Michigan State

[Ladybuglaw05]

Any opinions on Michigan State Law?

[erasmus]

Michigan State’s program is known as the Detroit College of Law.  At present I believe it ranks in the fourth tier.  One of my recommenders attended DCL and graduated toward the top of her class; at present, she is pursuing a degree in math because her degree did not give her the options she wanted

DCL is aggressively seeking to improve its rating.  Candidates who score well on the LSAT are eligible for a ‘King’s Scholarship’, which is basically a full-ride plus the opportunity to attend special classes.

Jeff Fieger, who made an unsuccessful run for Governor in Michigan some years ago, is the only prominent alum that I am aware of.  I believe he has collaborated with DCL to develop a trial advocacy program, which is supposed to be pretty good.  Students gain entry in to this program by completing their first year with distinction.

Personally I don’t like the setup.  If you can get in with a full ride then it might be worth it.  That being said, my recommender had absolutely no luck with her degree…and she was really brilliant.  On the plus side, MSU is a beautiful university.  The campus is breathtaking in every season and rent and tuition are fairly low.   

[othius]

Sorry i don't have anything of value to add, but I'm also curious about MSU. Anyone know anything about the dual degree program with the University of Ottawa?

Cheers.

[JDPlease]

That is surprising to me...everything that I have seen on this board makes MSU seem like a tier 4 school, that will be a tier 2 someday soon.

Also, MSU has officially dropped the DCL name. They are now, Michigan State University College of Law.

I see this as an opportunity to attend a school that will benefit the average student, in the near future.

[Ladybuglaw05]

They did drop the DCL from their name to gain MSU's national name recognition.  I got my first acceptance letter from them (w/ no mention of a financial offer).  I haven't been accepted anywhere else yet.  They have several joint degree programs.  They also have an international law journal and international moot court team that sound interesting.

[erasmus]

I was not aware of the name change but Ill take everyone's word for it.  As an MSU undergrad I really fell in love with East Lansing and I'm sorry if my earlier post tended to dispareage MSU's program.  I only know one graduate of the program and I have no way of knowing if her experience was typical of other graduates.  I am certain that MSU's school of law will improve in the next decade.  A great deal of money is being pumped in to the program and I beleive that median LSAT scores are really going up.  A degree from DCL is probably a 'good buy' at this point because the insitution will rank better in the near future.  That being said, I am somewhat wary of the program because it does not benefit from a long standing reputation and many of the course offerings are restricted to particular students. 

[Ladybuglaw05]

Does anyone know how MSU law stands compared to: U of Toledo, U of Akron, Capital University, and Valpo.  Those are some of the other schools I've applied to and I probably won't recieve any financial awards from them either.

[wulfette]

I also applied to MSU Law, which is no longer carrying the DCL name.  Other than Fieger, Dennis Archer, former mayor of Detroit and former ABA president is a graduate.
I am also hoping for some $$, but I don't qualify for Kings because of my G.P.A. 

I too really like East Lansing, did my UG there and I have a friend in the School now. She likes it, other than the complaints that you hear everywhere.
Relatively new building, faily nice.  And Low cost of living compared to other areas.

As far as rankings,  I think that U of Toledo is ranked in 2 right now,  but my own personal opinion puts it equal with MSU.  I see MSU as being a bit more on the rise than any of the other schools, although I did apply to Toledo, Valpo, and MSU.    Beyond rankings (which is a phrase I'd like to hear more often, but whatever)  I'd be really happy at MSU,  and I too looked at the Ottowa program. I know I'm probably biased, so take it for what it's worth.