Starting Cooley in May

[Trane32]

Well, I finally received my acceptance letter, and will be starting school on May 2nd, 2011.  I have read numerous discussion threads and blogs deterring students from going to Cooley, but I guess I just want to hear some feedback from current students or alumni.  Are the myths true?  Is there a massive curve that I am going to battle, and an unscrupulous attrition rate to overcome?? I like to think of myself as an intelligent individual, but things of this nature make me a little uneasy.  Law is something that I want to make a career out of, and I would really like to spend my time at law school learning and retaining information instead of kicking, screaming, and trying to keep my head above water.  Any information would be greatly appreciated, as I need to make a final decision in the next few weeks.  Thank you in advance, and I hope you have a fantastic day!

Also, I would love to get in touch with anyone else who will be starting in May.  Please feel free to email me, or reply to this post!!!

[lawstudent2011]

All lawschools are hard. Why pick Cooley though? You say you are smart, why not drive an extra few miles to the other Michigan options?

[Trane32]

Honestly,  that is  a very good question!  Unfortunately, for me, I really messed up during my UG.  My LSAT score is high enough to get a 50% merit scholarship at Cooley, but I honestly feel that I wouldn't have a chance at acceptance from UM or MState.  Basically, Cooley and the other lower T4 schools are my only option.  Cooley is my top choice due to the scholarship offer, but I'm still a little hesitant due to the numerous stigmas that go along with Cooley.  By no means am I saying that Cooley isn't a good school; I'm just stating that some people's perspective of Cooley isn't exactly "fantastic".   I guess there is a little piece of me that might like to go to Cooley and attempt to transfer, but one should never head off to school with the thought that transferring is their only option. First and foremost, I want my JD..no matter what.  I just want to make sure I get it from a school that I am going to be proud of.

[lawstudent2011]

I'd still apply to the other schools if you would want to go if accepted. Applications don't cost that much, and the worst they can say is no.

That being said, good luck and have a good time. Law school(even at cooley,whittier,etc) is a one in a kind experience. You sound like  you'll do just fine. 

[Trane32]

Thank you very much!!  I'm extremely excited about law school, and can't wait for it to start!  You are 110% correct about applying to a variety of law schools.  Like you said, the worst thing that can happen would be for them to say "no"! By the way, are you currently a law student, or have you graduated?? From your posts, you seem like you've done this before!! 

[J.D._ JD]

Hi, I went to Cooley it was a good school, it's not a meat grinder like everyone says. Tier 1's like to play spoiler and point to the ABA data, basically they don't like Cooley because the standards for admission are low. And they are right. They also like to make the argument that Cooley floods the legal field, with so many attorneys no body gets a job; but according to the same people 50% of first term students are filtered out of some well random attrition machine and we never get hired anyway.  They also seem to forget that the ABA does have standards, that have to be met. Oh and they love to use the term Elite. Cooley is ranked by there elite brothers (Conflict of Interest). But the key term is elite, how dare a law school have the audacity to offer night classes and part time programs gasp.

However I digress, if you have a chance to get into U of M. Go for it! But, at least it appears, you're planning on staying in Michigan. Don't split hairs over the rest of the schools in the state.

[Hamilton]

I disagree, split hairs.  Wayne State or MSU will open more/better employment doors for you than a Cooley degree.

Don't split hairs over the rest of the schools in the state.

[lawstudent2011]

people talk a good game,but which specific employers give a damn about which Michigan school you went to?

I disagree, split hairs.  Wayne State or MSU will open more/better employment doors for you than a Cooley degree.

Don't split hairs over the rest of the schools in the state.

[Hamilton]

What is this, a schoolyard?  I'm not "talking game," I am simply stating facts.  To answer your question for the benefit of the OP, Warner Norcross, Honigman Miller, Clarke Hill, Butzel Long, Bodman,  Plunkett Cooney, Barnes and Thornberg, Dykema Gossett, Varnum, Dickinson Wright, Foster Swift, etc., etc.   Any of the larger firms in the state are very thin on Cooley grads.  They are either older laterals or finished in the very tops of their classes.

Go to any of their sites and look at attorney profiles.  Will find UM, WSU, MSU, and out-of-state T1s and T2s in abundance with a rare smattering of Cooley folks. 

I'm not saying it's right or wrong - it is what it is.

people talk a good game,but which specific employers give a damn about which Michigan school you went to?

I disagree, split hairs.  Wayne State or MSU will open more/better employment doors for you than a Cooley degree.

Don't split hairs over the rest of the schools in the state.

[UnLovableJD]

Hi!  I go to Cooley, I am graduating in December.  It's not as bad as people make it sound.  The professors are great and I did Public defender clinic last term and was very happy with it.  That being said, I probably wouldn't go to law school, if given the chance again, because the legal job market is so scary right now, and will probably remain that way for sometime.  If cooley would kill those rankings, I would be less ashamed of the school.  Oh, and if they could actually get employers to come to campus instead of throwing us a link to USAjobs.  That'd be great.  But maybe by the time you graduate, everything will be okay and we will all have jobs, and not have to hide in the wilds whittling elk bones to kill wild boars with, like that little girl in the HANNA trailers.