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I have recently been accepted into Willamette (no scholarship provided) and Gonzaga (with a scholarship).
I currently live in Salem and do not mind it by any means, and have heard that Spokane is no better.
My plan is to pursue a JD/MBA joint degree program and then hopefully practice IP law or business/contractual law.

I have been online, looked at the stats (faculty ratio, employment rates, attrition rates, etc...) and both are with the same territory of one another in most categories.

I am just curious which people think is the better choice? I plan to stay in the Northwest and really don't want to fight uphill battle for my entire career to land a good job. I realize that quite a bit of that is on how I do in school, but which school I attend will also play into my employment prospects.

I look forward to hearing what people have to say. All opinions and insights are appreciated, thank you!

Won't matter

Although I know very little about either, I would opine that if you feel like it's a toss-up, you should go to the school that is a better "fit" or "feel" for you. Just visit them both and see what you think. My understanding is that they'll both get you into the northwest market (which is, it appears, where you want to be anyways).

It's a tough call, but I think that employment prospects might be better for Willamette grads in Oregon as opposed to Gonzaga grads in Washington.

I am only basing this on my friends' experiences that have graduated from both schools and the Willamette grads have spoken very highly of their career services department and their assistance with the placement in jobs after LS. My friends that graduated from Gonzaga have been very critical of the career services department and their inability to help navigate them through job prospects.

I'm from the Pac NW and have heard anecdotal information that would favor Willamette. I didn't personally look at either one, so take it with a grain of salt. I've known several Willamette grads that have pretty decent jobs in the Seattle area. Every Gonzaga grad I know either couldn't find work at all, or ended up in places like rural Idaho.

You Gotta Have Faith wrote:Although I know very little about either, I would opine that if you feel like it's a toss-up, you should go to the school that is a better "fit" or "feel" for you. Just visit them both and see what you think. My understanding is that they'll both get you into the northwest market (which is, it appears, where you want to be anyways).

This is good advice. If it were me, I'd choose Willamette. There are still quite a few practicing Oregon attorneys who view L&C, U of Oregon and Willamette as being identical in terms of prestige.

If you haven't heard it here before, make sure you think hard about your debt versus expected income graduating from either school. Waiting a cycle and applying early, with a better LSAT score, will do wonders. That being said, best of luck to you! The Pacific Northwest is a great place to live.