Putoots,
It's helpful to hear your thoughts about American's reputation on the West Coast. As an East Coaster, I've always known the school's name and have always thought of it as a pretty strong school for those interested in going into government work. Georgetown obviously has a certain cache, but I think most people on the East Coast have at least heard of American (and may or may not know a little something about it).
As for my scholarship offer, I got 18 credit hours and a $9,000 assistantship, renewable for a second year. Even though American may not be very well known on the West Coast, compared to the debt I'd have to take on to attend Georgetown (even with a scholarship offer from them), American's sounding pretty good...