  Bjones16 Member Username: Bjones16 Post Number: 1 Registered: 09-2008 |
Hello, This is my very first post on here and I was hoping there are some law school grads or students that can help me. Most people who I discuss Cooley law school with look down on it. Is it really that bad? I recieved a partial scholarship for getting a high lsats and I was considering going there. How is the school and should I attend Cooley or go to UofD or Wayne? | ||
Mayor_sekou Member Username: Mayor_sekou Post Number: 2610 Registered: 09-2006 |
I know someone who goes to Cooley and they say it’s not that bad to be a student there. The problem is apparently they let in a lot of people who have really no business being there so it has a bad rep, especially when those people get kicked out after a year. I was a shitty, well not shitty, but just okay student who did really well on the LSAT and I had pretty much the same question around this time last year. I was considering MSU, U of D, Wayne, John Marshall Chicago, U of Toledo, and Dayton. I got waitlisted at MSU and Wayne, rejected at Toledo, and got in everywhere else. So I choose U of D, which for a tier 4 school it is pretty good. It has a decent amount of big out of state firms coming here to recruit and it has a good rep of producing good lawyers as opposed to good law students. But out of the three I would still give the slight edge to Wayne because if you want to practice in this area their alumni network is excellent, it’s also cheaper and higher ranked. But I’d suggest touring both schools and figuring out which one suits you best. U of D so far isn’t very competitive. It’s very intimate and friendly here. Their financial aid office sucks because they are mind numbingly slow to do anything you actually need. So if you pick here you better be prepared to stay on top of them to get your schooling paid for. I won’t comment on the degree of difficulty of the coursework because as they say at this point I’m not really supposed to know what I’m doing and I haven’t taken an exam or got a grade yet. Overall so far I like it, but I suspect that I would enjoy law school anywhere. If you have any questions about this school I’ll keep you up to date of life here as I progress. | ||
Bjones16 Member Username: Bjones16 Post Number: 3 Registered: 09-2008 |
Thanx alot! Also, How do you pay for law school and all other expenses because I was told not to work. | ||
Ljbad89 Member Username: Ljbad89 Post Number: 58 Registered: 10-2007 |
Bjones16: I am a future professional student as well, except I'm doing my prereqs and the PCAT for pharmacy school. I am frequently told the answer: Loans. Focus as much as you can on your schooling. With a big income when you graduate and become a lawyer, you'll have no problem paying off your loans. ...Or you could become a part-time male hooker. I'm sure there are some good spots along East Jefferson. :P I kid of course. Good luck. It's always nice to see another young professional here. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 5387 Registered: 02-2005 |
Wayne is the primary source of Detroit lawyers. The respect level here is beyond solid. If it's between those schools-- you have to go for Wayne. U-D is on the upswing I believe-- they have good ideas on how to reform legal education and how to work for their students to get them jobs. They don't have much money though, so make sure you get well into the 160s on your LSAT to get a scholarship. If not, it doesn't beat Wayne. Cooley is known around the country, for all the wrong reasons. | ||
Gmich99 Member Username: Gmich99 Post Number: 274 Registered: 11-2005 |
I am a MSU Law 3L from Michigan. My roommate is a Cooley 1L from Maryland. My father is a Cooley graduate from the 70s. I have friends that have attended and or graduated from all the law schools in Michigan (UofM, MSU, Wayne, UofD, and Ave Maria). If your drive is to work as a lawyer in the Detroit-area, I would push Wayne. Under no circumstances would I, or my father, recommend Cooley. A close friend was frustrated with her experience at UofD, especially with the performance of their financial aid department. My friends at Wayne seemed to have a decent experience, but have struggled for decent paying jobs in the Detroit-area. I had one very conservative undergraduate classmate that attend Ave Maria for one year. He transferred to UofM, in part, because it was too conservative an atmosphere. UofM would be my top choice, but without the LSAT/GPA score, it wasn't a consideration. That said, I'm happy to be at MSU. The experience has been greatly enhanced by the pleasant campus environment and student pride for all things green. Something my undergraduate experience at EMU lacked entirely. | ||
Downtown_lady Member Username: Downtown_lady Post Number: 268 Registered: 08-2008 |
quote: Where the hell did that come from? ...in response to a young kid looking for law school advice | ||
Tugboat Member Username: Tugboat Post Number: 1 Registered: 09-2008 |
Bjones: I'm a first year attorney, '07 graduate of U of D. I can tell you that going to Cooley is going to be a hurdle for you when you first start out as a lawyer. It'll also forever bar you from working at the bigger firms in the area. It may also put you at a slight disadvantage when it comes to taking the bar exam as Cooley's grads tend to do the worst of any school in the state. Other than that, your law school only matters when it comes time to get your first job. Afterwards, you get by on your rep as an attorney and not where you went to school. So Cooley may not be a bad option (they're financial aid packages can be superb depending on your credentials). But I must caution you to think twice about law school. The market is flooded with attorneys now. In fact, I've heard that more people took the July 2008 bar exam in Michigan than ever before. Much of this is because people are losing their jobs and see the law as a second-career. But it has the effect of driving down pay. You'll be lucky to make in the low to mid $40s starting out while trying to pay down tens of thousands of dollars in loans. I also know many seasoned attorneys who are struggling as well and who hate their jobs, the billable hours and the stress. | ||
Bjones16 Member Username: Bjones16 Post Number: 4 Registered: 09-2008 |
Thanx alot guys! Looks like I may just attend wayne or UofD eventhough Cooley offered me a half scholarship lol. I will look into it more though. How do most of the law school students pay for all of your expenses? Let me guess....Loans.... | ||
Tugboat Member Username: Tugboat Post Number: 2 Registered: 09-2008 |
Yes, loans somewhere in the neighborhood of $100K at U of D. And don't say no one warned you. | ||
Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa Post Number: 1136 Registered: 09-2005 |
Of course, there is always the joint U of Detroit Mercy/U of Windsor program. If you apply and get accepted into the Windsor program, in theory (and I have not reviewed the numbers) you should be able to save some money on tuition (Canadian law schools being significantly cheaper) even as a foreign student. With this program you will earn a JD from UDM in the standard three years (as well as a Canadian law degree). More info here: http://www.uwindsor.ca/jdllb | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 5388 Registered: 02-2005 |
I received a half-scholarship from Wayne and as much as 25k/yr. from schools ranked 70s-100s in NY-metro. From U-D, the tier 4 private school? Nothing. Good luck with that, but Wayne is going to be the best professional and financial bet. To put an addendum on what Tugboat said, I'd say use caution about being a poorly-qualified lawyer anywhere. Just choose the metro you want to live in (for you it seems like Detroit), and go get good grades and good connections. The other school of thought if you're looking in multiple metros is to just go to best school you get into that has a reasonable price, and then move later in your professional career. But, again, you have to score as high as possible to rise above the mess. Finding a niche and/or being open to many types of employment such that you'll have options, and 40k/yr jobs won't be thrust upon you. I disagree that a large supply is driving wages down. I believe the large supply is neccesarily putting more lawyers out onto the margins/fringes and the new jobs being created for them are mostly public interest jobs. I'm not even sure how true that is outside of metro Detroit. At any rate, the good jobs for the most qualified people are not declining in salary. | ||
Bjones16 Member Username: Bjones16 Post Number: 5 Registered: 09-2008 |
Aight thanx alot guys. Lokks like I may just end up going to Wayne. Hopefully there are alot of scholarships and grants I can get! Hopefully I don't take out 150,000 in student loans | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 5389 Registered: 02-2005 |
Loans serve a purpose. Too much debt, though, might not be worth it for what you get [150k debt is only worth it if we're talkin Yale Law etc]. You'll know when you find a good place with a good price, and you'll be willing to bet against the loans you need to go there because you know that school will help you succeed. A good school that lightens the load in terms of loans by giving a scholarship is, more than likely, the right place, if you feel good about it. Don't forget that Wayne, even without a scholarship, is a great deal. I actually turned down some scholarships because I found a similar good deal at what I thought was the best school I got into. |
