Thomas Cooley School of Law

Published May 2010, last updated July 2010

Lansing, MI (main campus)

The largest law school in the United States in terms of total enrollment, the main campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School is located in Lansing, Michigan. Despite its less-than-stellar ranking by the U.S. News and World Report, Cooley – as it is referred to colloquially – is one of the most (in)famous law schools in the country, or at least on the internet.

Admissions and Tuition
With an acceptance rate of nearly 80%, admissions at Cooley are hardly selective – last year, 4,570 out of 5,775 received acceptance letters. The admissions office is very forthcoming about its use of an index to streamline their decision-making process: a candidate is scored via the formula (LSDAS GPA*15) + LSAT. The full-time JD class of 2012’s middle 50^th percentile LSAT scores ranged from 146-152, with a median of 148; Cooley’s official policy is to accept only the applicant’s highest LSAT score. LSDAS GPA scores varied from a 25^th percentile of 2.80 to a 75^th of 3.42. The part-time program was less competitive with an LSAT range of 143 to 149, with a median of 145. Its GPA range was 2.58 to 3.34, with a median of 2.97.

At $28,740 per year for a full-time student, Cooley is actually one of the country’s cheaper private law schools. The school also offers generous LSAT-based scholarships – any candidate who scores 163+ is eligible for a 100% honors scholarship, with correspondingly lower dollar amounts offered for lower scores. Michigan residents are automatically eligible to receive a 10% increase on an honors scholarship.

Academics
Cooley was one of the pioneers in the movement (particularly in the lower tiers) to make a legal education a more “hands-on” and less theoretical experience. Unlike many schools, nearly the entire first two years of the curriculum are pre-set at Cooley; not until the second semester of the second year does a student have an opportunity to take a true elective course. In addition to the typical mandated courses like Contracts and Torts, Cooley requires students to take classes such as Wills, Estates, & Trusts and Secured Transactions – again, with the goal being to give each student a firm grounding in understanding the day-to-day operations he/she is likely to encounter in future employment.

Cooley’s reputation in the academic community is hardly stellar: in the most recent USNWR rankings, the school received a peer-review score of 1.4, and a lawyers/judges-review score of 1.8 (both out of 5). The school also has one of the highest student-to-faculty ratios in the country, at 23.5. This last statistic contributes to the idea of Cooley as a “degree mill” – a school that denies its students the personal experience offered at many smaller schools. The curve at Cooley is very tough - so much so that 22.4% of 1Ls and 14.5% of 2Ls either choose to leave or flunk out. Even 3Ls are not safe, as 14 of them were forced to leave last year.

Quality of Life
One positive factor about Cooley is the school’s extreme flexibility. Both full- and part-time programs are offered, and students may take classes on the weekends and/or evenings if their schedule necessitates doing so. Students also have the option of beginning their studies in May, September, or January.

Lansing (population 113,968) is a popular town with students. Housing is extremely inexpensive, and the overall cost-of-living is significantly lower than the American average. The city boasts several small museums, a zoo, as well as several minor-league sports teams. For those who crave the amenities of the big city, Detroit is a mere 80 miles east-southeast, well within driving distance.

Life After Graduation
Like many who earn degrees from Tier 4 schools, Cooley graduates do not tend to finish school with job offers falling into their laps, especially after the recent economic downturn. Graduates are prepared for the Michigan bar only slightly worse than at other schools, passing at a rate of 80%, compared with the state average of 82%. Graduates do not fare well on other bar exams, however. Other popular choices were New York (28 percentage points below average), Illinois (18 below), and California (44 below). Nine months after graduation, only 77.8% of Cooley alumni responding to a school survey have managed to find employment – meaning nearly a quarter remains unemployed; this statistic does not factor in the number of graduates responding to the school’s employment survey, so the real employment figures may be lower. The majority of graduates remain in Michigan to practice law, and go into the private sector – thus putting to good use the hard skills Cooley considers so important.

The Cooley Rankings
Each year, Judge Thomas E. Brennen (who, by pure coincidence, happens to be dean of Cooley Law School) publishes his own rankings in response to the USNWR, which he sees as flawed. Also by pure coincidence, Cooley tends to land in the top 20 law schools in the country in these rankings, ahead of notables such as Duke, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. These rankings are often critiqued as being highly biased due to the importance they place on factors such as student body size (a third coincidence: Cooley is the nation’s largest law school) and law library square footage. Though the USWNR rankings have received their fair share of criticism over the years, and alternative rankings (such as the Leiter report) can often be credible alternatives, Judge Brennen’s rankings are generally considered (at best) to be little more than a marketing tool for Cooley Law.

Conclusion
Like most tier four schools, Cooley has its major drawbacks. Though less expensive than some schools, graduates still leave a substantial average debt; the fact that so many alumni have difficulty securing high-salaried jobs casts doubt on the prudence of the investment. The school’s reputation is also of dubious distinction, a fact likely to bother certain students. Cooley graduates do report, however, feeling well prepared for the trade of being a lawyer – a sentiment not always echoed at higher-ranked schools. However, the questionable value of a full-price degree from Cooley cannot be understated, especially in the current state of the economy. Any prospective Cooley students should consider applying for any available merit scholarships in order to defray the cost of attendance – and subsequent risk.

Fast Facts
Admissions Office
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
PO Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
admissions@cooley.edu
(517) 371-5140, ext. 2244

Ranking: Tier 4
LSAT median: 148 (FT), 145 (PT)
GPA median: 3.06 (FT), 2.97 (PT)
Entering class size: 221 (FT), 1289 (PT)
Tuition: $28,740
% Employed 9 Months After Graduation: 77.8%
Median Private Sector Salary: $50,000 (out-of-date - Cooley did not complete recent US News survey)