Score Targets, the DC School List v1 & the Merit-Scholarship Math
School List v1
First checkpoint on the actual application strategy, using real (if imperfect — ABA 509 PDFs are notoriously hard to scrape, so treat exact figures as approximate and re-verify against each school's current 509 report before applying) numbers gathered from each school's own disclosures and recent reporting.
The Numbers
| School | LSAT 25th / Median / 75th (approx.) | Merit-aid posture | Part-time tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown Evening (T14) | ~163 / 168 / 171 | Need-based-aid-heavy; real merit scholarships are the exception, not the rule, even for strong applicants. | Highest of the four |
| GW Law (blended, part-time typically skews below full-time) | ~162 / 168 / 170 (blended; part-time division likely lower) | More merit-friendly than Georgetown; wide LSAT spread reflects real access at the part-time level. | High |
| American University WCL | ~median 162 (approx.) | Strongly merit-friendly: over 60% of incoming students receive merit awards, ranging up to full tuition. | ~$50k/yr |
| George Mason Scalia Law | ~median 169 (blended) | Merit scholarships automatically considered for all JD applicants; notably low in-state tuition. | ~$21k/yr in-state, ~$33k/yr out-of-state (part-time) |
The Rule of Thumb
Merit money tracks being above a school's 75th-percentile LSAT, not just above its median. A 168 clears Georgetown's median but not its 75th percentile — expect little merit money there even with a strong score. That same 168 is above Scalia's median and likely near or above AU WCL's 75th percentile, which is exactly where real scholarship money shows up. A 170+ starts to threaten even Georgetown's 75th percentile, which is the score band where its own (limited) merit money starts to appear.
Patent-Bar Eligibility (hedge: confirm before relying on this)
An MS in Computer Science almost certainly satisfies USPTO Category A (a listed technical degree) for patent bar admission, but confirm the exact requirements against the current USPTO General Requirements Bulletin before treating it as settled — degree-category rules do get updated. Patent bar registration can happen before, during, or after law school; it is independent of JD admission but is the credential that actually differentiates IP-law compensation.
School List v1
Apply to all four. Georgetown for the T14 brand and network, even with modest merit money. GW as the second DC T-30-ish option. American WCL and Scalia Law as the realistic merit-aid targets if the final score lands in the high 160s to low 170s — both have genuine IP programs and DC/Federal Circuit proximity, which matters for patent litigation and prosecution recruiting.
Sources
Saturday closes Phase 1: your first fully timed LR section under real section conditions, plus a mixed review of everything from Weeks 1-3.