January 1Ls?

[natalia]

Thanks for the post!! You said you are finishing your 3rd term so can I ask, are you going straight through?  Is taking four courses considered full time or part time?   

Guys,

I am finishing my third term at Cooley.

1. Do not take 5 classes-which is a full load and will allow u to finish in 2 yrs.  It is insane.  The amount of work will be near impossible.  Alot of us take 3 or 4 classes a term.  This school requires you to know ALOT of information.  Exam's are very detail oriented.  Trust me, take 4 at the max to start.  You have no idea what your getting into.

2. The attrition rate is very high.  But consider a # of things.  1st, the large amount of students.  2nd, the large amount of students with very marginal scores.  3rd, not all are academic dismissals, half are transfer students. 4th, the difficulty of the school.  It is not a cake walk here.  They make it very demanding.  There is no inflationary grading.  The average grade is a C.  You will see more D's and F's at Cooley than you have ever seen before.  They don't hesitate to fail people here.  Be ready to live and breath the law and law school for 3 solid yrs.

Take my word for it

[legalcowboy]

I am going to take next summer off.  It is very difficult to go straight thru.  You will notice significant burnout.  The 2-3 week breaks are not sufficient.

3-4 classes is technically considered part-time.  It is anything but, however.  3-4 classes is really what the VAST majority of students take.  With 3-4 classes you will still end up studying everyday with the exception of maybe Fri night. 

Anything else let me know.

[granatar1]

I was accepted with a 50% scholarship to begin in January '06. Could current students please let me know how the school is, the good, bad and ugly. Thanks!

[admc05]

granatar1

The good...

(1) Cooley gives out a lot of $$$. I only had to pay $3,000 per term for a lousy 161 LSAT.

(2) There seems to be more partying than studying the first 10 weeks so the competition isn't bad (stay out of the library the last few weeks...you can feel the panic in the air)

(3) After the first term most everyone's bubble is burst and they realize they aren't going to be able to transfer so they kind of just try to get by. Everyone starts the first term thinking they are the exception.

(4) I had no problems getting transcripts, letters, etc. for transfer (top 13% and still waiting for summer grades to decide where it will be realistic to apply)

(5) You will meet some truly motivated and exceptional people if you look for them

The bad...(I'll try to keep this short)

(1) They TRY TO FAIL YOU. Brennan failed 20% of my property 1 class and stated in a handout given with our bluebooks that he seriously questioned if many students in the class could pass the bar.

(2) Three words BAR PASSAGE RATE.

(3) Everyone thinks 4 classes is full-time. WRONG. Cooley says it is but I wanted to prepare myself for the workload of a traditional law school so I took 5 classes. It's not easy, but neither is the bar. Cowboy was right though, forget about 5 per term straight through for 2 years. You need the break. 

The ugly...

(1) All students with a specific (15-29, 30-44, etc.) number of credits are grouped together for class rank. That means the 142 LSAT student taking three classes per term with accomodations for time on exams (an extra 1:45), who even voids one or two grades as "mulligans", is ranked with those taking 5 classes. I'm not bitter or anything.

(2) FALSE HOPE for many many students that just aren't cut out for the law. Maybe that's why a 1L jumped from the top of the parking deck next to the Cooley Center last winter shortly before finals. To be fair, I am only guessing as to why he jumped. It may have been totally unrelated.

(3) Lansing sucks in the winter. No, I mean it sucks. They don't even plow the roads.

(4) Try to find a law clerk job outside of Lansing with Cooley on your resume!

Conclusion...

Look for the good and you'll find it. Keep your expectations realistic and you will not be disappointed. Stay out of Kelly's, Brannigan's, Harper's, Maggie's, etc. amd you have a shot. Cooley has some great professors and everyone wants to help so utilize the resources if needed. I'd be glad to answer any specific questions I may not have answered in this post.
 
 

[natalia]

Thanks for the advice!! I start Jan '06 and am looking forward to it even though I know it will be tough...I too have the 75% scholarship. 
Regarding your plan to transfer, how many terms have you completed? Is it possible to transfer after two terms if I complete them by the end of next summer?  Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers.

[cooley 1L]

Nat,

did you get my last email??

P.S. good question about students starting in Jan if they are able to transfer out in august, or is it too late for schools to view their transcripts...

[mhgarrett]

I'm starting in January. We (me, hubby and four kids) are moving from Memphis... I was initially concerned about the high attrition rate but it has been consistently dropping over the last few years. I am what most people consider "nontraditional" and my transcript (at least the first half) did not accurately reflect my ability. I had a 2.5 GPA before returning to school but a 4.0 after returning (there was a 10 yr gap). I know that I am very smart and very capable and I'm just thankful Cooley gave me this chance.

[jjason]

Hi! How has your Cooley experience been so far?

[lawschoolstudent]

it sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ls77]

Cooley experience so far has been great.   It's a lot of work, but interesting and challenging.   Profs are great....orientation and other meetings have been helpful....Fellow students very nice and from everywhere.   I suppose different people have different experiences, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm happy here.