How to Get Into the Georgetown McDonough MBA: What Actually Works

Below are the statistics of test scores.

GMAT Focus Edition: 625 average

GMAT Classic Edition: 700 average

GRE: 318 average

Your test score is a baseline credential that proves you can handle Georgetown's quantitative curriculum, but with the middle 80% GMAT range spanning from 660 to 740, the admissions committee evaluates you as a whole person. The school receives around 1,600 applications per year for a class of roughly 250 students, and test scores alone will not determine your fate. If your GMAT falls below 700, you need exceptional work experience, international background, or a compelling story. If you're above 720, you have an advantage but still need the rest of your application to be strong. The GRE is accepted equally, with about 44 percent of admitted students choosing it over the GMAT in recent years.

Georgetown McDonough is searching for candidates who combine intellectual rigor with a commitment to principled leadership and global impact. The school's Jesuit mission means admissions officers care deeply about whether you think beyond profit margins to consider how business serves society. They want to understand not just what you have accomplished but how you accomplished it, what values guided your decisions, and whether you see business as a force for good. Your essays and interview carry enormous weight because they reveal your character, your ability to reflect on your experiences, and your genuine interest in Georgetown's specific community. The admissions committee takes a holistic approach, meaning they balance academic credentials with professional trajectory, diversity of background, and demonstrated commitment to ethical leadership.

The committee looks for patterns in your application that show authentic ambition, resilience, and the potential to contribute meaningfully to the class. They ask themselves: Does this person have genuine reasons for wanting this MBA now, or do they sound like every other applicant? Have they researched Georgetown specifically, or are they applying to top programs generically? How would they enrich classroom discussion with their unique perspective? The school values global mindset and explicitly seeks candidates from diverse industries, geographies, and backgrounds. If you come from an overrepresented background (finance, consulting, tech), your application needs to be particularly strong. If you bring a unique perspective or underrepresented background, you have an advantage provided the rest of your credentials are competitive.

The typical admitted student brings five years of professional experience and has already proven competence in their field. Financial services accounts for about 17 percent of the class, consulting for roughly 11 percent, government for 10 percent, technology and new media for 8 percent, education for 7 percent, and consumer goods for 6 percent. The remaining 41 percent come from diverse industries including healthcare, nonprofits, media, real estate, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship. This means if you are not from finance or consulting, you will likely stand out as bringing fresh perspective. International students comprise 44 percent of the incoming class, representing 40 countries, which shows Georgetown's strong commitment to global diversity. The cohort includes 23 percent underrepresented minorities (growing year over year), 31 percent women, 13 percent military veterans or service members, and 21 percent first-generation college students.

Admitted students come from varied undergraduate backgrounds: about 30 percent studied business or economics, 16 percent engineering, and the remainder studied liberal arts, humanities, social sciences, and pure sciences. Your undergraduate major matters far less than whether you can demonstrate intellectual capacity and ability to master quantitative material. Students have successfully completed the program coming from philosophy, art history, psychology, and government backgrounds. What matters is that you have held progressively responsible roles, managed budgets or teams, delivered results, and can articulate what you learned from challenges. Many have led teams, managed P and L, consulted on complex problems, or built products. The diversity of the class is intentional and valued, so if your background is nontraditional, this is an asset not a liability.

Your essays are potentially the most powerful lever you have in the admissions process because they are where you get to tell your story in your own voice and reveal dimensions of yourself that numbers cannot capture. While your test score proves academic capability and your resume lists accomplishments, your essays prove who you actually are, what drives you, and how you think. For many applicants with similar GMAT scores and work experience, the essays become the decisive factor between acceptance and rejection. Georgetown explicitly asks about excellence, your contribution to the common good, and how you would enrich the community, all of which require depth and authenticity to answer well. An applicant with a 680 GMAT who writes essays demonstrating clear thinking, genuine self-awareness, and authentic engagement with Georgetown can absolutely defeat a 750-GMAT applicant whose essays feel generic or template-like.

Your essays should avoid clichés like praising Georgetown's location in Washington, D.C. without substance, and instead demonstrate that you have actually engaged with the school. Strong McDonough essays show you have spoken with students and alumni, attended events, and thought carefully about what you need from an MBA and what you will uniquely contribute. The admissions committee can spot authenticity, and they want your voice and your specific story. If you have pivoted careers, overcome adversity, or solved a meaningful problem, this is rich material to explore. Choose the essay prompt that best showcases your strengths, whether that is your achievement and how it shaped your definition of excellence, your contribution to the common good, or your unique background and perspective. Write what is true about your ambitions and yourself, not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear.

You should check out the how to write the Georgetown McDonough MBA essays article to see details on how to write the Georgetown McDonough essays.

Your resume must tell a story of progressive responsibility and tangible impact, not just job duties and titles. Instead of writing "Managed financial operations," say "Led quarterly close process for 15-person finance team, reducing month-end cycle time from 10 days to 6 days while improving accuracy by 12 percent." Georgetown sees hundreds of resumes, so yours must stand out for the substance of what you accomplished, supported by numbers and specificity. Use concrete action verbs like "launched," "negotiated," "redesigned," "accelerated," "analyzed," or "spearheaded." Avoid buzzwords like "synergy" or "thought leader." Keep your resume to one page if possible; two pages is acceptable only if your experience truly demands it. Every bullet point should be something you can discuss in depth during the interview and feel proud to defend.

Your resume should clearly demonstrate career progression and increasing responsibility, ideally including promotions, cross-functional projects, or moments where you took initiative. If you are applying to work in private equity, your resume should show evidence that you understand investing, have made capital-allocation decisions, or have operated in data-driven environments. If you aim for consulting, your resume should reveal analytical thinking, client relationships, and project leadership. Georgetown admissions officers want to see that your MBA goals are not a last-minute decision but a logical next step based on your career progression. Use quantifiable metrics wherever possible: revenue impact, team size, budget responsibility, efficiency improvements, client acquisition, or product adoption rates. These stick in the interviewer's memory far more than vague claims. Make sure your resume is easy to scan with consistent formatting, clear job titles, and dates. Remember that your interviewer will have only your resume during the blind interview, so clarity and specificity are essential.

Georgetown requires one letter of recommendation, ideally from your current direct supervisor who can speak to your professional performance and managerial potential. If your company has a strict policy against providing references or you have recently left, explain this briefly in your application and provide a letter from a senior colleague or former supervisor who has directly observed your work. Your recommender should be able to provide specific examples of your impact, how you solve problems, and how you work with others. Brief your recommender on your MBA goals and why Georgetown matters to you, and share your resume and essays if appropriate so they have context. The best recommenders are those who know you well enough to speak with authority, not those who are prestigious but know you only superficially.

The most valuable recommendations go beyond generic praise to provide insight into how your performance compares to other top performers, what constructive feedback the recommender has given you and how you responded to it, and examples of when you demonstrated leadership or integrity. A strong recommendation will explain not just what you accomplished but the character or effort behind your accomplishments, giving the admissions committee confidence that you will contribute meaningfully to the Georgetown community. Provide your recommender with talking points if needed, such as a one-page summary of your post-MBA goals, key experiences you want highlighted, and areas where you would like particular emphasis. Give them plenty of notice and time; recommenders who are rushed often write generic letters that do little to differentiate you. Choose someone who is willing to invest thought in the letter, not someone who sees it as a check-the-box task.

Georgetown interviews are resume-based, meaning your interviewer (typically a first or second-year student, sometimes an alumnus) receives only your resume beforehand and has no access to your essays or application materials. This means you are starting from a relatively clean slate in the interview and must bring your application to life through conversation. Expect the interview to last 30 to 45 minutes and be conversational in tone, covering your resume walkthrough, career goals, why you want an MBA now, why Georgetown specifically, and how you would contribute to the community. Practice telling your story in a clear, compelling way, discussing not just what you did but why you did it and what you learned. The interview is as much about evaluating your fit with Georgetown's values of principled leadership and global citizenship as it is about your credentials.

Successful McDonough interview candidates prepare thoroughly but remain genuine and flexible in conversation. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions about challenges and achievements, but avoid sounding overly rehearsed or robotic. Research Georgetown deeply so you can answer "Why McDonough?" with specificity and genuine enthusiasm. Reference particular concentrations, clubs, professors, the Global Business Experience program, or opportunities you have learned about through research and conversation with current students. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask your interviewer about their experience at Georgetown, career trajectory, or the culture of collaboration that you have heard the school emphasizes. Interview reports consistently note that McDonough interviewers are friendly, human, and genuinely interested in getting to know you as a person. Be warm, curious, and authentic. If you do not know the answer to a question, acknowledge it honestly rather than bluffing. The interview is where fit is assessed as much as competence, so let the interviewer see the real you.

Georgetown McDonough is right for you if you are energized by being in Washington, D.C., want access to government, international relations, public policy, and global business opportunities, value a collaborative and principled leadership focus, and seek a diverse cohort of around 250 students with strong international representation. The program is also excellent if you want flexibility in your schedule (McDonough offers both traditional August entry and January entry options), appreciate a rigorous curriculum that balances analytics with soft skills and ethics, and see the MBA as a career accelerator or pivot point. However, McDonough may not be the right fit if you prioritize a small, tight-knit cohort (programs like Tuck or Johnson might be better), want a location outside a major city, prioritize entrepreneurship as the central focus of the curriculum, or feel indifferent about the school's emphasis on principled leadership and global impact. The best MBA is one where you will genuinely thrive, contribute authentically, and build relationships with classmates and faculty who will shape your career for decades to come. Make sure Georgetown truly excites you beyond rankings.