It... doesn't....

USNWR isn't a great metric for quality of education.

And it wasn't their PT numbers, it was their % employed at graduation. Not every school who had PT included for the first time dropped (American, GULC). Fordham also fell back into where it usually is at 30.

TITCR, the GW trolling on this thread is absurd it's employment stats were hurting before the recession so they are probably getting murdered now. GW is a fine school but it is NOT on the same level GULC, i don't think anyone all things being equal would choose GW over GULC it just wouldn't be a smart move.

Again i like GW but people need to quit pounding their chest about how it places better than georgetown or whatever other bs they are saying

Anyone who is even halfway knowledgeable on the topic will see that clearly GULC > GW > GMU/AU > CUA when it comes to DC schools

GW is not equivalent to Georgetown. Half the people there were waitlisted or rejected at Georgetown. And I'm a Colonials fan.

It's something like Georgetown > GW > American > GMU (except for GMU Econ, one of the best departments in the country). Also there's Howard, Catholic, UDC, etc.

A lot of people hear "George Washington" and think "Georgetown" and have trouble remembering the difference.

You really think AU is better than GMU? I always think of it the other way around. To me, AU is the "I have too much money and need to waste it somewhere" school while GMU actually places slightly better and is about half the cost.

Personally I strongly prefer GMU to AU and I'd say it's a better deal, especially for in-state people, for either UG or LS. Times a million if you are an econ UG major.

But AU is higher in the rankings, has a more established reputation, and probably has a better name, especially for something as prestige-whorey as IR. My perceptions, though, come from applying to UGs a decade ago. Also I think a lot of people would prefer to be halfway to downtown on the red line than 15 minutes by shuttle from the most remote stop on the orange line.

Actually, I think GMU is ranked higer, but at the lower end of the T50 the rank difference means next to nothing. I don't think one has a serious advantage over the other in terms of job placement. What I've heard is that AU is consdiered to have a very liberal faculty/student body and is really expensive, but it's in DC. GMU is significantly cheaper, econ oriented, "conservative" for law school standards and in a not so exciting location.

All thing equal, I'd take GMU. Essentially same placement for the fraction of the price, I'd go with GMU.

Sorry, I should have been clear that I was referring to the reputations of the institutions themselves, emphasizing undergrad. AU undergrad is ranked higher than GMU undergrad. I'd probably take GMU UG over AU UG (definitely for Econ, leaning opposite for IR major).

But for LS I applied to GMU and not to AU, so my preference is obvious.

Oh, I see.

This is absurd. GW is a good school, but you are getting carried away here.

The only law schools that really have worldwide cachet are HYS. Heck most people outside of the DC area that I have talked to haven't heard of GW- let alone out of the country.