<p>Is it better to graduate at the top of your law school class at a lower ranked school, or in the middle to the bottom at a higher ranked law school? Lets say Stetson vs. U of FL</p>
<p>It really depends on the schools. </p>
<p>In your scenario, I hear Stetson is well-respected regionally, so probably Stetson. </p>
<p>If it was Cooley vs. Harvard, definitely Harvard.</p>
<p>The U of Florida is one of the top 50 law schools in the US; Stetson is ranked in tier 3 by US News. There's no comparison---choose UF.</p>
<p>With all due respect to Jonri --</p>
<p>I believe there are in fact some locally-respected tier three schools where the top student may in fact do better than many of the students at a lower-ranked top tier school. </p>
<p>This doesn't mean that the OP should necessarily take Stetson over Florida. The truth is, there is no guarantee that you'll end up at the top at Stetson, and the average Florida grad will probably have far better opportunities than the average Stetson grad (not to mention a stronger faculty and fellow student body). Therefore, I would generally recommend that a student take a local top tier over a local 3rd tier pretty much every time, unless they get a full ride and aren't concerned with finding work. (Even if your numbers are exceptional for the 3rd tier school, there's no guarantee you'll be the top student, or even in the top 5% - 10%. Many students at such programs are still competitive, and all will be shooting for the top.) </p>
<p>I was simply answering the question as a theoretical hypothetical, though I should've added the above caveat. Presumably, being at the very top of a locally-respected third tier will at least guarantee a couple decent offers, while being closer to the bottom at most non-top 14's can often make finding work at least somewhat of a challenge.</p>
<p>There is also NO guarantee that you'll really do better at a slightly lower-ranked school. The people here on merit scholarship don't perform any better than those who got off the waitlist. Now, the pedantic types on this board are going to jump down my throat: "someone who gets into Harvard will obviously do really well at Western New England" - which may be true for extreme situations, but, for the most part, don't count on performing relatively better because the school is ranked lower.</p>
<p>Yup, that's what I was trying to say. Granted, the difference between most top-tiers and most 3rd tiers may be more than slight, but there's still no guarantees you'll end up in the position required to justify any placement differential.</p>