If I have to go to a T4... Cooley or Cal Western Forum

[l_dog03]

Ok, here it goes, my first post. Please don't rag on me to bad for considering these T4 schools.

I am still waiting to hear from my top choices, but while I wait I have acceptance letters from a couple T4 schools. So I have been debating the worst case scenario. If I end up going to a T4 do I stay in San Diego, Borrow 65K (tuition + COL) and go to Cal Western, or do I move back to Michigan, and accept a 50% scholarship and Cooley. My Cooley loans after 1L would be around 30K including COL.

I really liked my tour of Cal Western. It seems like a good school, at least on the surface. Locally CW has a good reputation and they have a decent bar pass rate. At least it’s not Thomas Jefferson. I would also not have to move. However I would need to pay San Diego Cost of Living while in school, and I know a few CW grads all of whom are making very little money.

I know Cooley is looked down upon on these forums, and in the law school community in general. That being said I could finish school at Cooley with a much lower debt load.

A little Background on me

LSAT 159
LASC GPA 2.98

Undergrad- Public Affairs, Wayne State University - Detroit, MI 2008
Graduate - MBA - American Public University - Online 2011 (pending final test) GPA 3.19

Top Choice Schools
Michigan State - Applied, awaiting decision
Hofstra - Applied, awaiting decision

[TatteredDignity]

Please don't rag on me to bad for considering these T4 schools.

People aren't going to rag on you, but they're definitely going to be harsh in the interest of helping you avoid catastrophe.

As a sneak preview, your answer is going to be that you should go to neither.

[bk1]

Retake/reapply.

[crit_racer]

Retake. A 159 isn't that bad and shows that you might have the ability to get around a 165. Study your ass off and do that. With a 3.0 and a 165, you are looking at T2 w/ money I think. It would be a much better option than what you have now. Seriously, retake.

[red_alertz]

Cal Western supposedly do OK in san diego market and is a very solid one for its tier, and it definitely has a better reputation than Cooley, plus u won't have to move across country, if these two are the only choices, definitely go with Cal Western

[dr123]

You'll prolly get into MSU, go there

[l_dog03]

Thanks for the advice on this!
I'm still waiting to here from some other schools

MSU is my first choice. I expect a letter from them soon!

I am leaning more towards CW now, but borrowing that kind of money to go to a T4 really really scares me.. maybe i should take a year and retake the LAST
so much to think about.

Thanks again!

[bk1]

but borrowing that kind of money to go to a T4 really really scares me.. maybe i should take a year and retake the LAST

It should scare you. To be honest this shouldn't even be a question of what you should do. Retaking is the only legitimate course of action.

[cubswin]

At least it’s not Thomas Jefferson.

Best reason to pick a law school ever.

[esq]

Know a guy from UG that went to Cooley, moved from San Diego to do so. Was super stoked, and convinced that Cooley wouldn't hold him back, that it really depended on the person [his work ethic (I never really thought he had any), personality (super flashy wanna be important Econ major), etc., would carry the day.] Last time I talked to him and his wife all they could say was the the experience has been "interesting," code for shitty. He is about the graduate, and while his FB info proudly posted that he was going to Cooley Law a few months ago, all mention of this has now been erased from his account. Almost 3 years and 100dredsK in debt and he is finally waking up the the miserable reality of his predicament. Hopefully he can get his job back at the bank he used to work for.

[red_alertz]

Know a guy from UG that went to Cooley, moved from San Diego to do so. Was super stoked, and convinced that Cooley wouldn't hold him back, that it really depended on the person [his work ethic (I never really thought he had any), personality (super flashy wanna be important Econ major), etc., would carry the day.] Last time I talked to him and his wife all they could say was the the experience has been "interesting," code for shitty. He is about the graduate, and while his FB info proudly posted that he was going to Cooley Law a few months ago, all mention of this has now been erased from his account. Almost 3 years and 100dredsK in debt and he is finally waking up the the miserable reality of his predicament. Hopefully he can get his job back at the bank he used to work for.

you are mean

[glitter178]

At least it’s not Thomas Jefferson.

Best reason to pick a law school ever.

that reminds me of that cleveland tourism video that went viral a few years ago... "at least we're not detroit"

[JamMasterJ]

Retake. A 159 isn't that bad and shows that you might have the ability to get around a 165. Study your ass off and do that. With a 3.0 and a 165, you are looking at T2 w/ money I think. It would be a much better option than what you have now. Seriously, retake.

This. At least do not go to Cooley.

[esq]

you are mean

^ Just the way it is. Still though, I want to believe it will all work out for him. If all else fails, his wife is very smart and should be able to take care of him.

[powerlawyer06]

I am really tempted to call flame on anyone's first post that involves Cooley...

Use the search function and come to the conclusion that you must retake or not go.

[northwood]

When did you send you applications out? If you sent them out in february or later then you applied way too late. Most schools have a good idea of what their incoming class looksl ike by february( even if they havent released their decisions yet). If you were to increase your lsat( even by 2 points) you would open up more choices for you. Also i would strongly recommend using the law school personal statements forum to help you perfect your personal statement. ( it helped me greatly). The 3 best ways to increase your chances at getting admitted are ( in no particular order) 1) get the best LSAT score possible ( only the top 6 or so average), Perfect your personal statement and apply early ( before thanksgiving) . YOUr undergrad GPA is the only gpa that matters to the rankings, so unless you havent graduated allready ( and in your case you did) you should keep that sucker as high as possible.

I would suggest not going across country to go to a TTTT. I would also suggest that you make sure you did all of that and see how it goes. While it may be too late to prep adequately for the june test- you can sign up for the october test and use the time between now and the day the june scores are released to work on your essays and resume. Law school is an investment into your future- make sure you look at this that way, and set yourself up as best as possible for success in the region you want to practice ( and make sure you hit that regino hard when you apply).

best of luck!

[swilson215]

Retake. A 159 isn't that bad and shows that you might have the ability to get around a 165. Study your ass off and do that. With a 3.0 and a 165, you are looking at T2 w/ money I think. It would be a much better option than what you have now. Seriously, retake.

This. At least do not go to Cooley.

+1.

[gwuorbust]

but borrowing that kind of money to go to a T4 really really scares me.. maybe i should take a year and retake the LAST

It should scare you. To be honest this shouldn't even be a question of what you should do. Retaking is the only legitimate course of action.

[kublaikahn]

If I have to go to a T4... Cooley or Cal Western

I am going to shoot you. Do you want it in the chest or in the face?

(Cooley is the face, CW is the chest) At Cooley, your dead. At CW you might live, but your future is severely disfigured.

[cubswin]

At least it’s not Thomas Jefferson.

Best reason to pick a law school ever.

that reminds me of that cleveland tourism video that went viral a few years ago... "at least we're not detroit"

Come and look at both of our buildings!

[firemed]

Retake. A 159 isn't that bad and shows that you might have the ability to get around a 165. Study your ass off and do that. With a 3.0 and a 165, you are looking at T2 w/ money I think. It would be a much better option than what you have now. Seriously, retake.

My cycle shows the bolded is absolutely correct.

Dude.... don't go to these schools unless you already have a job lined up. Have you seen the recent report that indicates that only half of T1 grads got jobs a couple years ago? What do you think the numbers are like from a T4? Even if the economy picks up... I just wouldn't do it. Maybe for free. I might do it for free. No, I tell a lie... I would go to mortuary school instead.

IMO, either retake or find another profession. There are a LOT of amazing things you can do that don't involve law.

[AssociateX]

Don't go to Cooley. The school is already under investigation for possible student loan fraud!

http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com ... chool.html

[firemed]

You'll prolly get into MSU, go there

+1

This is true. And they are realistically second to U of M in that godforsaken state... which is hemorrhaging population and money... but whatever.

[firemed]

At least it’s not Thomas Jefferson.

Best reason to pick a law school ever.

that reminds me of that cleveland tourism video that went viral a few years ago... "at least we're not detroit"

TBF.... "at least we're not Detroit" is a hell of a slogan if you have ever actually been to Detroit.

[Noval]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrpt4vRa-0o

But do so if you don't mind going to a school that is under investigation for loan fraud and if you'd love working at Starbucks the rest of your life trying to pay back the 200,000$ that covered the useless chunk of paper from this disaster-mill.