Washu vs ND vs W&L Forum

[tjsmms061906]

The three schools I am considering are as follows:

WashU (COA: 10K/year)
ND (COA: 25K/year)
W&L (COA: 5k/year)

As an Army veteran, I will be using my GI Bill for about 20K per year with housing allowances of $1100 (approx) per month I am in school. My COA is calculated with the Yellow Ribbon program included (WashU just announced they will cover full remaining balance on tuition/fees plus $3k scholly, W&L covers full remaining balance on tuition/fees plus $25k scholly, and ND only covers rought $9k in YR with $12k scholly).

I am not big law or bust because I just found out I will have my first child in Sept/Oct and don't want a life with ridiculous hours (keep in mind I just left 8 yrs active duty Army). I would be happy in a medium sized firm in any part of the nation because I do not have any ties to a region. I will not retake the LSAT and with my low GPA it wouldn't make all that much difference. Notre Dame would be awesome (for personal reasons not really justifiable) but I am extremely debt averse (currently debt free).

Which school seems like it is most likely a good fit for non-traditional students with families while also offering a reasonable chance at mid-size firms? Any suggestions are welcome besides "retake".

Edit: I have a significant amount saved up (~$40k) which I don't want to have to dip into but would as a last resort.

[Otunga]

WUSTL looks like the choice here. It has relatively low living expenses for someone starting a family, and it gives you an okay chance at a legal job. Since you appear to not want biglaw, there really isn't a big need to retake. Additionally, as someone who's researched the school, it has a mild amount of national pull/prestige, which helps with the "no ties" thing.

[BigZuck]

You probably won't get "midlaw." It doesn't really exist, especially not for recent grads. It's most likely going to be either 160K big law or 40-60k small law/government work.

Free UVA would be a hell of a deal, retake the LSAT and ED UVA.