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GU Community Mourns Pope Francis, Remembers Life, Legacy, Teachings Ajani Stella

Senior News Editor

In the wake of Pope Francis’ death April 21, the Georgetown University community has continued to mourn his life and celebrate his legacy. Francis’ 12 years as leader of the Catholic Church left a legacy of his care for immigrants, refugees and underserved communities. Since his death, Georgetown students and faculty have praised Francis’ lifelong commitment to service, humanity and interfaith dialogue, noting his influence on the university’s mission as the first Jesuit pope. Kim Daniels — director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, which leads programming on Catholic social teachings and interreligious dialogue, and an adviser to the Vatican’s communications team — said Francis inspired Georgetown community members to embrace service to others. “From his election twelve years ago when he first humbly asked for the people’s blessing, to his last Easter message of joy and hope, Pope Francis

has lifted up a vision of our Church renewed in our mission of mercy, humble yet bold, rooted in tradition yet forward-looking and above all keeping our doors open to all, especially the poor and vulnerable,” Daniels wrote to The Hoya. “I’m so sad for his passing and so grateful for his life and leadership.” Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J., director of Campus Ministry, met Francis in a private audience in summer 2023 while at a Georgetown conference in Rome. Schenden said Francis’ kindness and sincerity were omnipresent in his life and pontificate. “Shaking his hand and the way he gazed into my eyes and the look on his face — I just simply said, ‘Thank you for everything,’” Schenden told The Hoya. “That gaze and that look in that smile on his face — and you’ve seen it in so many photos — that was real. And he’s no longer with us.” In the evening following Francis’ death, Campus Ministry hosted a rosary for the pope and the university See POPE, A7

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

Georgetown University typically admits children of graduates at a rate three times higher than that of applicants with no parental connections to the university, according to an internal university presentation given in March and released publicly April 24.

Legacy Admission Rate Triple Non-Legacy Evie Steele and Nora Toscano

Contributing Editor and Executive Editor

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

The Georgetown University community commemorated the life and legacy of Pope Francis following his April 21 death.

Children of Georgetown University graduates were nearly three times more likely to be admitted to the university’s entering class than applicants without parental connections to Georgetown, according to an internal presentation given in March by a senior university official and released publicly April 24. Interim Provost Soyica Diggs Colbert (COL ’01) also told the school’s faculty senate March 20 that in a typical year, about

one-third of all legacy applicants admitted are accepted after a second review of their application and a “tip” due to their legacy status. In her presentation, Diggs Colbert described legacy admissions as a key attribute of Georgetown undergraduate admissions. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hoya’s request for comment. In her presentation, Diggs Colbert appeared to deny that financial considerations play a role in the university’s decision to maintain legacy admissions and rather attributed it to “historical perspective, culture,

and cohesion,” according to a summary of her presentation in the meeting minutes. University admissions officials have repeatedly said legacy admissions helps the university solicit alumni donations. “There is no university call to dismiss it,” the minutes read, referring to legacy admissions. Diggs Colbert said Georgetown typically accepts roughly 30% of legacy applicants and that 25% of applicants admitted to the entering class are children of Georgetown graduates. This rate would be nearly triple this year’s admission

rate for non-legacy students — an overall admissions rate of 12% this year and a rate of about 25% for legacies imply that approximately 9.4% of non-legacies gained admission to Georgetown. Diggs Colbert said that of this 25%, approximately one-quarter, 6% of the total admitted class, were “admitted with a second review based on legacy status,” which she termed a “tip.” The university received about 26,800 applications for the Class of 2029 and admitted about 3,200 See LEGACY, A7

Expect Application Increase Two GU Students Win Prestigious When GU Joins Common App Truman Scholarship for Service Evie Steele

Contributing Editor

For current high school sophomores — potential members of Georgetown University’s Class of 2031 — becoming a Hoya may be more difficult than ever. These students will become the first with the option to apply to Georgetown using the Common Application, an online college application platform which over a million students use to apply to U.S. colleges. College admissions professionals and data from Georgetown predict joining the Common App could significantly impact university admissions, including an influx of applications and increased accessibility for lower-income and minority students. Georgetown is one of only a few top-ranked colleges that do not currently use the Common App. Over 1,000 U.S. colleges accept the Common App for undergraduate admissions — including each of Georgetown’s 10 self-selected “peer schools,” schools to which the university compares itself in student and faculty data. Increasing Application Numbers Georgetown officials see their decision to join the Common App, which The Hoya first reported March 24 and the university confirmed March 27, as a way of increasing its applicant numbers.

Interim Provost Soyica Diggs Colbert’s (COL ’01) presentation to the university’s faculty senate March 20 described joining the Common App as a way to ensure enrollment remains high to protect Georgetown against the “demographic cliff” — a predicted decline in college enrollment as the U.S. birth rate has decreased. On an individual level, joining the Common App allows students considering applying to Georgetown to integrate their college search and application with their applications to other schools, according to Susan Chiarolanzio, the director of college counseling at the Flint Hill School, a private K-12 school in Oakton, Va. “As we are talking with students about the process, we will always mention that there are some schools that use a different platform, and Georgetown is one of the ones that we’ll say, ‘Hey, if you’re planning to apply, there’s a different process,’” Chiarolanzio told The Hoya. “When we’re speaking casually about applying, we just refer to the Common App. It’s just such a ubiquitous term and system that it makes it easier for kids to just do everything, but also just to research colleges.” Chiarolanzio said she expects more students, both at her Northern Virginia school and in general, to apply to Georgetown after it begins using the Common App.

Doreen Helmke, a New Jersey-based college adviser and educational consultant, said she expects to see a drastic increase in applications to Georgetown. “My goodness, they are not going to even be able to conceive how many applications they’re going to get next year,” Helmke told The Hoya. “It’s so easy to hit that ‘apply.’ With kids applying to more and more schools every year, I think they’re going to see an astronomical amount.” Helmke said she saw Georgetown’s separate application sometimes created barriers for students with whom she worked. “It definitely, I think, impeded some kids from actually applying,” Helmke said. “There were definitely some barriers, because it was more challenging, more difficult.” Joining the Common App has resulted in major increases in admissions at other large universities that have recently joined the Common Application, such as the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) and Rutgers University. After joining the Common App, UT-Austin received just over 10% more applications for entry — the university received 59,767 in Fall 2022, its last year before joining the Common App, before receiving 66,109 applications

Bridget Galibois Hoya Staff Writer

Two Georgetown University juniors won the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, an award for undergraduate students’ commitment to public service, the Truman Scholarship Foundation announced April 18. Kanmani Duraikkannan (CAS ’26) and Izzy Wagener (SFS ’26) were two of 54 scholarship winners selected from a pool of 743 applicants nationwide in recognition of their devotion to public service. The Truman Scholarship awards winners with up to $30,000 in grant money for a graduate degree program in public service as well as leadership development programming and internship support. Duraikkannan said becoming a Truman Scholar showed her that her dreams of working toward gender equity are attainable. “Being a Truman, when I first heard about it, it was validation that everything I said I’m doing, everything I said I’m passionate about, all these important people agree,” Duraikkannan told The Hoya. “They see that I have this credibility, and when I describe it, everything I say I want to accomplish I can actually do. It’s a really, really great feeling.” Wagener, who will pursue graduate studies in investigative journalism, said she is honored for the recognition of her public service. “I’m definitely very thankful for this opportunity,” Wagener told GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY The Hoya. “I hope that I can have a Kanmani Duraikkannan (CAS ’26) and Izzy Wagener (SFS ’26) See TRUMAN, A7 received the Harry S. Truman Scholarship for public service.

See COMMON APP, A7

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