Dear God Help Forum

[oaken]

Was it in a chat conversation or did you literally send an unsolicited link to him about how he should consider other schools?

[UnamSanctam]

Out of all the methods you could have used it looks like you opted for the equivalent of a Westboro protest on the offensiveness and subtlety scale.

[LRGhost]

If that's really what you said and he's not your bro, then I dunno, it's kind of out of nowhere. If he is your bro, then that was incredibly impersonal. I'm all for T14 or bust, or even saying T6 or bust, but what you said really does amount to "Dude, you're going to a shitty school. Why don't you go to a better school like me?"

If you would have written a small message with some thought and concern in it like "Dude, I'm really happy that you got into law school. I've been looking into it myself. What are you looking to get when you graduate?" and taken it from there, you would have maybe fared better.

But then again, what you did was world's better than what other people here would have said so who knows.

[Shmoopy]

What if the lad received a full scholarship, or wants to practice in the area right near Cooley?

The top 1% at Cooley, I'd imagine, probably does rather well for themselves.

I'm not seeing the decision as irreconcilable career hara-kiri, as many seem to think that it is. Can anyone give substantial reasons as to why he or she believes, on the basis of the given information, that it is?

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/07/how-the- ... sin-vinny/

Valedictorian at Cooley = unemployed

The burden of proof is on you to explain why Cooley would be a good decision for anyone, ever. What are your substantial reasons bro?

[BerkeleyBear]

What if the lad received a full scholarship, or wants to practice in the area right near Cooley?

The top 1% at Cooley, I'd imagine, probably does rather well for themselves.

I'm not seeing the decision as irreconcilable career hara-kiri, as many seem to think that it is. Can anyone give substantial reasons as to why he or she believes, on the basis of the given information, that it is?

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/07/how-the- ... sin-vinny/

Valedictorian at Cooley = unemployed

The burden of proof is on you to explain why Cooley would be a good decision for anyone, ever. What are your substantial reasons bro?

Fucking Cooley, lol'd when the kid said " the worlds best professors". Hope that GTL is working out for him.

[Poo-T]

What if the lad received a full scholarship, or wants to practice in the area right near Cooley?

The top 1% at Cooley, I'd imagine, probably does rather well for themselves.

I'm not seeing the decision as irreconcilable career hara-kiri, as many seem to think that it is. Can anyone give substantial reasons as to why he or she believes, on the basis of the given information, that it is?

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/07/how-the- ... sin-vinny/

Valedictorian at Cooley = unemployed

The burden of proof is on you to explain why Cooley would be a good decision for anyone, ever. What are your substantial reasons bro?

wow...

[lutcf2021]

If that's really what you said and he's not your bro, then I dunno, it's kind of out of nowhere. If he is your bro, then that was incredibly impersonal. I'm all for T14 or bust, or even saying T6 or bust, but what you said really does amount to "Dude, you're going to a shitty school. Why don't you go to a better school like me?"

If you would have written a small message with some thought and concern in it like "Dude, I'm really happy that you got into law school. I've been looking into it myself. What are you looking to get when you graduate?" and taken it from there, you would have maybe fared better.

But then again, what you did was world's better than what other people here would have said so who knows.

We aren't SUPER close. So it was kinda weird. I tried to be somewhat gentle though. But eh.

Cooley is terrible. They are the real villain here.

[LRGhost]

Dude, I agree wholeheartedly, but I shudder to think of posters here talking about law school in real life. There's a difference between flaming on the internet or between like-minded people and telling people that they're going to a literal TTT and to reevaluate their lives.

[scruffy556]

If that's really what you said and he's not your bro, then I dunno, it's kind of out of nowhere. If he is your bro, then that was incredibly impersonal. I'm all for T14 or bust, or even saying T6 or bust, but what you said really does amount to "Dude, you're going to a shitty school. Why don't you go to a better school like me?"

If you would have written a small message with some thought and concern in it like "Dude, I'm really happy that you got into law school. I've been looking into it myself. What are you looking to get when you graduate?" and taken it from there, you would have maybe fared better.

But then again, what you did was world's better than what other people here would have said so who knows.

We aren't SUPER close. So it was kinda weird. I tried to be somewhat gentle though. But eh.

Cooley is terrible. They are the real villain here.

So...is he still going to Cooley?

[cinephile]

I once met a Cooley 2L. She seemed to think her school was better than most since it was year round.

[lutcf2021]

If that's really what you said and he's not your bro, then I dunno, it's kind of out of nowhere. If he is your bro, then that was incredibly impersonal. I'm all for T14 or bust, or even saying T6 or bust, but what you said really does amount to "Dude, you're going to a shitty school. Why don't you go to a better school like me?"

If you would have written a small message with some thought and concern in it like "Dude, I'm really happy that you got into law school. I've been looking into it myself. What are you looking to get when you graduate?" and taken it from there, you would have maybe fared better.

But then again, what you did was world's better than what other people here would have said so who knows.

We aren't SUPER close. So it was kinda weird. I tried to be somewhat gentle though. But eh.

Cooley is terrible. They are the real villain here.

So...is he still going to Cooley?

It looks that way.

Also, that vid: http://abovethelaw.com/2012/07/how-the- ... sin-vinny/

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[lutcf2021]

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gregory-roseto/27/501/652

No Job.

[drmguy]

Look on the bright side. At least you will have an excellent told you so three years from now.

[oaken]

i fuckin atoadaso

[square_peg]

I haven't read the whole thread, but...

I'm from Michigan, and it seems that a lot of people here have deluded themselves into believing that Cooley is a respectable school. I can't even count the number of friends with whom I've had this debate. They live in a state where the economy is still a toilet, yet they've convinced themselves that a bottom-ranked school without a portable degree is a good investment. One or two of them did okay in the end, with mid-level jobs in state government or whatever, but the majority are underemployed with no real prospects and a huge load of debt. To be honest, I don't have much sympathy for them.

[LRGhost]

I haven't read the whole thread, but...

I'm from Michigan, and it seems that a lot of people here have deluded themselves into believing that Cooley is a respectable school. I can't even count the number of friends with whom I've had this debate. They live in a state where the economy is still a toilet, yet they've convinced themselves that a bottom-ranked school without a portable degree is a good investment. One or two of them did okay in the end, with mid-level jobs in state government or whatever, but the majority are underemployed with no real prospects and a huge load of debt. To be honest, I don't have much sympathy for them.

Perhaps the average person sees graduate school, any graduate school, as a ticket to better pay. It's easy to read a couple articles and think "Jobs are down everywhere" but unless you actually take part in talking on TLS or other forums, you're never going to really see the message full-on. People still think getting an UG degree gets you more jobs than retail or food service, but lol. Blame the boomer parents, not the kids.

[stuckinthemiddle]

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gregory-roseto/27/501/652

No Job.

Poor dude.

Still kinda shocking. I would have thought at least the valedictorian at Cooley would walk away with something.

[cinephile]

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gregory-roseto/27/501/652

No Job.

Poor dude.

Still kinda shocking. I would have thought at least the valedictorian at Cooley would walk away with something.

There probably are people at Cooley who come away with jobs, but they're the ones who had positions guaranteed by their families before they went in.

[guinness1547]

I can't believe that Cooley speech. Wow.

[stillwater]

I can't believe that Cooley speech. Wow.

It was a weird speech

[talesofyore]

I used to think Cooley was a really good school because this one girl I knew quit her job and moved cross country to attend. She was really, really excited. She told EVERYONE. I remember being jealous of her.

[Crowing]

I can't believe that Cooley speech. Wow.

It was a weird speech

It wasn't any good based on either content or delivery, but I found it kind of interesting nevertheless.

[UnamSanctam]

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gregory-roseto/27/501/652

No Job.

Poor dude.

Still kinda shocking. I would have thought at least the valedictorian at Cooley would walk away with something.

"Juris doctorate candidate"

[tino1317]

Most likely the socio-ecomonic group that person is from (and that person himself) is not aware of the LS situation in the nation. Doesn't mean that person deserves what's coming.. If I were to post such status on my fb I'd probably get similar comments, although fewer likes (don't have many friends, )

When I was getting ready to apply to law school it took me about 5 seconds of googling to find this website and get the info I needed to make a proper decision. That kid has facebook, so he has an internet connection, so he has google. Therefore, if he can't be bothered to do the slightest amount of research he deserves what is coming. If he has deluded himself into thinking he is a special snowflake, he deserves it. It has nothing to do with socio-economic groupings but rather the common sense idea that if you are about to commit three years and tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars you should do some research.

I think there is genuinely still a disconnect between the law school and legal economy reality and what kids and their parents have been told and viewed about law for decades. It's getting better, but as someone who was one of the uninformed until just last year, I can relate to that situation and ignorance.

Prior to mainstream reputable news sources, such as the NYTs (Segal in 2011), doing pieces on the law school transparency problem, many people probably dismissed the online critiques from personal blogs and forums as just most likely the voice of the disgruntled few who did not do so well in law school. It can be difficult to know who to trust when dealing with anonymous online posts. And when those claims stand so radically far apart from what one has been told and perceived all their life, then it may be natural to just think of them as outlandish claims.

Even in my TestMasters course there were some students who I thought were genuinely and grossly uninformed about the law school and legal economy reality. Yet, one would probably expect that a group of TM students would be more likely to be a self-selecting bunch of high-achieving, knowledgeable, and well-informed students. It's not necessarily the case, unfortunately.

I think a compassionate and patient stance ought to be adopted towards people like OP's friend. It may seem like an open secret to many on TLS or in the know about the law school and lawyer crisis, but to those who are on the outside it can be a jolting reality that they need time to hear more and learn about, before finally being able to accept (and it may even take a good deal of time to even think of as plausible).

My plea would be to do what you can to help this friend, while being patient and understanding. Even if the person does not come to accept your point in the end, at least you will have the peace of mind to know that you did what was right and that you tried your best. I know it took me several months before really getting a true picture of what the whole law school and legal economy crisis was all about (anyone can search my past posts from start to end of when I first registered and became a member of TLS last year). It can be a process.

But I can tell people from the bottom of my heart that I am truly thankful for every comment and every bit of time people took to help inform me of the truth. So be brave and do not give up! And never let cynicism rob you of the good-natured spirit and impulse to do what is right and caring! Even in 2013, much work still needs to be done.

I totally agree with this. I had 2 girls in my night course who wanted to raise their lsat to go to Cooley, one of them part time. I'm from Michigan and last year my mom was telling me how she talked to 2 of her friends and said their kids are both really happy with UDM and how I should think about going there. I'm really glad I found tls a year ago or I probably would have been like fuck it and took a full ride at udm or wayne state. I'm realistic, if I don't get a bite at the apple from somewhere decent I don't think I'll be going to law school in the fall. The general population doesn't realize how much the times have changed, especially people in our parents' generation. I know so many people who went to schools like UDM and Wayne 30 years ago and are killing right now in small private practice in the Detroit area. Shit like that really wont happen anymore without serious connections.

[oaken]

I used to think Cooley was a really good school because this one girl I knew quit her job and moved cross country to attend. She was really, really excited. She told EVERYONE. I remember being jealous of her.

kinda embarrassing thinking about it now, but the first time i heard of cooley i thought it was the actual name of the university of michigan law school. like, thomas m. cooley school of law at the university of michigan, or something. so i met this girl who was going to cooley and it came up that i was planning on going to law school in a few years and she asked where i was looking to go, and i named a few places and said something to the effect of i'd like to go to cooley but i don't know if i have good enough grades. she probably thought i was an obnoxious dick.

this is all the more embarrassing b/c i went to michigan for undergrad. i just had never ever heard of cooley and i knew she went to school in ann arbor so i thought it was the only school. oh well.