Is Georgetown Worth It? The ROI Data on Georgetown University (2026)

Georgetown University sits on a hill above the Potomac in Washington DC, two miles from the White House. Its location is not incidental to the financial case for attending. Georgetown graduates earn $103,494 ten years after entering college - one of the highest figures in our dataset outside of the most selective STEM-focused schools.

The tuition sticker is $68,017. Average net price is $40,815. Median debt at graduation is $15,500, and the payback period is 4.4 years.

Here is the full data.

Georgetown by the Numbers

Two numbers stand out. The $103,494 10-year earnings figure places Georgetown among the top private universities in the country, behind only MIT, Stanford, Penn, and a handful of others. The 0.191 debt-to-earnings ratio is lower than Princeton, Duke, and most Ivy peers - graduates carry manageable debt against high income.

The Cost Reality

Net price at Georgetown varies substantially by family income:

Georgetown does not guarantee to meet full need without loans the way Princeton or Harvard do, which is why the low-income numbers are modestly higher than those peers. But for middle-income families (the $75K to $110K band), Georgetown's $26,459 net price is competitive with Duke and below Northwestern and most other top privates.

At the top bracket, full pay runs over $57,000 per year - roughly $229,000 across four years. For families who can afford sticker, Georgetown's value proposition rests entirely on the earnings outcome, not the price.

What Georgetown Graduates Earn

The earnings figure breaks down across four primary pipelines:

Government and policy. Federal agencies, congressional offices, think tanks, and international organizations recruit aggressively from Georgetown. Starting salaries in federal roles run lower than private sector ($55,000 to $75,000), but career trajectories lead to senior positions that push compensation well above $150,000 by mid-career.

Consulting. McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, and the Big Four all run on-campus recruiting pipelines. Georgetown sends a disproportionate share of graduates into consulting compared to most peers. Starting salaries: $90,000 to $110,000 plus signing bonus.

Finance. The McDonough School of Business places into investment banking, private equity, and asset management. Not at Wharton density, but with reach into NYC and DC-based firms. Starting total comp: $100,000 to $150,000 for banking analysts.

Law and medicine. Georgetown has one of the highest law school matriculation rates in the country and a strong pre-med pipeline through the Georgetown University Medical Center. These paths require graduate school but produce high lifetime earnings.

The School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the signature undergraduate program - the oldest international affairs school in the United States, and a direct pipeline into State Department, CIA, World Bank, and UN careers.

The Debt Picture

Median federal debt of $15,500 is low for an elite private university. Monthly payment on a 10-year plan at 6.5% runs about $164 - roughly 1.9% of gross monthly income at the $103,494 10-year earnings figure.

The 3-year repayment rate is 92.4%, meaning nearly every graduate is paying down principal within three years of leaving. This is higher than Northwestern, Duke, and most Ivies. It reflects both the strong earnings outcome and Georgetown's need-based aid model that caps borrowing for lower-income students.

About 30% of Georgetown graduates carry federal debt at graduation, compared to 40-45% at the national average for private nonprofits.

Academic Quality

6-year completion rate: 94.8%. First-year retention: 96%. Student-to-faculty ratio: 11 to 1.

Distinctive programs: - School of Foreign Service (SFS) - the flagship undergraduate program, global reputation in international affairs - McDonough School of Business - strong finance and consulting placement, smaller than Wharton or Stern - Government - the largest major at Georgetown, feeding directly into DC careers - Pre-medical sciences - high med-school acceptance rates through Georgetown's medical campus - Economics - quant-heavy, placement into banking and policy research

Georgetown's Jesuit identity shapes the undergraduate experience - required theology and philosophy coursework, emphasis on ethics and service, and a generally engaged student culture around politics and global affairs. Whether that fits is the non-financial question prospective students should answer honestly.

Campus is compact, 104 acres in the Georgetown neighborhood of DC. Undergraduate enrollment sits at 7,569 - smaller than comparable private flagships like Duke (6,700) or Northwestern (8,800). The city itself is the extended campus: internships in federal agencies, Capitol Hill offices, and consulting firms are woven into the undergraduate experience.

Who Should Apply

Georgetown is a strong ROI bet for:

- Students targeting government, policy, international affairs, or law. No other US university matches Georgetown's density in these fields. - Consulting and finance candidates who want a strong private-school brand without Ivy-level selectivity. 12.9% acceptance rate is selective but meaningfully more accessible than Harvard or Yale. - Families earning under $110,000. The net price picture for this income range is competitive with most peers, and the earnings outcome offsets any modest cost premium. - Students who want an urban, politically engaged campus culture. DC is an intensely present part of Georgetown life.

Georgetown is a weaker fit for:

- Pure STEM students. Engineering is not offered at the undergraduate level, and the science programs, while solid, do not reach MIT/Caltech/Georgia Tech tiers. - Students looking for maximum financial aid at upper-middle-income brackets. Schools that meet full need without loans (Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford) can produce lower net prices for families earning $150,000 to $250,000. - Students who want a traditional residential-campus feel isolated from a major city. Georgetown is a city school.

Compared to Peers

Duke ($102,340 at 10 years, 3.3-year payback). Comparable earnings, faster payback driven by lower debt, stronger finance and consulting placement. Duke wins on pure ROI math. Georgetown wins on government/policy and DC access.

Notre Dame ($99,980 at 10 years, 3.8-year payback). Similar earnings, much lower net price ($26,780), strong alumni network. Notre Dame wins on cost efficiency. Georgetown wins on urban location and international affairs.

Northwestern ($91,500 at 10 years, 4.7-year payback). Lower earnings, comparable net price, stronger in journalism, engineering, and theatre. Georgetown wins on government pipeline; Northwestern wins on program breadth.

GWU ($78,000 at 10 years, 6.8-year payback). Similar DC location, weaker earnings, higher net price in most brackets. Georgetown outperforms GWU on nearly every financial measure.

The Verdict

Georgetown delivers one of the strongest ROI profiles among US private universities. The combination of $103,494 10-year earnings, $15,500 median debt, and a 4.4-year payback period is rare at this scale. The DC location is both the economic engine behind the earnings figure and the cultural frame for the undergraduate experience - if you are drawn to that, Georgetown is nearly without substitute.

The honest tradeoff: at full pay, Georgetown costs roughly $229,000 over four years, and its financial aid is less generous than Princeton, Harvard, or Yale for upper-middle-income families. For students who get into both Georgetown and a meet-full-need peer, the math often favors the peer. For students who are admitted to Georgetown and not to those more selective schools, Georgetown is one of the best ROI bets available.

Data sources: College Scorecard, IPEDS, BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, as of 2024.