Top Law Schools

"Non traditional". Sounds so much better than "old broad", doesn't it?

Okay, here's the dilemma: I'm accepted at four of the seven schools I've applied to so far.
The lowest ranked, Stetson, is the only school local to me; I live within 20 miles.
If I choose Stetson, I don't have to uproot my husband and elementary-school-aged son.
They've offered me a 50% scholarship, which brings them down in price to match the other schools: UF, FSU, and Wake Forest.
The prevailing attitude toward Stetson's 100th place ranking is: it's a mystery why they don't rank higher, given their program. But they still teeter on the tier 1/tier 2 edge.
Wake Forest has also offered me a scholarship, which in effect prices me as an in-state student.

Sitting recently with a family acquaintance who has been prosecutor, judge and now is a defense attorney, he advised that, "Before you go to school, it's critical which school you go to. Once you're out, it doesn't really matter." I don't have plans to seek employment outside the south.

Trying to balance all this is giving me a two-month headache. Ideas appreciated!

If you don't mind living in the TBA for the rest of your days, Stetson isn't a bad choice.

I'm not sure that's still entirely accurate any more. They are placing interns far and wide, and the family friend I mentioned was in Dallas and spoke highly of Stetson grads he had worked with, all outside Florida. But yes, that's historically been the prevailing wisdom.

Tier 1 is 1-50. Tier 2 is 51-100.

Stetson is a Tier 3.

Go to UF or FSU with in-state tuition if you want to practice in Florida.

Aiiigh, typo. Yes, tier 3. UF and FSU both teeter at the 50-mark, so basically anything close to home is not tier 1. So far, both via correspondence, visiting Gainesville, and meeting the UF folks at the law school forum, I'm wholly unimpressed with UF. And if I have to move to go to either FSU or UF, why not move to Winston Salem and go to Wake, which is tier 1? The money is about the same.

I'm just not sure all the family and household churn will be worth it.