MSU vs Wayne State

[emarejay]

That is a great point. Are employment opportunities in Detroit pretty vast? What kind of grades do you need to get in to a firm there? Toldeo has a much larger legal community than one would think, but Im getting the hell out of this crappy state upon graduation unless someone wants to as Sheed Wallace says, "CUT THE CHECK."

[TheJesus]

Just wanted to add that MSU's bar passage rate was pretty disappointing last year: 68% compared to Wayne's 83%

According to the new ABA data that was posted last week at LSAC.org...

WSU=83%
UDM=69%
MSU=68%
Cooley=55%

State ave.=73%

It might just be a one-year fluke but that low bar passage number actually scared me away from applying there this year...

[!!]

Wayne has a far, far superior reputation. Your employment prospects will be much better. If you do well at Wayne, you'll be in the same boat as someone who did well at Michigan (as far as in-state employment is concerned).

You're an idiot.

[TheJesus]

Wayne has a far, far superior reputation. Your employment prospects will be much better. If you do well at Wayne, you'll be in the same boat as someone who did well at Michigan (as far as in-state employment is concerned).

You're an idiot.

Yeah, that was a bit of an overstatement...

I think what they might have meant to convey is that the difference between a UofM grad and a WSU grad both applying for the same job in the state of MI isn't nearly what it is if both were applying for the same job in NY, CA, IL or anywhere else for that matter...

The playing field is leveled a bit though UofM grads still have the clear advantage...

That said, WSU grads pretty much get there pick of the in-state jobs since only a handful of UofM grads seek in-state employment...most take the bar in NY or IL, as you know

[emarejay]

Just wanted to add that MSU's bar passage rate was pretty disappointing last year: 68% compared to Wayne's 83%

According to the new ABA data that was posted last week at LSAC.org...

WSU=83%
UDM=69%
MSU=68%
Cooley=55%

State ave.=73%

It might just be a one-year fluke but that low bar passage number actually scared me away from applying there this year...

And Toledo is higher than all of the above...

[TheJesus]

Just wanted to add that MSU's bar passage rate was pretty disappointing last year: 68% compared to Wayne's 83%

According to the new ABA data that was posted last week at LSAC.org...

WSU=83%
UDM=69%
MSU=68%
Cooley=55%

State ave.=73%

It might just be a one-year fluke but that low bar passage number actually scared me away from applying there this year...

And Toledo is higher than all of the above...

Yes, but only a handful of Toledo grads take the bar in Michigan and when you are dealing with numbers that small, the percentages tend not to convey an accurate account of the quality of lawyers the school produces...

For example, in Summer of 2004, Toledo had 10 out of 10 people pass the Michigan bar exam for a 100% passage rate, whereas the University of Michigan had 58 out of 59 people pass for a 98% passage rate...going only by percentages, you would conclude that Toledo is a better program than Michigan as far as one's chances at passing the are concerned, and this is almost certainly not the case

And I don't mean to say that Toldeo isn't a good school...but it's certainly not a better program than U of M...probably more on par with Wayne

[TheJesus]

Who wants to go to school in Toledo?

lol, well there's that too...

Actually, I don't know much about the city of Toledo other than the fact that they supposedly have a pretty cool zoo!

[michelleinsea]

I just got back from a visit to MSU.  I was very impressed with the school and with their trial advocacy program, the super modern courtroom, etc.  But the Lansing area was AWFUL, in my opinion anyway.  I'm from Seattle and have only lived here and in NYC, so of course it is a change, but it wasn't even really the size of the area, as much as it was that I just found it depressing.  Still, maybe that isn't an issue for people that are already living in MI or are familiar with that area.  Besides the area, the school itself was great, as were the people I met there.  I didn't apply to WSU and had never heard of it before I started doing some research, so I can't chime in on what would be better, but if anyone has any questions about my visit to MSU I'm happy to help out.

Ironically, I had two better acceptances waiting when I got home, so I won't be going, but it would have been a nice school to go to if I could have withstood living there.

[TheJesus]

michelleinsea,

was it an open house you went to? if so, did they address their low bar passage rates from last year? Did anyone ask about it or did one of the dean's bring it up?

I'm wondering if it was just a fluke year for them or what might have caused it...

[mgd04]

Just want to say that I attended a Wayne State Admitted Students Day in the last couple of weeks and it was very poorly run. Very quickly I'll run through what I didn't like.
First, they made the mistake of planning it over spring break so there was no faculty panel, no student panel and the building was dead.
Second, they didn't have a single person from career services get up and speak about career opportunities. This shows lack of organization
Third, they just didn't seem like they were trying to "sell" the school.

There is a list of other things I didn't like but mainly I felt it wasn't that organized and that Wayne State has become very complacement. As most UMich grads leave the state Wayne has just always been the top school in Michigan. .. combine this with in-state tuition and it was an easy choice for many students wanting to work in michigan. Because of this I feel they haven't put much effort into recruitement. I've emailed them 5 or 6 times and have never gotten a response. When I call their office I get transferred around a million times and they just generally aren't too interested in wooing students or paying attention to people. Overall, it just seems a highly unorganized and that they aren't on top of their sh*t. The presentations on the admitted students day covered all the basic law school stuff one might expect but completely lacked in any attempt to show off the school or show how all the great things the law school can do for you. They never mentioned their clinical programs, were unable to respond to a question about a study abroad program, didn't present career services, I thought there was also a host of other issues they glossed over that are important to incoming law students.

My impressions of the Wayne faculty and student body are very very good but my impression of the administration is incredibly negative.