Cooley: What's the Worst that Can Happen (Full-Ride) Forum

[nixy]

The friend is better off taking a bar prep course. Will teach them plenty of law and save time, while keeping their resume clean

While I get your point there is also the network to take into account and you do not get that from a bar prep course. You also lose out on the benefits of the Socratic method.

There aren't networking benefits to be gained for their current profession at Cooley.

The socratic method is useless and not necessarily even used in all classes.

Got it, would the network be useful if they practiced?

Seems like the worst that can happen at Cooley with a full-ride is not so bad.

Cooley's been around long enough that there probably is a network, but it only helps if the people in the network are in a position to help you. Like I said, some people have good outcomes out of Cooley, but it's a really small number (or depends on what you want out of it). The job stats are here: https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ooley/jobs and they're really not good - especially when compared to other law schools. Like sure, if you want to play football for the NFL or become a movie actor, a 44% employment rate in your chosen is probably great. But it's a pretty crappy outcome when lots of other law schools offer much higher employment rates. Those other schools also have their own networks with many more grads in a position to be of more assistance.

The other thing is that even 1-2 classes in the evening at a crappy school is a lot of work (the accreditation system means that low ranked schools aren't teaching easier material or less of it). So if someone attends Cooley for free and they keep their other job so their income doesn't go down, sure, they're probably going to be okay monetarily. But that's 4 years of lots of work for a degree you don't need and aren't going to use, which is pretty bad.

Again, your friend is free to decide to do what they like. There are certainly worse ways to spend their time, but that doesn't make it a good decision, either.

[TUwave]

I can't believe you all are falling for this. JohnnyBGoode did it better.

[Anonymous User]

I can't believe you all are falling for this. JohnnyBGoode did it better.

I can believe some of these replying posters are falling for it. They always do.

[aspiring0L]

I can't believe you all are falling for this. JohnnyBGoode did it better.

Who was Johnny? Isn’t that a song?

[aspiring0L]

I can't believe you all are falling for this. JohnnyBGoode did it better.

I can believe some of these replying posters are falling for it. They always do.

They’re not falling for anything.

[aspiring0L]

The friend is better off taking a bar prep course. Will teach them plenty of law and save time, while keeping their resume clean

While I get your point there is also the network to take into account and you do not get that from a bar prep course. You also lose out on the benefits of the Socratic method.

There aren't networking benefits to be gained for their current profession at Cooley.

The socratic method is useless and not necessarily even used in all classes.

Got it, would the network be useful if they practiced?

Seems like the worst that can happen at Cooley with a full-ride is not so bad.

Cooley's been around long enough that there probably is a network, but it only helps if the people in the network are in a position to help you. Like I said, some people have good outcomes out of Cooley, but it's a really small number (or depends on what you want out of it). The job stats are here: https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ooley/jobs and they're really not good - especially when compared to other law schools. Like sure, if you want to play football for the NFL or become a movie actor, a 44% employment rate in your chosen is probably great. But it's a pretty crappy outcome when lots of other law schools offer much higher employment rates. Those other schools also have their own networks with many more grads in a position to be of more assistance.

The other thing is that even 1-2 classes in the evening at a crappy school is a lot of work (the accreditation system means that low ranked schools aren't teaching easier material or less of it). So if someone attends Cooley for free and they keep their other job so their income doesn't go down, sure, they're probably going to be okay monetarily. But that's 4 years of lots of work for a degree you don't need and aren't going to use, which is pretty bad.

Again, your friend is free to decide to do what they like. There are certainly worse ways to spend their time, but that doesn't make it a good decision, either.

All sorts of fallacies in this post lol

1. Some Cooley alums are in a position to help, just like every law school.

2. Yes, it depends on what you want. I doubt most Cooley students expect to work at the firm Cooley or another large firm. They’re content to be solos and do low level government work.

3. C’s are passing, you can do a minimal amount of work and get the legal license. With the finance/motor company job, they aren’t shooting for the moon with grades. Plus, for his or her Cooley classmates, grades couldn’t matter less if you plan on becoming a solo.


Seems like a good decision. Why are you so fixated on convincing people not to become attorneys?

[Anonymous User]

Let's say a friend grew up in a nice suburb of Detroit (Grosse Point) and has a phenomenal job there after going to U. Michigan (BS in computer science) . Maybe he works at a fund like Huron or in a SWE/management role at Ford or GM, clearing six figures at age 23 . He is seen as a rising star in the corporate world . ...

I hear you, it is not ideal. Her job is not too demanding hours wise but she does not want to compromise on this. All her family and friends are in the Detroit area long with professional network, even three years in Ann Arbor is too much from her perspective.

How does it hold you back and are you in big law? Associate or partner? Any information is helpful as I relay it.

Sorry did people not notice that the friend changed from a he to a she? Totally fine for a person to change, but like, that was quick.

Anyway, if I can play it fair, as others have said the worst that could happen is your friend could waste their time. I think what people are trying to say is that Cooley might be more of a waste of time than other schools. Probably not because it doesn't feed much to biglaw (your friend wants to stay put), but more so because given Cooley's position in the law school hierarchy, your friend will spend more time learning black letter bar exam law than what some would consider more engaging legal topics. Let's be clear on two points, though. First, your friend is interested in law school because of pop culture portrayals of the law, so maybe free black letter law lessons for three years would be cool. It's not going to be Yale, but for your friend that sounds A-okay. Second, if your friend scored as well as they did, even if LSAT isn't a perfect predictor of law school success, I'd bet your friend would end up toward the top of the class. So to the extent that outcomes matter, there's that (but I don't think they do in your hypo, I mean in your friend's case).

Anyway, if I know you're MO aspiring0L, you're either going to respond to this with some gratitude riffing o what I said and a follow up genuine-sounding question about something ambiguous above, or you'll take issue with my first point. There, I saved you some time.

[aspiring0L]

Let's say a friend grew up in a nice suburb of Detroit (Grosse Point) and has a phenomenal job there after going to U. Michigan (BS in computer science) . Maybe he works at a fund like Huron or in a SWE/management role at Ford or GM, clearing six figures at age 23 . He is seen as a rising star in the corporate world . ...

I hear you, it is not ideal. Her job is not too demanding hours wise but she does not want to compromise on this. All her family and friends are in the Detroit area long with professional network, even three years in Ann Arbor is too much from her perspective.

How does it hold you back and are you in big law? Associate or partner? Any information is helpful as I relay it.

Sorry did people not notice that the friend changed from a he to a she? Totally fine for a person to change, but like, that was quick.

Anyway, if I can play it fair, as others have said the worst that could happen is your friend could waste their time. I think what people are trying to say is that Cooley might be more of a waste of time than other schools. Probably not because it doesn't feed much to biglaw (your friend wants to stay put), but more so because given Cooley's position in the law school hierarchy, your friend will spend more time learning black letter bar exam law than what some would consider more engaging legal topics. Let's be clear on two points, though. First, your friend is interested in law school because of pop culture portrayals of the law, so maybe free black letter law lessons for three years would be cool. It's not going to be Yale, but for your friend that sounds A-okay. Second, if your friend scored as well as they did, even if LSAT isn't a perfect predictor of law school success, I'd bet your friend would end up toward the top of the class. So to the extent that outcomes matter, there's that (but I don't think they do in your hypo, I mean in your friend's case).

Anyway, if I know you're MO aspiring0L, you're either going to respond to this with some gratitude riffing o what I said and a follow up genuine-sounding question about something ambiguous above, or you'll take issue with my first point. There, I saved you some time.

I change the genders and have said “he or she” out of fairness and to keep it quiet since I’ve given enough personal detail. I have no doubt she’d be the top of his class. Maybe valedictorian.

Thank you for your input! Can you define “much” as in feed much to big law? I also don’t think it is at all a waste of time. He’s very intellectual and thrives on a campus. If you can do it while making money all the better.

[nixy]

The friend is better off taking a bar prep course. Will teach them plenty of law and save time, while keeping their resume clean

While I get your point there is also the network to take into account and you do not get that from a bar prep course. You also lose out on the benefits of the Socratic method.

There aren't networking benefits to be gained for their current profession at Cooley.

The socratic method is useless and not necessarily even used in all classes.

Got it, would the network be useful if they practiced?

Seems like the worst that can happen at Cooley with a full-ride is not so bad.

Cooley's been around long enough that there probably is a network, but it only helps if the people in the network are in a position to help you. Like I said, some people have good outcomes out of Cooley, but it's a really small number (or depends on what you want out of it). The job stats are here: https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ooley/jobs and they're really not good - especially when compared to other law schools. Like sure, if you want to play football for the NFL or become a movie actor, a 44% employment rate in your chosen is probably great. But it's a pretty crappy outcome when lots of other law schools offer much higher employment rates. Those other schools also have their own networks with many more grads in a position to be of more assistance.

The other thing is that even 1-2 classes in the evening at a crappy school is a lot of work (the accreditation system means that low ranked schools aren't teaching easier material or less of it). So if someone attends Cooley for free and they keep their other job so their income doesn't go down, sure, they're probably going to be okay monetarily. But that's 4 years of lots of work for a degree you don't need and aren't going to use, which is pretty bad.

Again, your friend is free to decide to do what they like. There are certainly worse ways to spend their time, but that doesn't make it a good decision, either.

All sorts of fallacies in this post lol

1. Some Cooley alums are in a position to help, just like every law school.

2. Yes, it depends on what you want. I doubt most Cooley students expect to work at the firm Cooley or another large firm. They’re content to be solos and do low level government work.

3. C’s are passing, you can do a minimal amount of work and get the legal license. With the finance/motor company job, they aren’t shooting for the moon with grades. Plus, for his or her Cooley classmates, grades couldn’t matter less if you plan on becoming a solo.


Seems like a good decision. Why are you so fixated on convincing people not to become attorneys?

Why are you so fixated on asking questions and then rejecting everything everyone tells you? Oh right, you're a troll.

[aspiring0L]

The friend is better off taking a bar prep course. Will teach them plenty of law and save time, while keeping their resume clean

While I get your point there is also the network to take into account and you do not get that from a bar prep course. You also lose out on the benefits of the Socratic method.

There aren't networking benefits to be gained for their current profession at Cooley.

The socratic method is useless and not necessarily even used in all classes.

Got it, would the network be useful if they practiced?

Seems like the worst that can happen at Cooley with a full-ride is not so bad.

Cooley's been around long enough that there probably is a network, but it only helps if the people in the network are in a position to help you. Like I said, some people have good outcomes out of Cooley, but it's a really small number (or depends on what you want out of it). The job stats are here: https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ooley/jobs and they're really not good - especially when compared to other law schools. Like sure, if you want to play football for the NFL or become a movie actor, a 44% employment rate in your chosen is probably great. But it's a pretty crappy outcome when lots of other law schools offer much higher employment rates. Those other schools also have their own networks with many more grads in a position to be of more assistance.

The other thing is that even 1-2 classes in the evening at a crappy school is a lot of work (the accreditation system means that low ranked schools aren't teaching easier material or less of it). So if someone attends Cooley for free and they keep their other job so their income doesn't go down, sure, they're probably going to be okay monetarily. But that's 4 years of lots of work for a degree you don't need and aren't going to use, which is pretty bad.

Again, your friend is free to decide to do what they like. There are certainly worse ways to spend their time, but that doesn't make it a good decision, either.

All sorts of fallacies in this post lol

1. Some Cooley alums are in a position to help, just like every law school.

2. Yes, it depends on what you want. I doubt most Cooley students expect to work at the firm Cooley or another large firm. They’re content to be solos and do low level government work.

3. C’s are passing, you can do a minimal amount of work and get the legal license. With the finance/motor company job, they aren’t shooting for the moon with grades. Plus, for his or her Cooley classmates, grades couldn’t matter less if you plan on becoming a solo.


Seems like a good decision. Why are you so fixated on convincing people not to become attorneys?

Why are you so fixated on asking questions and then rejecting everything everyone tells you? Oh right, you're a troll.

For posterity. In case someone finds shit advice on here with no pushback.

[Dcc617]

If you love the law so much just take a bar prep course for fun.

[aspiring0L]

If you love the law so much just take a bar prep course for fun.

It’s a friend. Not me. And what’s with your avatar? Pretty screwed up