Merit Scholarships
All first-year admitted students are automatically considered for merit scholarships. The Scholarship Committee will begin the merit review process in February and students receiving a merit scholarship will be notified via email. Students admitted prior to March 1 and receiving a merit scholarship will be notified no later than March 1. Students admitted after March 1 will be notified within three business days after their admission notification if you have received a merit scholarship.
We encourage all eligible students to apply for the need-based Open Doors Scholarship or grants, information about both is located on the Need-Based Funding tab. Those with a merit scholarship of $20,000/year or higher are not eligible for need-based grants, but there is no such limit for the Open Doors Scholarship. If you plan to apply for need-based grants, please do so prior to submitting a reconsideration request.
Early Decision
If you are admitted through our binding Early Decision program, merit scholarship review and awarding typically takes place in early August. No reconsideration request is needed. Last year, approximately half of the students admitted through Early Decision received a merit scholarship.
Maintaining Your Merit Scholarship
Merit-based scholarships are disbursed in equal amounts in the fall and spring semesters and cannot be applied to courses taken during the summer sessions. Scholarships are automatically renewed every year provided that students maintain good academic standing and enroll in consecutive fall and spring semesters throughout their course of study with no leaves of absence or suspensions. Maintaining good academic standing means adhering to the Law School Academic Integrity Code and the University Code of Conduct.
Scholarships are automatically revoked for those who withdraw, take a leave of absence, or transfer between the full and part-time divisions. If you take a leave of absence, are suspended, or choose to withdraw prior to the end of a given semester, the scholarship funds awarded to you for that semester will be retroactively withdrawn from your student account, and you will be responsible for any balance created by such revocation. Additional terms and conditions about merit scholarships, as well as our tuition refund policy, can be found in the GW Law Academic Bulletin (Withdrawals & Refunds section). Students receiving merit scholarships of $20,000 per year or greater are not eligible for need-based grants. If you are or will be receiving benefits via the GW Tuition Remission Benefit Plan, you are not eligible for any merit scholarships or need-based grants.
Scholarship Reconsideration Requests
GW’s initial scholarship award is intended to be your final offer, but we occasionally make adjustments depending upon the amount of funding available. Whether or not we are able to increase your award will depend on the nature of your award, the availability of funding, and the volume of reconsideration requests received. GW does not offer full-tuition scholarships except to those admitted through our binding Presidential Merit Scholarship Program. We expect the reconsideration process to be availed only by self-selected students for whom GW Law is truly a top-choice law school. To that end, if you decide to accept an increased award offer, a binding commitment will be required.
An updated undergraduate transcript showing your Fall 2024 grades must also be submitted directly to LSAC. Reconsideration requests are best viewed as an opportunity to express why GW Law is the best fit for you. The Scholarship Reconsideration Form provides a space to offer your thoughts (750 character limit). The Scholarship Reconsideration Request Form will be posted here on March 14, 2025. Students may only submit a request once.
Due to the volume of requests and limited funding, reconsideration requests will likely be considered after April 15 when more funding could become available. Please note that if you wish to reserve your seat in our incoming class as well as your initial scholarship award, you must either submit your deposit or binding commitment form by April 15. Unfortunately, no deposit extensions will be granted.