. Forum

[20141023]

.

[jas1503]

MYTH 10: MOAR LAWYERS!! Cheaper prices!

[nickb285]

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[jetsfan1]

MYTH: Cooley law is a safe, reliable choice for aspiring lawyers. We will get you a job.

FACT: Yeah not so much. We do have a big library though, that's gotta count for something right?

[Chriz]

I stumbled onto the Cooley site and read these and I almost killed myself. I am working so hard to convince my friends and family that I am not a loser because I spend all day studying for the LSAT instead of working and I see that this toilet is trying to make me look like an idiot. I sincerely hope it closes down.

[jas1503]

Myth-Busting
Commentary
Don LeDuc, President and Dean | June 3, 2013

The internet abounds with misstatements about law schools and lawyer employment. The leadership of lawyer, law school, and employment organizations tied to the law has failed to provide any clarification or information countering these misstatements, allowing the all-too-frequent repetition of them to create the impression that they are true. Here, then, is a brief summary of the facts that readily refute these mythical assertions.

5. MYTH: Law school graduates are experiencing alarming default rates because of the student loan debt.
False, default rates among law school graduates are quite low. During the height of the recession, the three-year student loan default rate among Cooley graduates was 5.2% and the two-year default rate was 3.3%, well below the national three-year and two-year default rates of 13.4% and 9.1%, respectively, and far below the Department of Education's minimum 25% default rate standard. The average debt of a 2011-12 law graduate student with loans was $122,395.

Does this say that only 5% of 1000 students defaulted each year?

Surely they're not bragging about that...

I have to be reading this wrong.

[superbloom]

http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/nfl_analogy.html

My favorite Cooley article.

[phillylaw215]

http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/nfl_analogy.html

My favorite Cooley article.

I don't... I don't even know what to say to this. Thank goodness there are only 88 lawyers in the United States vying for jobs.

[Jimbo_Jones]

The law schools can teach students how to be efficient and innovative in packaging and pricing their services for the huge majority of citizens who cannot afford legal representation.

This may be the worst line of arguing I've ever heard. There is no efficiency/innovation that will solve the problem of a client not having money to pay for legal services. If the client has no money, then the person representing them will have no money. Please explain to me why someone would put themselves through four years of undergrad, the LSAT, three years of law school, the bar exam, and $200,000+ in loans to be......poor. You can be poor for free! Right now! No effort involved!

[untar614]

Where the hell are they getting their unemployment numbers from?

[KD35]

Where the hell are they getting their unemployment numbers from?

Dept. of Labor. The unemployment is skewed. Not based on any student who went to law school, but actual lawyers...if you never get a legal/lawyer position, you can't be considered an unemployed lawyer.

[SuperCerealBrah]

This is not funny. This is infuriating on every level imaginable.

[20141023]

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[Bronte]

Stop spreading internet myths, guys. You're exactly the types President LeDuc was talking about.

[20141023]

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[Stinson]

I encountered a Cooley grad only once in real life.

I was in a curio and knick knack store in Lexington, KY. A strange place, fashioned out of an old house and filled to the brim with what everyone imagines the contents of Grandma's attic to be. But for the cashier and ourselves - the three of us, looking for a gift for someone - the place was empty, and dark. Ceramic figurines peered from every corner, and doilies adorned every wooden surface. Like an indoor garage sale, they still used handwritten price tags.

My fiance's cousin - the one searching for the gift - seemed struck by the absurdity of the place. Could such a store function, let alone endure, stocked as it seemed to be with products one could not imagine wanting oneself or, as became increasingly obvious as we rummaged, even giving away? The presence of the cashier, that sad presence, obliged us to spend some time looking about, at least seeming interested before bolting out the door. As if she didn't know better, right? But still, politeness and all.

The cousin asked me something or other about law school; I was a rising 2L at the time. The cashier leapt at the unexpected chance for interaction with something other than a Hummel figurine. "I went to law school!" she volunteered. And as quickly as her face had lit, it dimmed. "You've probably never heard of it though." Dark as the store was, it grew still darker, as if we'd all witnessed a great snuffing out.

Stupidly polite, I asked, "Oh, where? I know a lot about law schools."

Still dour. "It's in Michigan. Cooley?"

What was I to say? I was silly enough to ask, after all. I beat a shameful retreat, the best I could do: "Oh, I've heard of Cooley. I don't know a lot about it but I've definitely heard the name." Out we went.

And that's the story of a employed Cooley grad.

[superbloom]

Spooky story.

[Winston1984]

Unless I'm mistaken, doctoral programs usually provide a stipend for their students right? I don't understand part of myth 4's reasoning. I know medical school cost the same, but myth 4 seems to be a blatant lie.

[Young Marino]

I encountered a Cooley grad only once in real life.

I was in a curio and knick knack store in Lexington, KY. A strange place, fashioned out of an old house and filled to the brim with what everyone imagines the contents of Grandma's attic to be. But for the cashier and ourselves - the three of us, looking for a gift for someone - the place was empty, and dark. Ceramic figurines peered from every corner, and doilies adorned every wooden surface. Like an indoor garage sale, they still used handwritten price tags.

My fiance's cousin - the one searching for the gift - seemed struck by the absurdity of the place. Could such a store function, let alone endure, stocked as it seemed to be with products one could not imagine wanting oneself or, as became increasingly obvious as we rummaged, even giving away? The presence of the cashier, that sad presence, obliged us to spend some time looking about, at least seeming interested before bolting out the door. As if she didn't know better, right? But still, politeness and all.

The cousin asked me something or other about law school; I was a rising 2L at the time. The cashier leapt at the unexpected chance for interaction with something other than a Hummel figurine. "I went to law school!" she volunteered. And as quickly as her face had lit, it dimmed. "You've probably never heard of it though." Dark as the store was, it grew still darker, as if we'd all witnessed a great snuffing out.

Stupidly polite, I asked, "Oh, where? I know a lot about law schools."

Still dour. "It's in Michigan. Cooley?"

What was I to say? I was silly enough to ask, after all. I beat a shameful retreat, the best I could do: "Oh, I've heard of Cooley. I don't know a lot about it but I've definitely heard the name." Out we went.

And that's the story of a employed Cooley grad.

Hahahahahahahhahaha

[MKC]

Unless I'm mistaken, doctoral programs usually provide a stipend for their students right? I don't understand part of myth 4's reasoning. I know medical school cost the same, but myth 4everything on Cooley's website seems to be a blatant lie.

FTFY

[Winston1984]

Unless I'm mistaken, doctoral programs usually provide a stipend for their students right? I don't understand part of myth 4's reasoning. I know medical school cost the same, but myth 4everything on Cooley's website seems to be a blatant lie.

FTFY

Thank you for the correction!

[Jimbo_Jones]

Unless I'm mistaken, doctoral programs usually provide a stipend for their students right? I don't understand part of myth 4's reasoning. I know medical school cost the same, but myth 4 seems to be a blatant lie.

Research doctorate (PhD) programs might but I don't think that's the case for professional doctorates (MD, PharmD, JD, etc.)

[jselson]

Unless I'm mistaken, doctoral programs usually provide a stipend for their students right? I don't understand part of myth 4's reasoning. I know medical school cost the same, but myth 4 seems to be a blatant lie.

Correct. Over 5 years, if you're able to teach/be a research assistant, you will earn more than Cooley costs. And you will have better job prospects, even considering how poor the market is for PhDs.

[RoaringMice]

Unless I'm mistaken, doctoral programs usually provide a stipend for their students right? I don't understand part of myth 4's reasoning. I know medical school cost the same, but myth 4 seems to be a blatant lie.

As others said, it depends on the field. And also on the program/school.

For example, a PhD student in English at a lower tier program is possibly not fully funded, if they are funded at all. However, an engineering PhD student at many programs, even the non-elites, often is fully funded. An MD student almost never is, no matter where they go. And etc. So it very much varies.

And the job market for doctorates varies depending on the field. In some fields, such as nursing, you'll probably get a job tenure track. The demand is very high, and there aren't enough qualified teachers. In others, such as many of the liberal arts, you'll be lucky to be able to adjunct.

[bandenjamin]

http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/nfl_analogy.html

My favorite Cooley article.

When was the last time Notre Dame (Joe Montana?) or USC (um.....maybe Carson Palmer) or Oregon (i'm a huge fan, trust me never) had a reputation for producing quality quarterbacks?