Go to Cooley, or retake LSAT??

[FutureLSStudent]

I have just graduated with a 2.9 gpa. I took the LSAT twice and my highest score is 150. I applied to Mich State and Wayne State and was rejected. I do believe applying very close to the deadline and my low lsat score were the reasons why I did not get accepted. I can go to Cooley and try to transfer but I have been advised to retake the LSAT and try to do ALOT better. I do believe that I can score higher and I am even willing to take a class. How much better would I have to score to be considered? Will schools that rejected me before really consider my application with a better lsat score? And having taken the lsat 2 times already hurt my chances?

[Maintain FL 350]

If you take the LSAT twice, most schools will either average your scores together or use the highest score. I have no idea what happens if you take it three times. You may have to wait a while before you can take it again, check with LSAC.

I would definitley advise taking a course if possible. I took kaplan and found it to be very beneficial. They had a test center in my area and I went every single day and took at least one full LSAT under actual test conditions, then analyzed my answers. Very helpful. It is expensive, however. If you do take a class you will get out of it what you put into it. Work hard, review your answers (don't just keep re-taking tests without review), and make the LSAT your single focus.

If you're not in a rush and can wait a while, I'd say take a class and re-take the LSAT. If you do decide to go to Cooley, take the time to research all aspects of the school and understand what it's going to take to succeed both in law school and afterwards. Transferring is not easy, and you really should not go to any law school that you aren't prepared to graduate from.

I hope that helped, good luck!

[jbean29]

Is Cooley the only school you got into?

I would take a year off, study take the test again, write a better personal statement, make your application as strong as it can possibly be and then apply early to schools.

a 3.0 and if you can get your score up to 160, you can have a lot more options.

[Nova Juris]

Is Cooley the only school you got into?

I would take a year off, study take the test again, write a better personal statement, make your application as strong as it can possibly be and then apply early to schools.

a 3.0 and if you can get your score up to 160, you can have a lot more options.

Hell at 160 Cooley if free.

Average retake only goes up 3 points.

Try, but don't expect it.

[Anti09]

If you take the LSAT twice, most schools will either average your scores together or use the highest score. I have no idea what happens if you take it three times. You may have to wait a while before you can take it again, check with LSAC.

I would definitley advise taking a course if possible. I took kaplan and found it to be very beneficial. They had a test center in my area and I went every single day and took at least one full LSAT under actual test conditions, then analyzed my answers. Very helpful. It is expensive, however. If you do take a class you will get out of it what you put into it. Work hard, review your answers (don't just keep re-taking tests without review), and make the LSAT your single focus.

If you're not in a rush and can wait a while, I'd say take a class and re-take the LSAT. If you do decide to go to Cooley, take the time to research all aspects of the school and understand what it's going to take to succeed both in law school and afterwards. Transferring is not easy, and you really should not go to any law school that you aren't prepared to graduate from.

I hope that helped, good luck!

Law schools aren't really averaging LSATs anymore.  USNWR now only requires the top LSAT to be reported so there's no reason for them to.  NYU and a few others claim to, but there is even dispute about whether they do this in practice.  Also, Kaplan may have worked for you, but the rest of the legal world agrees that it's pretty awful.  It caters towards the lowest common denominator and teaches you boiled-down version of Testmasters strategies.  Testmasters / Powerscore / Manhattan > Princeton Review > Taking pratice LSATs yourself  > Kaplan.

OP, for the love of God, don't go to Cooley.  It's a bottom barrel TTTTrash degree mill that wont get you a job and will leave you with mountains of debt.  Retake and apply to some splitter friendly schools.

[Maintain FL 350]

Isn't Cooley the exact opposite of degree mill? A degree mill is a school which both admits and graduates anyone, with no real curricular/scholastic standards. Cooley admits just about anyone, but then dismisses a large number due to academic attrition. Those that graduate are not handed a degree for simply showing up, but have in fact completed the same general course requirements of any student at any ABA approved law school.

I don't think any ABA approved law school can be considered a degree mill.

[fortook]

I forget the yearly Cooley grad number, but its pretty high- over 500.  Biggest law school in the country, baby. 

The irony of going to schools with high attrition is that they are probably actually harder- I mean they kick out like half of there class.  An incoming 1L has a %50 chance of being kicked out. A %50 chance- good God. 

OP there are schools that you can get into with your numbers.  I saw someone on lawschoolnumbers with a 148 who some how got into Case. And I think that person actually ended going to UDC- Ha.

Cooley is too risky on too many levels.  Don't play the transfer game, hardly anyone actually pulls it off.  GL.

[Maintain FL 350]

Yeah, the aggregate total of all Cooley campuses is around 3000. I think that the next biggest schools are Harvard, Hastings, and Loyola-LA, each at around 1200. (Might be wrong on that). I'm curious, does that 50% attrition rate represent only forced attrition, or does it also include those who simply drop out? Either way it's an astounding number. I think attrition at my law school was something like 4-6%.

Fortook is right, Cooley's not your only option. If you need to stay in the region take a look at Detroit-Mercy, Toledo, Valparaiso, Akron, and Cleveland State.

[fortook]

Nah, the attrition is mostly forced via a harsh curve. Some transfers and people who just leave, but mostly forced. 

I didn't bother to look up Cooley's actual numbers, but I know Wiedner has a %47 attrition and Cooley has a worse rep than Wiedner.

That's the annoying fallacy of the LSAT- in reality it doesn't predict what it is supposed to very well (none of the standardized test do, not a single one), but it looks that way because people who get a good LSAT go to schools that retain their students and people that get a low LSAT go to many schools that kick out tons.  Hence, the appearance via policy, not data, that the LSAT does what its supposed to. Its all very stupid, but its the way it is.

[Julie Fern]

widener attrition rate 25.4% first year class.  cooley 14.8% first year, 14.9% second year.  chapman 7.7% first year.

many applicants beg these schools offer admission.