insane (Almost_Insane) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 11:25 pm: Edit

I also agree with cornellhopeful on the religious aspect of Georgetown, for it does show its status as a catholic institution with crosses and the chapel; after all it wouldn't be a catholic/jesuit university if it didn't. However comparing it to other porminent Jesuit/catholic universities in America (Notre Dame, Boston College, etc.) it is the most liberal Catholic college of them all. One reason I think is its catholic/non-catholic population. When I was deciding on which schools to apply to I came upon a website that had a profile on all of the Catholic colleges in America and, being a Catholic, found it interesting to use for my researching. With Georgetown, it said that like 60% of its students are Catholic, leaving a little less than half being non-Catholics. With other schools like Boston College, it was almost like 70% Catholic. In addition, many non-Catholics like Bill Clinton and princes from Saudi Arabia and non-Catholic European nations (according to my interviewer, who said she went out to lunch with a prince of Saudi Arabia while at GU) attended Georgetown, showing its popularity among non-Catholics (mostly b/c of its location in D.C. and its strength in politics), therefore making Georgetown gradually over time move away from a conservative Catholic/Jesuit ideal to a more liberal one that appeals to non-Catholics as well as Catholics also.

If you are a catholic wanting to have a catholic experience in college, Georgetown would be a good choice but other schools like BC or Notre Dame would be better, for they are more conservative in terms of catholic traditions. However if you are not a catholic or are a non-practicing catholic, then georgetown would be a better choice than a school like BC or Notre Dame because you will have a higher ratio of students who do not come from families raised in a Catholic background and hence will not feel weird not participating in Catholic festivities or masses.

In conclusion, Georgetown will always be a Jesuit institution for it was founded by the Jesuits adhering to their philosophy on spreading the Catholic faith through education, however it has uniquely over time become more tolerable than other Catholic schools in issues like non-catholic students that it has become very liberal in the 21st centery. Do not have an issue like religion turn Georgetown off from your college list for you will be surprised at its liberal beliefs.

ps - sorry i wrote too much

By U2rules (U2rules) on Saturday, March 13, 2004 - 02:27 pm: Edit

60% catholic population??
hmm..does being catholic give you an edge in admissions..something like aa on a lower scale?
Would be like the only catholic from your conutry help getting into georgetown?
Thanks

By Almost_Insane (Almost_Insane) on Saturday, March 13, 2004 - 03:53 pm: Edit

To U2rules
From my interpretation of a school like Georgetown, they get ALOT of alumni donars, and since more than 1/2 are Catholic they get plenty from their catholic alumnis. Also Georgetown most likely gets support and help from the Catholic church and maybe even the archdioses of DC, like with running church services or jesuit priests. Therefore GU has an obligation to have a good chunk of their students being Catholic, or else they will get less support. Therefore It all depends on the type of students that apply to Georgetown. If this year, lets say, like 80% of the applicants were catholic, then the 20% (if they also meet GU's standards) would have a better edge. COntrary, if 80% who applied were non-catholics and the 20% were Catholic, then suddenly being Catholic helps you. It all really just depends on the number of Catholic/non-catholic applicants that year. They just need to find a way to get about 60% of their students being Catholic.

I don't know if being the only catholic in your country who applied to GU helps. It may if you apply from a country like China or Saudi Arabia where there are not many Catholics, that way they can be like "yeah we had the first Catholic Saudi Arabian attend Georgetown." It's like how the schools that had the first African-American becoming a doctor or the first international student from Asia boasts about it in their diversity section (I forgot which schools were they but i think its one of the ivys) that had the first However if you are from a typically predominantly Catholic nation like Spain, Italy, or Mexico then probably not.

BTW, U2 does RULE!

By Antimatter04 (Antimatter04) on Sunday, March 14, 2004 - 02:28 pm: Edit

This message is to U2rules.

Hi, I don't understand how you can consider getting an edge in admission for being Catholic to a Catholic school is like affermative action. If it is founded and supported by the Catholic Church then it makes sense they would admit Catholics.

By Scma (Scma) on Sunday, March 14, 2004 - 02:35 pm: Edit

This is the anti discrimination statement directly from the GU Admissions page...
"Georgetown University admits qualified students regardless of age, sex, race, handicap, color, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, handicap, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other school administered programs."
I think this would indicate that religion does not come in to play in the admission process.

By U2rules (U2rules) on Sunday, March 14, 2004 - 04:15 pm: Edit

Almost insane
Im from india.I really dont think there are too many other catholic people applying from here.
u2 does indeed rule
Thanks

Anti matter- i guess your correct. i hope your correct!im not comparing the intentions behind aa and admitting someone on the basis of their religion. im comparing the advantage.i was wondering whether georgetown considered religion as far as admissions were concerned.
Thanks

Scman- i was afraid of that. i guess you confirmed my doubts.
Thanks

By Antimatter04 (Antimatter04) on Monday, March 15, 2004 - 10:54 am: Edit

U2 You're from India? Cool! Did you also apply to Notre Dame? GO IRISH!!!

By Solenis (Solenis) on Monday, March 15, 2004 - 08:31 pm: Edit

My impression after visiting Georgetown twice was that religion is seen as important for its social, political and historical influence, and is studied accordingly. If I remember what the tour guide said, the university itself was founded under the principle that students should be able to attend a college that does not discriminate toward or against a specific religion.

And I've always gotten the impression that Jesuits are pretty laid back anyway. Georgetown is supposedly the only university in the country with a full time Muslim cleric on staff. I think (and hope) that it's not a big issue there.

If it helps, I got in, and I'm not Catholic. Good luck to you all.