Legitimate Cooley question

[V00Jeff]

Sorry  - I must not have made myself clear. I realize that there is almost zero chance of me getting a position as counsel here at Whirlpool. My point is that this is a huge company doing business all over the globe - the fact that they are farming out their work to other firms might open doors for me at one of those firms. Firms that I might not normally get looked at if I were coming straight from Cooley without any other credentials.

I am banking on being able to network with those firms through contacts that I am able to make here at Whirlpool. Whirlpool headquarters is located in a small community < 12,000 people. Meaning, the executive leadership here at the company are same people that you run into at your kids soccer practice, church, or local restaurants.

In any event, I am going to retake the LSAT in June just to see if I can bump my score up. I will have about 5 weeks to prep - even if I do get my score up, it's unlikely that I would benefit from it during this admissions year. Who knows, if I am able to pull off a miracle and get a considerable bump then it might be worth my while to put off law school for a year. In the interim - Valpo has a 1 year MBA program that I could do in the evenings, again, on Whirlpool's dime.

I think I agree with Nixon.  Most likely, you aren't going to be able to get into these types of firms coming out from Cooley.  So let's rule that out.  Let's look at Cooley's employment stats:

http://www.cooley.edu/careersvcs/prospective/placement2003.htm

OK, so coming out of Cooley, you can expect to make about 45K...and this is 1) IF you find a job (which 23% of grads don't according to this website) and 2) IF you don't get winnowed out in the first year or two.  I don't know much about your current job, but I doubt that 45K is a huge improvement over what you would be making 4 years from now without your JD.  If you take that huge time investment over the next 4 years, I'm sure you can find something else to work on that will improve your career -- just judging from a financial perspective -- more than the Cooley JD.  I mean, research MBA programs, masters programs, etc.

The only benefit to getting a Cooley JD is that you'll be a lawyer.  If you really LOVE the law and aren't getting a JD just for financial reasons, or to get promoted, then I think you can start to justify the Cooley thing.  But it doesn't sound like you like the law, or even really know much about the legal market.  So I just don't understand why you'd go to Cooley.

[NJHandyGirl]

Am I to understand you:
Are accepted to an ABA approved law school?
That you don't have to pay for it (except books & supplies)?
Can go on the weekends (thus not losing 3 yrs of earnings)?


I know what the opinions about Cooley are, but the fact is, there are no guarantees. You could graduate from another school with $100k in debt and STILL not get the biglaw job. You could retake the LSAT and do worse. I agree with umrebel, this is a very sweet deal. Take a look at Martindale to see who your alumni will be. By the way, I believe the so-called lower ranked schools have a high attrition rate because they give some people a chance who can not realistically do the work. If Harvard were to let in those same people, their attrition rate would be the same. That will not be the case with you...you have a 3.9 GPA--you are SMART! And, your LSAT score is still better than over 50% of those who took it--most of whom did not have to study while working full time jobs.

In order to go to law school, I have to sell my house, quit my job, pay $60K minimum...there are no guarantees that I'll have anything to show for it. Don't get me wrong I am excited about this decision, but whew! what a gamble! 

Either way, good luck with your decision and I hope everything works out for you!

[elemnopee]

I would just like to note that a 151 is not a bad LSAT score at all -- in fact, it is *perfectly* average.  Half the students taking the exam score below a 151. 

However, this does indicate that you have decent aptitude for the test, and can probably do even better. 

In the end, a Cooley degree may not be so bad, given that it will essentially be free, and not all programs will fit into your work schedule like this.  However, if you can attend a better program for free as well, that would be even better.  (If you're in SE Michigan, other programs will also probably be more convenient in terms of commute.)  If nothing else, a higher score will get you more aid money from Cooley -- and maybe you could arrange it such that it's a stipend rather than a tution waiver, since your work is willing to cover 10K in tuition anyway.

According to ABA roughly half the people that take the LSAT do not get accepted to a School.  So to be blunt that is a really crappy score.

To the OP, you are definetely selling yourself short especially with such an amazing GPA.

In addition, you are setting yourself up for an immense risk.  Do not assume because it is "Cooley" you will be able to coast through Law School.  Half the students do not make it to second year.

If you did not have the time to study for the LSAT what makes you think you will be able to put enough into Cooley that you will not be screwed by a bunch of gunners and a curve?

OP, IMHO you need yo re-evaluate your situation, and retake the LSAT, a 10 point plus increase will almost nullify your past score.

*sorry for being harsh, but with a higher LSAT score you would be an exceptional law school canidate*

[macheko]

how much did you study for the lsat? I started with around a 151, and after taking a prep course i improve more than 10 points.
I don't say you have to take a prep course, but if you put in the time you'll improve. you have a great gpa, better than mine, i'm sure you can score a 160. that'll get you into a tier 1 school w/ a 3.9 gpa.

[azstudent]

Not to be offensive, but I don't think that any firm that would do contract work for whirlpool would even consider a graduate from Cooley.  I'm assuming that most of there work ir primarily from Vault 100 firms which are known to be prestige whores.  Even with the presumed advantage of networking with these firms while at work I still think that it would be nearly impossible to get a job at one of these big law firms because of the known Cooley stigma.  You would be better off trying to raise your LSAT score than wasting four years of your life at Cooley.

[the REAL desi]

i would retake the LSAT and re-apply - not because Cooley isn't respected but because you can do better. 

[SuicideNixon]

whirlpool's outside counsel is almost certainly a large law firm(s). Even with your connections, you don't really have a shot at these firms with a cooley jd. vault 100 firms pretty much hire only in tier 1 and some of the very very top people in a few tier 2s. it would be essentially unheard of for a big firm like this to hire a cooley jd fresh out of school. A few folks from cooley have probably made it into big firms, but they've only gotten there with years and years of toiling away at smaller firms.

[emarejay]

The only people I have ever heard bash Cooley are students applying to law school or people in other law schools. I'm sure there are tons of attorneys out there that hate on it to, but of all the ones I have talked to, they all say mostly good things about it. Sounds like a great fit for you.

[XYZZY]

this is the reason no one will take the cooley JD seriously:

http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/overall2004.htm

cooley 24
Stanford 28

[Highway]

this is the reason no one will take the cooley JD seriously:

http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/overall2004.htm

cooley 24
Stanford 28

I like where they put UConn, though...number 27. USNews has it now ranked at 49. Since I'm going to UConn, maybe I'll just start telling people they're ranked number 27. After all, none of my friends or family are going to know any different. I could say it was ranked in the top 10, and they'd believe me. Of course, with the Cooley rankings, I now have some back up if they want to see proof!