High LSAT & T14 ($60k added debt) vs. T3 school in town...?

[Bobnoxious]

I'm 46 years old. I'm in Memphis.

I can get into Memphis and not add a lot of debt over the 3 years; maybe an extra $25k over my undergrad loans. I can do this with minimal, if any, LSAT prep.

I can bust my ass for 5 months and hypothetically/maybe score a 165-170 (maybe even a little higher), get some decent scholarship and with living expenses maybe be out an extra $60k over my undergrad loans.

When I graduate I'll be 51 years old. At this age does rank even matter considering how firms will likely ding me for being an old fart?

[Micdiddy]

Do you have any ties at all to any firms? If not, then you have to try and go big. Put the work in, score high on the LSAT and get into the best school possible. What's the worst that happens if you bust-ass for a good LSAT score? You get a full ride to some school better than Memphis, and you can always choose that over t10 at sticker and have no debt anyway and be better off than just settling for Memphis.

[bk1]

You do not need to repost the same question over and over. 1 thread will suffice.