I'm trying to get into GULC out of undergrad (either part or full-time) but I blew my Sept LSAT (160) and have around a 25% gpa (3.4). I want a degree that will allow me to work in DC or my home region (Kentucky). My goal is to jump up to a 170 in Dec. after weeks of intense prep. Still, if my numbers aren't great enough to get into G-town, what are the prospects of a degree from GWU? Would the degree carry any weight outside DC, or am I better off going to my state school on the cheap?

GWU is really, really expensive. If you're certain you want to work in Kentucky, strongly consider going there.

3.4/160 I don't think you have to worry about getting into GWU.

Yes I know my numbers are low, but I'm pretty confident I can make a big jump in Dec. I took the Sept exam after only 2 timed PTs, and with less than 3 weeks prep time. I clearly wasn't ready for it. Not really sure why I signed up for that round, in retrospect.

I would be careful with paying full price on loans from GWU. I'd probably lean heavily towards your in-state law school. If you can get in-state at UK that would be something worth looking carefully at.

GW offers good job prospects in DC, sometimes as good as or better than GULC because of the strong alumni base there and government connections. But it is very expensive, and I agree if you are indifferent to DC or KY then go to school at UK and save $$$ on tuition and living costs. If you want in at GW you will probably need an LSAT of 166 minimum, I would guess.

Erm... extremely doubtful. GW got killed for hiring last year.. GW is extremely regional too, almost all stay in the DC area, with some going to NYC. I doubt anyone would care if you went to GW in KY. GW is great for DC, but why pay the money when you know you want to practice in KY. Also, I'd take WM over GW, more than half the class size, more than half the cost, similar prestige.

If you read what you bolded, you can see that he specifically said that GW is good for DC.

Yes, and if you read what I bolded, he said job prospects from GW are sometimes as good as or better than GULC. Thats silly.

Don't get caught up in annual rankings so much, as you said there are many many GW grads working and hiring in DC, and many prefer to hire GW grads. Also, W&M is a very good and beautiful school but has nowhere near the connections, internships, or graduates in the DC area that GW has. "Prestige" only goes so far, in DC it's mostly about who you know and connections you can make.

This is patently absurd. No hiring partner, even a GWU grad, will hire the GWU grad over the GULC grad at the same class rank.

He said job prospects from GW are sometimes as good as or better than GULC in DC. With the qualifier "sometimes" I don't really see how you can disagree with it.

I guess so. Sometimes BU's job prospects are as good or better than Harvard's in Boston. Can't really disagree with that either, but that doesn't really help the discussion. It could just confuse someone into thinking they should take BU w/$ over Harvard.
Saying GW grad sometimes have the same career prospects as Georgetown grads makes it sound like Georgetown wouldn't be worth extra $, which most of the time it would be.
It really doesn't matter. I just think GW is overblown on these forums. Its a solid T30 school, but sometimes people talk it up like its not just a strong regional school.

I agree with most of your post. I think GW is a little better than a "strong regional school," but I do agree it is overblown on TLS.

That last statement is absolutely absurd. You'd be surprised how often this is done. Totally off the mark and uninformed to DC hiring practices.

I agree. I know a hiring partner in DC that has expressed a preference for GW grads in IP. Obviously, it's just one anecdote. BUT, it suggests that your flat out denial may be off-base.

Exactly, do you really think a hiring partner who graduated from GW is so blown away by GULC that he will take a grad from there over his own alumni connections? This isn't just DC, this is most places. That is why alumni networks help.

If you want to work in Kentucky, take a scholarship. Don't take on too much debt because the firms won't pay enough to pay off your loans. Seriously.

In DC, GW and GU are about the same weight. Everyone around the world knows George Washington University -- the big joint in DC where Condoleeza Rice graduated. You can go to Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow, London, Calcutta, New Delhi, Taiwan, Jerusalem -- they all know George Washington University. Does anyone here even know anything about GW? It has just as much international and national rep as Georgetown. Just because a little list from a magazine doesn't have both of them in the same number means nothing here. GW to GU is like Harvard to Yale -- same shit. Even American U has a huge rep.

OP if you want to practice in KY, I agree with other posters, just go to UK. If you want to come to DC, and happen to get more money from GW than you'd get from GU, choose GW. A GW degree is valuable everywhere on Earth. Same vice versa regarding GU.

Disclaimer: The above post may contain slight bias since the poster has loved GWU since she was 8 years old.

I'd say two things:

1) If you want to practice KY, no choice - you can have a great place to live for $400 a month, never mind monumentally lower tuition. You're literally talking a lifetime of debt difference, and KY salaries might make that 2 lifetime's worth. And a KY school may place better there.

But
2) It sounds like you are unsure where you want to practice. "Either DC or KY" is an odd dichotomy. Either you really want to practice in DC but are willing to do KY as a backup, or somehow you don't care either way. If you really want DC, then shooting for GW, or maybe GMU if your numbers don't bump up enough, might be worth considering. If you really don't care either way, well, that makes no sense to me. You have to have some preference. Decide what your preference is and then your answer can be better fashioned...

You got that right.

Um. wow. You lost me at "American U has a huge rep." It isn't really a bad school, but Georgetown is a whole different story. Everyone sees GW as the "oh you didn't get into Georgetown" school and American as the "oh you didn't get into Georgetown, GW, and chose to pay 40k+ for undergrad rather than go to Mason." I worked in DC for the past two years and have allegiance to none of these schools, so I think I'm a little less biased.

As an arlington resident, if found myself in a situation of getting dinged at Mason and in at American, I'd probably reject American anyway. That school is hella expensive. I'd rather move than feel forced to go there.

It actually seems as though a lot of young associates at the firm I work for in DC went to AU, and also a few of the partners. I was actually surprised by the numbers when I first got there. Caveat being, all of those were hired prior to ITE, so it will be interesting to see what the backgrounds are of the new hires that are starting this November.

Oh absolutely. From the people in the area I interact with professionally, AU seems to be the most common law school.

As a debt averse person, though, I could never attend AU knowing that there is a better school that is 50% cheaper in the same area.