THE THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL SCAM 02/14/2011
 The disclaimer below is in response to the frivolous SLAPP lawsuit intended to intimidate and silence free speech filed against this site and its creator by the morally bankrupt institutional hypocrite that is the Thomas M. Cooley Law School which maintains that it has integrity and ethics at its core but believes it can abuse the legal system with a SLAPP suit lending further credence to the notion that it does not in fact believe in the law or the first amendment rights it "teaches". Furthermore the brilliant Cooley folk like Jimbo Thelen and Sir Don Leducky and its lawyers at Miller Canfield (who are not Cooley lawyers by the way- a telling fact), who demonstrably have no professional integrity or respect for the judicial system and the law itself by the mere filing of this outrageous SLAPP lawsuit, clearly have never heard of the "Striesand Effect" which is likely to soon become known as the "Cooley Effect". Congrats for shining the spotlight on your questionable institutional business practices Cooley- now perhaps outside the legal community your average layperson will now know of "Cooley Law School" and the irreperable stigma that is attached to the Cooley brand name that will haunt its students and grads for a lifetime. SLAPP Suits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SLAPP Striesand Effect soon to become known as the "Cooley Effect" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striesand_effect Dear all, I believe I was very clear throughout my dated blog post below that I was expressing my personal opinion. I would analogize my entire post reflecting my personal experience and personal views of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School to watching a movie on a Friday night then publishing online statements asserting that it was a poor investment of time, money, and certainly not worthwhile- to boycott the movie and go ahead and watch that other movie that released the same Friday or any other movie for that matter. Do motion picture producers go out and publicly file lawsuits against each and every one who trashes their film? Let’s make the analysis more relevant and assume I flatter myself and liken my blog post to a giant public platform to express my views and opinions. Will Michael Bay go out and sue Roger Ebert, who is arguably one of the biggest critics in America, for trashing his movie? As for distorted employment data, I have previously acknowledged that this is not a problem that is confined to Cooley alone. The ABA regulation of school reported employment data has been widely criticized by commentators, scambloggers, law professors, in addition to industry experts and analysts as being misleading. Common grounds for criticism include the idea of self-reported employment data by the law schools and notable deficiencies in the reporting in terms of not disclosing overall response rates and either having a breakdown or reflecting employment that actually requires a law degree. Since I concur with the opinions of these critics and publicize it, will this opinion and view subject me to another 200 lawsuits filed by each and every ABA approved law school? I would like to make it clear that I never once addressed the quality of the education provided at Cooley but grounded my opinion based on its poor reputation as a fourth tier school, high attrition rates, unfriendly administrative policies, and most reprehensible of all, the school naming itself as the second best law school in the United States of America ahead of such notables such as: Yale, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, UofM, Chicago etc. In fact I would consider their subjective self-proclaimed and advertised ranking as the second best law school equally if not more “misleading” to the general public than my own publicized personal subjective opinion on Cooley not being a good option for law school. I’ll go out on a limb and speculate that my “misleading” opinions would bear slightly more weight given that the most authoritative ranking of law schools published by the US News ranks Cooley closer to the bottom of the 200 schools as opposed to the top two law schools in the country. The assertion by Thomas M. Cooley of its status as the second best law school in America is as ludicrous as asserting that I am the second smartest man in America. It would invite the type of backlash that Cooley experiences everywhere throughout the nation. Yet I would not go out and sue someone who has a different opinion, or in the extreme scenario, publicly lambasts me for my declaration and calls me the dumbest man in America. I will also point out that I never made any allegations with respect to loan fraud or other specific factual claims regarding the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. I simply expressed my experience, views, opinions, and said that I would not recommend the school to anyone. Since I love use analogies (as I used several times in my disputed blog post to insult Cooley), this is similar to using a product then posting a negative review online telling everyone to beware and choose one of the competitors. Do you think McDonalds would come sue me if I said their Big Mac was a load of crap and that everyone should spend their money on a Whopper or virtually any other hamburger on the market, or none at all if that was their only other option? Finally, I would like to add that Cooley has not attempted to contact me even once, either through e-mail or through a blog comment on this post. If they had done so as they claim in James B. Thelan's sworn affidavit as attached to the Complaint, or perhaps even are willing to retract their lawsuit at this early stage, I would consider removing this post altogether. In terms of damages I’m not sure of the basis for Cooley’s request for relief in the amount of $25,000, let alone the special damages and/or actual malice that must be proven in order to successfully sue someone for defamation. I am not technologically savvy and any Joe Schmoe or "John Doe" for that matter who is disgruntled about their experience and wants to inform others of essentially a “buyer beware” message can set up a site in less than 5 minutes to publicize his views. Truthfully, I almost forgot about my Weebly blog site until I received an e-mail from a journalist that hit my blackberry informing me that a lawsuit has been directed towards my website. Up until now this blog has had an average of under 30 hits a day for the past few months. Most of the users seem to actually ATTEND COOLEY THEMSELVES, so the damage and defamation would be similar to telling the Detroit Lions they suck. Is a $50,000 lawsuit necessary to vindicate my “damage” to Cooley by expressing my personal opinions and views regarding it? The fact they have taken the time to take such a big step instead of simply ignoring and dismissing sites as mine as ridiculous does say a lot. My two-bit site should be hardly anything that would publicly defame and damage a world-class institution like the Thomas M. Cooley Law School which can boast of being the second best law school in the country that produces the greatest number of lawyers and is the world’s LEADER in top educational institutions. Sincerely, Rockstar05 SAVE YOURSELF: ANYONE CONSIDERING TO ATTEND THE “PRESTIGIOUS” THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL- EXPOSING THE THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL SCAM Consider this a PUBLIC SERVICE FOR ANYONE CONSIDERING THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL. In fact, I am probably doing YOU THE BIGGEST FAVOR OF YOUR LIFE by raising public awareness and offering you this advice….all free of charge! As a prior student who was fortunate enough to GET OUT OF COOLEY let me lay a SMACKDOWN on this TTTT (Third Tier Toilet Trash) school. Sorry to say there are little to no job prospects graduating from this school. Most graduates or people planning to attend do not have a shot in hell of actually practicing law, unless they either have GUARANTEED EMPLOYMENT, or believe that hanging a shingle in a dingy rented office post-graduation will provide the returns necessary to justify the 50k cost per year for attendance at this joke of a law school. Cooley is without a doubt one of the three worst law schools in the United States. Given that there are 193 ABA Approved Law Schools, this is QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. In addition to the horrendous ranking of this commode, Cooley is also a “punching bag” favorite in legal forums and ridiculed and considered THE BIGGEST JOKE of all law schools amongst other law students and the legal community at large. There are multiple reasons for this: 1) AN OPEN DOOR POLICY- They accept just about anybody. Go write the LSAT without studying, send Cooley a free application with no recent Felony convictions, and YOU WILL GET ACCEPTED. 2) ATTRITION RATE AND ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES- The first year attrition rate is about 26%. On your WAY OUT Cooley thanks you for your first year tuition payment, now have a nice life! 3) THE “COOLEY RANKINGS”- Contrary to the US NEWS that ranks the school amongst the fourth-tier trash of America, Cooley begs to differ as they publish their own “Cooley Rankings” on their website ranking it as the SECOND BEST school in America! 4) THE COOLEY “BUSINESS SCHOOL” IS A DIPLOMA MILL- A day and evening program, approximately 84% of enrolment on a part-time basis, a full-time weekend law program….basically creating ANY WAY you can think of to earn a degree from their school [EXCEPT AN ONLINE J.D. PROGRAM-an honor that until this point I believe only Florida Coastal has achieved (still awaiting a formal announcement from Thomas M. Cooley regarding a new online program)]. 5) THE NON-EMPLOYMENT OF ITS GRADS- I can say I knew no one who 1) was about to graduate and had found any employment prior to graduation OR 2) anyone who had graduated and eventually found a job I will elaborate and address each of these in order, backed by statistics and facts, painting a real picture of what Cooley really is, and what your career prospects will likely be post-Cooley. I. AN “OPEN DOOR POLICY” From Top Law Schools: http://www.top-law-schools.com/thomas-cooley-school-of-law.html “…with an acceptance rate of nearly 80%, admissions at Cooley are hardly selective – last year, 4,570 out of 5,775 received acceptance letters. The admissions office is very forthcoming about its use of an index to streamline their decision-making process: a candidate is scored via the formula (LSDAS GPA*15) + LSAT. The full-time JD class of 2012’s middle 50th percentile LSAT scores ranged from 146-152, with a median of 148; Cooley’s official policy is to accept only the applicant’s highest LSAT score. LSDAS GPA scores varied from a 25th percentile of 2.80 to a 75th of 3.42. The part-time program was less competitive with an LSAT range of 143 to 149, with a median of 145. Its GPA range was 2.58 to 3.34, with a median of 2.97.” What the fuck???? Are these stats real you might ask yourself? 4570 acceptance letters? It’s a shame that the American Bar Association (ABA) doesn’t require GPA or LSAT minimums scores for law schools. Generally speaking someone with an LSAT score or GPA that low should NOT be attending law school. However, there are some people who just do not do well on standardized tests and may have been more focused on partying and state football in their undergrad years. An LSAT score likely DOES NOT accurately reflect on one’s intelligence or is a good indicator or predictor of law school performance or ability to practice law. THAT BEING SAID, someone who scores lower than a 145 is still probably not anyone you would want representing you or adding prestige to your law school. OK, so I guess Cooley does give a SELECT FEW an opportunity to attempt law school that are potentially more worthy of law school and the profession than those in more prestigious law schools with higher entrance credentials. I will give Cooley credit on this point, and this point alone. Let’s face it is, law school is very elitist. Any school that strips the profession of the elitism is bound to get ragged on. Thomas M. Cooley is the biggest offender. By defying this law school norm they have taken a huge beating to their reputation. Also, it is very difficult for firms to take a law school like this which accepts some students with absolutely pathetic entrance credentials very seriously. Don’t worry…. you WILL GET ACCEPTED…but that should not be your biggest concern if you read on. If you get rejected by this school you should probably a) either kill yourself or b) settle for sweeping the hallways at a REAL LAW SCHOOL. II. ATTRITION RATE & ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES From Top Law Schools “The curve at Cooley is very tough - so much so that 22.4% of 1Ls and 14.5% of 2Ls either choose to leave or flunk out. Even 3Ls are not safe, as 14 of them were forced to leave last year.” http://www.top-law-schools.com/thomas-cooley-school-of-law.html “I would suggest adding another category “Attrition rate” where Cooley would surely be number “1″ : 1st Year – 26%; 2nd Year – 10.4%. Cooley wants people to believe that it can accept a host of people with the worst statistics (independent indicators) and come out thinking they are a top law school.” http://politicalcartel.org/2010/03/03/thomas-cooley-law-school-is-an-embarrassment/ What makes Cooley so bad is not the fact that it is a horrible fourth-tier school, but the fact that it is a fourth ranked school that acts like it is 1st tier school. The window is absolutely HUGE to get in but STAYING IN is RIDICULOUSLY HARD….not to mention the BULLSHIT ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES at Cooley which are UNHEARD OF AT REAL LAW SCHOOLS: - The GPA grading curve is amongst the worst in the country. Making it virtually IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSFER OUT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_school_GPA_curves The above website lists the law school GPA curve at 2.00-2.40. This GPA at any other school would put you at the DEAD BOTTOM of the class and probably suggest that you did not open a book all term. For Cooley you would still need to work for this disgusting GPA. Therefore DON’T EXPECT YOUR GRADES AT COOLEY to be attractive to any law schools in your goals to transfer out if that’s your reason for attending. Here is a typical admission office response to your transfer application “Not only did you attend the worst law school in the country but say what????!!!!! You couldn’t even get a 3.0 at that POS law school?”, with the individual immediately proceeding to throw your transfer application (which can cost upward of $100 per school) in the trash bin, next to all the other poor Cooley students trying to get out. They don’t give a shit that a 3.0 or above at this shitty school would put you in the top 25% of your class. The only marks that will get you to transfer out or will be respectable to any employer coming outta Cooley are A’s….and unfortunately out of 100 people in your class maybe only 7-9 will get them! Oh and there are no +’s at this school either….just the letter or a minus. I wonder what the rationale behind not having a “+” score in grading but having a “-“score could be? Good luck getting good grades at this school. All it takes is a little bit of research to establish that at the majority of other better ranked law schools, a 3.0 is a mediocre mark whereas that is an all-star mark at Cooley. So hey, you might be “the shit” at Cooley…but how does this all play out in reality??? Employers not familiar with Cooley’s grading policies will see this and be like “WHATTT ARE U SERIOUS THIS KID IS A JOKE, 2.85 FROM COOLEY AND HE WANTS TO WORK HERE???” You will be forced to put your class rank instead of your GPA on your resume out of fear of embarrassment or going directly into the trash. This will also limit your applications as most law jobs that accept applications through their website ask you for your GPA, NOT YOUR CLASS RANK. In other words, this school makes sure your fucked. Kind of works against you don’t you think? You pay all this money just to have your own school limit your potential? But hey this is THOMAS COOLEY…nothing really makes sense here. Believe it or not a SEXY 3.0 will put you on the Dean’s List if you got it for the term and the Honor Roll if your cumulative is a 3.0 or above. Try explaining that to an employer…how your mediocre GPA sounding number put you on the honor roll at a bullshit school???!!!! - Part time and full time students are ranked together Yep, so when you see your class rank out of 1000 students and think HEY I know people from all the sections in 1L…add em all up and there is no more than 300 people, this should explain why there are such a large number of students ranked. Also from the link below we can see that 84% of the students are part time students: http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2010/03/smoldering-steaming-pile-of-excrement.html#links The website above also offers a realistic picture at the very top of what your career prospects will look like. So that rich spoiled son of a bitch who was too stupid to get in anywhere else can afford to take 1-2 classes a term and live off daddy’s money or a trust fund and just coast through life can FOCUS ALL HIS EFFORTS ON TWO CLASSES and get straight A’s while simultaneously degrading your legitimate efforts at 5 courses to a mediocre class rank!!!! Such are the “just” and “ethical” policies of the prestigious Tom Cooley Law Skool. - Up to two-three weeks prior to the beginning of the term one may not add or change courses So your only option if you want to change professors or courses when the year starts is to DROP. This is HARDLY the type of policies you would expect at the LARGEST LAW SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY with by far the most students and largest selection of courses and sections for those courses. This policy is in effect to make sure it takes you longer and is more difficult to obtain a degree from this poor excuse of a law school - IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GRADUATE ON TIME This school requires a mandatory externship that firms take as free labor then byebye! Cooley has four campuses that supply graduates endlessly, do you really think firms give a shit? Additionally after your core required courses in later semesters almost ALL courses are worth only 2 credits…meaning you will have to stack up 6-7 classes a term to graduate without spending longer at Cooley than you want to. This is clearly not realistic. - In some cases students must wait SEVEN WEEKS FOR THEIR MARKS!! Marks are due on the fourth Monday of the following term plus add the three weeks off! Further proof the professors get paid to do fuck all. To make matters worse this joke of a law school couldn’t even follow through on this promise for the Fall 2010 marks, with some marks taking an additional 48 hours past the deadline to be posted. Guess the school allots additional time for the professors to get trashed over the holidays and celebrate their high paid salaries all the while laughing at the students dumb enough to attend this waste site. - Cooley does NOT let you pick your own courses Other law schools allow a lot of latitude in choosing courses and specializing. Not Cooley- your first three terms are PRE-SET and almost 2/3 of your entire degree is composed of REQUIRED COURSES. So much for taking the courses you want to. But hell, COOLEY KNOWS BEST. After all, they did build this STELLAR REPUTATION in the legal community that keeps employers RACING TO EMPLOY COOLEY GRADS. - Exams are all closed book Other schools have open-book exams, meaning you can bring your textbooks and ANY NOTES you please. Cooley reinforces its reputation as a hard-core rigorous elite law school by not allowing this under the pretext that “hey, the bar exam is not open book”. Correct Cooley, I’ll give you that. But what about fucking courses like Tax which are not tested at all on the bar. How do you justify that? Just trying to keep your bar passage rates up and keep your accreditation I assume. Further proof the faculty, staff, executive committee, and administration are all in on the business model described beow and that the students are morons for putting up with this shit. How do you expect someone who is not well versed in tax (which is REQUIRED at this school by the way) to memorize all of that? I have a business background so that is just as good as giving me a 4.0 by closing the books for other students….but boy do I feel bad for the people who find tax challenging. Also in real life, what tax lawyer is not allowed to use a handbook in conducting their practice? Thomas Cooley holds itself out as a PRACTICAL law school, how do you justify this policy then? - There is no Spring Break Hey other schools get breaks. Cooley? NO WAY- hey this is a top school, we don’t take breaks. You want the BigLaw experience right? Well the hard work ethic and no-life part you will DEFINITELY GET…in fact this is the closest you will ever get to the BigLaw experience with a degree from this shithole. - There is no reading week prior to exams That’s right. You go straight from Week 14 of classes to Week 15 of exams. Class on Friday where you are REQUIRED TO ATTEND and exam on Monday. No room to breathe. You are still studying and doing readings to be prepared for class so you don’t get verbally annihilated by your professor in front of the class and you must simultaneously balance studying for your finals while completing your weekly course readings. Exactly what you’d expect from a fourth-tier school right? Other law school students at different schools would scream over policies such as these. - All Exams Must be Completed in one week Most exams are so CRAMMED IN so you will be at the library until 4am having panic attacks a few weeks before exams and entering cardiac arrest each night before an exam. Yessir, it is not uncommon for most 1L students taking 5 courses to write all 5 in 5 days. Pretty crazy don’t you think? Considering the exams are all worth 100% that would probably give anyone a panic attack. Exam schedules are a nightmare to anyone who attends this school. You will be lucky if you are taking 5 exams in 6 days….or 4 exams in 5 days. At other law schools this is unheard of! - Unfriendly transfer policies At this garbage school they frequently encourage students NOT to take a full course load. They encourage taking 3-4 classes a term. But seeing as schools like to see 24-30 credits over your first year (two semesters) to transfer, by taking fewer courses it will likely take 3-4 semesters before you reach this number of credits making it IMPOSSIBLE to transfer! NO SCHOOL WILL TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY. Also, the internet is flooded with reports of the admin offices at Cooley screwing them over. Examples are not sending required items by the deadline required at other schools and sending letters saying students are in bad standing when in fact they are not. Good luck getting into a different school when your own school is going out of its way to fuck you over. III. THE COOLEY RANKINGS HEY GUESS WHAT????? DID YOU KNOW THAT ALMOST 5000 STUDENTS GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE SECOND BEST LAW SCHOOL IN THE STATES???? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS APPLY….80% OF APPLICATIONS WERE ACCEPTED!!!! Who knew right? In its NEW RANKINGS, Cooley ranks itself the 2nd best school in the United States, RIGHT AFTER HARVARD. WOW, are you surprised? FUCK, I CANT BELIEVE I TRANSFERRED OUT OF THE SECOND BEST LAW SCHOOL IN AMERICA!!! Bet you didn’t think that a 143 on the LSAT and a 2.6 GPA (low ranges from their open door policy from above) from undergrad would get you into the second best law school in the country!!! THE LINK TO THE SHAM: http://www.cooley.edu/rankings/overall2010.html HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR YOU UNDERGRADS WANTING TO GET INTO THE 2ND BEST SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY. DO the following and make your parents PROUD BY getting accepted into the SECOND BEST LAW SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY: 1) Do not attend class, ever. 2) Blow all your money on women and booze! Try developing an addiction to crack while you are at it….if you can pull it all off and get into the best law school with the best career prospects and still have it all, why not?? Charlie Sheen does it right? He’s the highest paid actor on TV and damn is he cool…..all that money and the finest women!!! 3) Drink every night, literally every night during undergrad. 4) Midterm exam tomorrow? Make sure you drink even more the night before and attend the exam with a hangover. Throw in some unprotected drunken sex just to be even more reckless….also you will have something to think about while drawing doodles on your midterm exam the next day. 5) Literally do nothing for the LSAT. Walk in and shade in any letter you want. Go “A,B,C,D” then start from the beginning for the entire 100 question multiple choice exam. This is to ensure you don’t get any freebees by using any decent strategy such as shading in “B” for all responses (you may actually receive a 146 on the LSAT…and who wants to work harder than you should to get into the second best law school in the country right????) THIS IS THE MOST PATHETIC THING I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!! REPREHENSIBLE AT SEVERAL LEVELS. YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT MISREPRESENTATION AND LIABILITY FOR RECKLESS REPORTING IN YOUR TORTS CLASS. I am shocked and dumbfounded the school has not been sued for its misrepresentation on its website as the SECOND BEST LAW SCHOOL IN THE NATION BEHIND HARVARD. Proof that the executive committee and administration at this school does not have a shred of integrity or moral decency. We should ask them if they would send their kids to the prestigious Thomas M. Cooley Law School! I do not know how they can sleep at night publishing this shit. The audacity of these people just leaves me speechless. Whoever is responsible for this atrocity and public deception should be executed IMMEDIATELY. In addition to being addressed and ridiculed in several law school forums as well as legal professional communities the “Cooley Rankings” are also referenced to in the following: 1) The Top Law Schools website The Cooley Rankings Each year, Judge Thomas E. Brennen (who, by pure coincidence, happens to be dean of Cooley Law School) publishes his own rankings in response to the USNWR, which he sees as flawed. Also by pure coincidence, Cooley tends to land in the top 20 law schools in the country in these rankings, ahead of notables such as Duke, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. These rankings are often critiqued as being highly biased due to the importance they place on factors such as student body size (a third coincidence: Cooley is the nation’s largest law school) and law library square footage. Though the USWNR rankings have received their fair share of criticism over the years, and alternative rankings (such as the Leiter report) can often be credible alternatives, Judge Brennen’s rankings are generally considered (at best) to be little more than a marketing tool for Cooley Law. http://www.top-law-schools.com/thomas-cooley-school-of-law.html 2) This intelligent Blogger who devoted an ENTIRE PAGE to the ranking system http://politicalcartel.org/2010/03/03/thomas-cooley-law-school-is-an-embarrassment/ 3) Third Tier Reality http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2010/03/smoldering-steaming-pile-of-excrement.html#links 4) Wikipedia “In the twelfth edition of Judging the Law Schools, a publication authored by Cooley Law, Cooley ranks itself second (above law schools such as Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, University of Chicago Law School, and Duke University School of Law). The ranking system advocated by the school has come under heavy criticism for the methodology used to determine placement. The school maintains that judging a legal education by what caliber of students enter will not adequately address the quality of lawyers which come out. However, the Cooley ranking system has been criticized for never actually mathematically addressing this issue. Instead, a host of less determinative criteria, like volumes in library, total applications, total law school square footage, total minority faculty (notably ignoring ratio), total enrollment, total titles in library, and total serial subscriptions.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M._Cooley_Law_School I find it EXTREMELY FUNNY AND WEIRD THAT investors in the stock market require audited financial statements before investing in companies that must be validated and attested to by public accountants working long hours to verify the internal data meanwhile no one cares to audit or check these self-reported statistics from law schools that generate BILLIONS IN REVENUE EACH YEAR! HOW DO U THINK THE PRICE OF STOCKS ARE MEASURED? THE PRESENT VALUE OF FUTURE RETURNS. THE PRICE IS REFLECTIVE OF THE EARNINGS POTENTIAL OF THE STOCK. If the stock market provides shitty returns, negative returns, or NO returns the stock will become less desirable, and no one will buy till it shrivels up and the company dissolves! The average investor lets say has 10-20k invested in stocks. What about the young, innocent, and ambitious law school student who is about to invest 3 years of his life including 150k+ in non-dischargeable debt into a law degree that could have NO RETURN in this shitty job market????!!! There is no one to audit or verify where all this money is going, or to verify there will be any return at all. IV. COOLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL- A.K.A “DEGREE MILL” “… in the most recent USNWR rankings, the school received a peer-review score of 1.4, and a lawyers/judges-review score of 1.8 (both out of 5). The school also has one of the highest student-to-faculty ratios in the country, at 23.5. This last statistic contributes to the idea of Cooley as a “degree mill”. Cooley is priced at $28,740 per year. The school also offers generous LSAT-based scholarships – any candidate who scores 163+ is eligible for a 100% honors scholarship, with correspondingly lower dollar amounts offered for lower scores. Michigan residents are automatically eligible to receive a 10% increase on an honors scholarship. http://www.top-law-schools.com/thomas-cooley-school-of-law.html I checked the Cooley website as I was ABSOLUTELY SURE regular tuition is NOT that low and found this: http://www.cooley.edu/overview/tuition.html OUCH. $28,740…damn so I was wrong….right? NOPE I dug a little further (in fact just clicked on a link on the same page) to uncover this: http://www.cooley.edu/prospective/expenses.html Wait…..and YES I AM RIGHT!!! 32k in tuition alone ….THIRTY TWO THOUSAND $$$ IS ALL YOU NEED TO ATTEND THE SECOND BEST LAW SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY!!! Why go to those 40k+ top ranked law schools called Stanford and Yale when you can go this prestigious institute of higher learning?? Nice deceit once again. Just 4k. When your students receive their tuition bill and it is too late to turn back I am sure they won’t figure $4000 which is 1/7 of the entire advertised tuition is that big of a deal. Plus you are getting a FIRST RATE tuition….you do realize it is a PRIVILEGE to attend Cooley right? There are 20% of the other original applicants who would KILL TO BE IN YOUR POSITION. Way to prey on the trusting yet less-than-smart candidates for your prestigious law schools you fucking bloodsuckers! So this is more of a summary of the whole “open door” policy and attrition rate combination. This private law school is essentially a multi-million dollar business. In fact, in Lansing Michigan where the school is located they are the HIGHEST TAXPAYER….I’m sure the City of Lansing would do ANYTHING for this disgusting mess. HERE IS HOW IT WORKS IN LAYMANS TERMS IN CASE YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS: - Cooley take lotsa students, any student with $$, Cooley take - Cooley fail out lotta students - BUT Cooley keep first year money, become more rich - By flunking out dumber of dumb students; Cooley only keep smarter ones - half “smarter” students either get out 2 better law school - other half stay at Cooley and improve Cooleys bar passage rate - This make Cooley look good - Cooley get 2 keep its ABA accreditation and still operate as an ABA law school to make more $$ - Cooley bar pass rate is semi-decent not reflective of the horrible reputation and the horrible school it really is because they kick out all dumber suckers that accept admission - This keep Cooley look good and as lucrative investment to new gullable kiddies - Cooley lure more kids and get more money - More, more, money The whole process is just sickening. Most of these students should not have been in law school in the first place. Sure Cooley, you are giving them a shot….but at what cost? Those without scholarships will waste a year of their life at your school and total estimated expenses of 48K according to your site!!! What says being ethical or having integrity than taking 50k from a poor debt-ridden kid who doesn’t have a shot in hell at practicing law??? The website above provides the 2010-2011 figures….so it is likely that COSTS HAVE ONLY GONE UP to attend this prestigious “business school”. Congrats you criminals, you have accomplished robbery! 100% scholarships to attract students to give your school more credibility and tuition-paying dumbasses who have nowhere else to go in addition to the caveman breakdown above….GREAT BUSINESS MODEL!!! If John Dillinger were alive he would probably quit robbing banks and just decide to run Thomas M. Cooley Law School….seeing as both are essentially same things….only difference is that no one is going after these criminals over at Cooley!!!! V. THE NON-EMPLOYMENT OF COOLEY GRADS Yes you read it right. Not unemployment, not under-employment, NON-EMPLOYMENT. From: TOP LAW SCHOOLS: Life After Graduation Like many who earn degrees from Tier 4 schools, Cooley graduates do not tend to finish school with job offers falling into their laps, especially after the recent economic downturn. Graduates are prepared for the Michigan bar only slightly worse than at other schools, passing at a rate of 80%, compared with the state average of 82%. Graduates do not fare well on other bar exams, however. Other popular choices were New York (28 percentage points below average), Illinois (18 below), and California (44 below). Nine months after graduation, only 77.8% of Cooley alumni responding to a school survey have managed to find employment – meaning nearly a quarter remains unemployed; this statistic does not factor in the number of graduates responding to the school’s employment survey, so the real employment figures may be lower. The majority of graduates remain in Michigan to practice law, and go into the private sector – thus putting to good use the hard skills Cooley considers so important. I am SURPRISED that Cooley publishes its private sector starting salary for at 51k on their site....which seems relatively honest in comparison to publishing their own rankings putting them at the top of the law school rankings. Let me also remind you that PRIVATE PRACTICE IS GENERALLY THE BEST PAYING…..WOW SO YOU CAN PAY 50K/YEAR FOR THREE YEARS FOR A TOTAL OF 150K TO HAVE AN AVERAGE STARTING SALARY OF 50K???? WHAT AN AMAZING INVESTMENT!!! I was making more than that figure PRIOR to attending law school. Also, Cooley's response rate is ridiculously low so it is likely that grads working at McDonalds and Walmart are not responding or the average salary of a "grad" would be much much lower...but hey even they are still employed RIGHT?? All it took was thousands upon thousands of dollars and years of time, effort, and hard-work. DO NOT ATTEND THIS SCHOOL unless you have guaranteed employment, such as through family or very close friends. Beware the current job market- a job that is promised to you prior to law school may NOT BE THERE after three years through no fault of the promisor. The value of a Cooley J.D. is virtually worthless. Additionally, the opportunities of even being UNDER-EMPLOYED are very slim. Any diligent employer would be wary of hiring someone for under $15 an hour knowing that individual is being severely under-employed for their “training” as a lawyer. Nothing screams FLIGHT RISK like a J.D. of Law making $11.50. You are kidding yourself and must not take either yourself or the possibility of actually practicing law for a firm very seriously at all if you plan on attending this institution. THE WORST OF THE LOT are people who come from all over the US come to Cooley to get a law degree. This include LOTS of people from California, Illinois, and the good state of New York. I would go as far to say that approximately 70% of the students at Cooley’s main Lansing campus are from out of state. If you ever are unfortunate enough to ever be in Lansing, Michigan and take a stroll around you will see that virtually EVERY license plate you see in the downtown area immediately surrounding Cooley is filled with out of state plates. These are the “rejects” from almost each and every state who could not get into law school in their own state so all the rejects seek refuge from the harsh reality that they should not be practicing law at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School….which SLOGAN SHOULD BE “WHERE DEGENERATES UNITE” . The idea for these ass-clowns is to attend out of state with the intention of taking their prized Cooley J.D. back to their home state, write the bar, and find employment. I need to ask these people, ARE YOU RETARDED? When mediocre law schools in your own state are having trouble finding jobs for their grads or even paid internships do you think your out of state TTTT degree from one of the worst schools in the country will do any better? NO. NYLS grads are finding things tough and Touro grads literally can’t do shit in New York…you think a TTTT Cooley degree in one of the most saturated markets in America will do you any good at all??? If you think any differently you are in denial. You probably won’t show me your face in four years post-graduation when reality kicks in and all my warnings come true in so I can tell you I TOLD YOU SO. FINAL WORDS If you are attending due to a scholarship or affordable tuition, or even a FREE EDUCATION I would not attend here. When applying to firms after graduation would you really say in an interview (assuming you actually get one), “ya they gave me a 100% scholarship, I really am a genius and scored over a 163 on the LSAT”???? Do you think the employer could or will verify any of these statistics to give you any credibility???? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Also the Cooley name is just toxic in the legal community, if they see Cooley anywhere on an app it is likely it is going straight into the garbage. I would not be surprised if partners or hiring managers advise their secretary, HR person, or whoever is screening applications to just dump all the Cooley apps in the trash bin! If you are like me, use your better marks that got you a scholarship for at Cooley and pay full tuition at reputable regional T1 or T2 school….you will not regret it!! If you are attending with the intention of transferring out ASAP please rethink this option. Yes, top students DO TRANSFER OUT. However, it seems every student enters thinking they will be a part of these top students. If you think you will transfer and be in the top 20% of a class, keep in mind that everyone else is thinking that too….that means 80% of students who think this way will be disappointed. Law school is NOT LIKE UNDERGRAD….in fact it makes undergrad look like a joke! If you didn’t apply yourself then and think you will step it up now….based on no prior law school performance HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY GAUGE your future law school performance???? Do yourself a favor and do not attend with this mentality. In fact do not attend any law school where you would not want to graduate from…other law schools are also difficult to transfer from. However, the stigma associated with Cooley along with the NASTY GRADE CURVE discussed above will make it virtuously impossible to transfer. If this is your ONLY OPTION to attend law school I would probably re-consider law school as a whole. Either retake the LSAT and do better or find a different career altogether. I know you would like to be a lawyer- but hell, it isn’t for all of us. If everyone could be a doctor or lawyer, don’t you think everyone would be? You want to spend years of your life that you cannot get back, likely get into 150K or more of non-dischargeable debt, for a degree with a ZERO RETURN ON INVESTMENT????!!!! LISTEN TO ME, YOU WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE BY ATTENDING THIS SCHOOL. You can work at Wal-Mart without the Cooley J.D….take my word for it. Listen to my advice, it is the best return on your investment for reading this and quite possibly the best return on investment in your life if you are considering attending the Thomas M. Cooley Law School! RockStar05 P.S. Cooley considers almost 6000 applications a year, so I am certain that at least 8000 people a year do consider this as an option or look into it. I have done the research and experienced most of this for you, providing the lowdown and exposing one of the biggest scams in modern American history. You’re welcome. CommentsRockstar05 02/15/2011 12:53am
Thanks for the comment John. Generally, the definition of a FRAUD is an 1) intentional 2) misrepresentation of material fact 3) to induce another 4) actual reliance, and 5) damages. Amanda 03/29/2012 11:46am
My life was ruined by this institution. I was in my 6th term, and had to take a class, Evidence, with an 80 year old professor that was terrible. I mean absolutely terrible. I failed. Straight up F. It's ironic that the professor, who I am sure was outstanding 30 years ago, was asked to leave because he was not "needed" anymore. April C. 03/30/2012 2:12pm
Oh my God, I'm so sorry for your McCooley experience (I added the Mc to Cooley b/c they have the same amount of quality care & empathy a does McDonald's & they pump out diplomas like cheap pink slime burgers). I will pray for you. Are you still in Michigan? I am a free lance writer, since I cant get a job in the legal field, and I am thinking about writing an article about all these negative Cooley stories. A friend of mine also hosts a political radio program and would love to have they chance to expose Cooley. That was an EPIC post. I posted the link to this entry, over on JD Underground. 02/15/2011 5:26pm
I started my second semester at Touro Law School paid in full with Federally backed Student Loans. Rockstar05 02/15/2011 5:28pm
Thank-you Nando for your kind words. Coming from the creator and author of the Third Tier Reality blog which I have referred to several times in my post above, in addition to being an inspiration for me to expose the reality of this fraud of a law school, it does truly mean a lot. Rockstar05 02/15/2011 5:42pm
@JDPainterGuy 02/15/2011 5:51pm
If practices like these are illegal, and Schools like Cooley and Touro are, all the while, playing around with Federally backed Student Loan money (in whole or in part), Rockstar05 02/15/2011 6:14pm
While I cannot speak from experience or knowledge, as I am not well-versed in the laws regarding Federal loans and the public and private institutions such as Cooley and Touro that administer them, I can speak from common sense, logic, and what intuitively seems reasonable. Rockstar05 02/15/2011 7:10pm
Yes, the fourth tier monster that approaches law school like the first tier monster that never was. Rockstar05 02/16/2011 12:58am
Here is a link to an established blog for a similar cause that was appreciative enough of my work on this blog exposing the truth and reality of this sham of a law school to create a link to my site. They also have included a link to their own public broadcast weighing-in on the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and their ranking system. Listening to this should give you some input and perspective on the OUTSIDE IMPRESSION OF THE COOLEY AND ITS STELLAR REPUTATION (just in case you doubt what I am telling you or think for even a millisecond that I am some disgruntled student telling lies about the 2nd best law school in America). EscapedCooleyStudent 02/16/2011 1:22am
I did a year at this trash School! They did exactly what you said they do, they failed out a large portion of us! Rockstar05 02/16/2011 2:17am
Thank-you for sharing your experiences with us EscapedCooleyStudent. Cooley Defender 02/16/2011 12:06pm
Look, I am going to make a mild defense of Cooley, just based on what I have read. I am not a lawyer and did not ever attend Cooley, so you can certainly take issue with my points. joe 02/16/2011 12:21pm
Ok, I'm sure I'm going to get flamed, but... Rockstar05 02/16/2011 2:00pm
STAY TUNED WHILE I FINISH MY LUNCH THEN PROCEED TO FLAME THE ABOVE TWO POSTERS FOR THEIR SILLY POSTS! Rockstar05 02/16/2011 2:15pm
LEMMING #2 Mr. JOE (clearly the bigger lemming) Cooley Defender 02/16/2011 2:43pm
Okay, I already hate my name because I'm not really defending Cooley. Rockstar05 02/16/2011 3:31pm
When you look for logic, look no further than my posts. Fetch 02/16/2011 3:47pm
Iknow three kids from NY who recently uprooted, and traveled to Lansing to attend this 4T dump. These kids are graduates from 4T UGC toilets and performed miserably on the LSAT. Cooley was the *only* law school they would get accepted into. Rockstar05 02/16/2011 3:54pm
Excellent post Fetch. You reinforced what I said and added additional constructive insight. EscapedCooleyStudent 02/16/2011 4:12pm
Yes the unaccredited law school experience has definitely been a hard road. Most unaccredited LS's are diploma mills that would put Cooley to shame on the % they fail out. The only difference between most unaccredited schools and Cooley is they do their “scam” on a smaller scale. These places charge between 4-8k a year for their 4 year programs, and have smaller student bodies. So you are not left a debt slave like at Cooley, but you are left without a JD in most cases, or without any real chance of ever passing the bar. Cooley Defender 02/16/2011 5:38pm
Okay, this is my last post because the argument I was trying to make (and I think is still valid) is pretty limited. I was just saying that Cooley has a different model. And that different model is the main reason it is ranked so poorly. It is not because of the GPA curve, large library or pathetic administration. Cooley would be right up there in the rankings with the right LSAT/GPA mix and we all know it. Rockstar05 02/17/2011 4:31pm
ATTENTION COOLEY DEFENDER: 02/17/2011 5:18pm
Rockstar 05: Informant 02/17/2011 10:59pm
Great Great Great Post! So great that I'd like to solve the Cooley enigma for everyone, Thomas M. Cooley is a sham Corporation. Their sole operational goal is using their students to make and create (pay close attention to my use of the word 'creating') securities that they can offer, and sell to banks, student loan servicers, guaranty agencies, investment banks, and institutional investors. In fact, a good portion of Cooley's 'Administrators' and 'Executive Officers' are actually full time employees at banks, investment firms, private equity firms and securities dealers. Cooley has been able to get away with this for years by misspelling names, omitting letters from names, and/or using maiden names on their website, literature, etc. Hopefully, when you add this information to RockStar05's brilliant explanation the Cooley scheme will make more and more sense. I will post more when I get more info from my insider at Cooley! You know who 02/17/2011 11:24pm
Just Started my own law school scam blog. Its got to be a first. Its dedicated to exposing the scam that is the ABA law school system, centering on places like the trash bin that is Thomas Cooley. Also it highlights the alternative unaccredited law schools. guest 03/02/2011 1:34am
http://erinmpitcher.blogspot.com/2011/02/jobs-blogs-and-other-things.html 03/02/2011 2:48am
Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it ! 03/04/2011 3:25am
your website is so great that i love it very much. thank you for sharing it with us. 03/07/2011 3:03pm
@JD Painter Guy- thank you for your kind words. Feel free to refer to my post as you wish. I look forward to reading your post on Touro. Please be sure to post a link here so I can take a look! Jay Daniels 03/09/2011 12:57pm
Cooley is the worst dump of life. I went there thinking the 75% scholarship was worth it. Luckily I was able to survive and now i'm a 2L at Seton Hall. FUCK THAT PLACE!!! guest 03/13/2011 6:16pm
http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/2010/03/smoldering-steaming-pile-of-excrement.html 03/16/2011 11:13pm
It's a nice post!Thanks for your good work,it helps me a lot!I will come back again!blogging is spreading its wings rapidly. Your write up is often a fine example of it. Informant 03/25/2011 2:42am
Rockstar05, 03/25/2011 3:33am
Asset protection refers to a set of legal techniques that protect a person's property from creditors and judgments. While there have always been protective measures available to persons to protect their assets, there has never been as great an interest in asset protection until recent years. MSULawSpartan 03/28/2011 8:27pm
As a student at MSU Law, located 5 miles east of Cooley Law, it is frustrating as fuck to have this diploma mill so close by. Michigan has a real shitty economy to begin with, and with Cooley and its 4 campuses, the market here is completely flooded. Not to mention there is University of Detroit Mercy (which isn't that much better) that isn't far behind Cooley. I realize MSU isn't that highly ranked (at least we are top 100 woohoo!), but our curve isn't that harsh, our attrition rate is low, and although the tuition is high, there are generous scholarships being handed out. Cooley is the butt of many jokes here on campus, both with the students and the professors. I think we had one professor teaching here from Cooley, but she was an adjunct writing prof. 03/31/2011 7:26am
Hey Rockstar05: 03/31/2011 9:51am
Hey JD Painter Guy, 03/31/2011 10:27am
http://lawschooltuitionbubble.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/law-graduate-overproduction-by-state-aka-%e2%80%9cthe-holy-grail%e2%80%9d/ Former Top Student at Cooley 03/31/2011 3:12pm
Here are some more comments about transferring: 03/31/2011 5:24pm
Rockstar05: Cooley Pride 03/31/2011 5:34pm
I scored low on the LSAT(142,) and only had a 2.4 from the University of Kansas. Cooley was the only school to accept me, and thus offered me a spot in their AAMPLE program. If I pass, I am admitted into their school!! Although the AAMPLE program is costly, I believe it is well worth it. Cooley sees through the numbers, and realizes that the LSAT is racially biased. They know that LSAT and GPA are in no way good predictors of law school success. reality 04/12/2012 5:36pm
If you need that to get in, you shouldn't be in. Some people don't have what it takes for a trade, you should be ashamed. If you were born with one eye you could not be a sniper. AC 04/13/2012 3:51pm
1~Q~If Cooley is so horrible, why would the ABA accredit them? A~Because the ABA is a Figure head organization with no real power to regulate the multi-million dollar law schools. Also, they in Cooley's pocket. Anna Sanchez 04/01/2011 1:26am
HAHAHA, thank you for a good laugh...nothing I enjoy more than hearing about students that couldnt hack it at Cooley, getting pissed off and talking trash about the school. If Cooley was sooo easy for you then you should have been booking every class right??? and I promise you, you dont even have one book award. If it was sooo easy the fail out rate wouldnt be as high as it is now right???? If you know the law inside and out then you are going to pass. Cooley does not fail you because you know the material, they fail you because you DONT!!!!! Which is exactly the reason why Cooley is a great law school. At Cooley the standards and requirements are much much higher than other schools. We have to take exams with time restraints, they are all closed books, we dont get a "reading week" to study, we have classes all the way up to exams. The final grade is based on our final exam. So yes, if you want to do well at Cooley then you better know the law inside and out or you will fail out...isnt that what you want in a lawyer??? someone that knows the law???? and just to point out the obvious, Cooley grads have to take AND PASS the exact same BAR exam as everyone else. And only someone who is failing out or has failed out is concerned about the 4 weeks until grades get posted to know if you're allowed back the next term, if you know your law you wont be facing that problem. So the day you can come back to this school and succeed will be the day I listen to your ignorant and inaccurate accusations...and its very sad to see someone that I have to share a profession with, sit behind a computer screen like a big badass and talk trash about a school they failed out of. Clearly you learned nothing at Cooley because at Cooley they stress ethics and class, and carrying yourself as a cut above. So its very clear to see you just couldnt cut it at Cooley. Dont beat urself up, its not for everyone. just the best of the best. Anna Sanchez is an idiot 04/01/2011 3:15pm
Let me address this moronic post. Anna Sanchez 04/01/2011 11:25pm
so clearly you didnt get into any place either to begin with, which is exactly why you went to Cooley in the first place. Because im sure you would have done your research before choosing a school as your final decision and im sure if you would have looked into it you would have chosen somewhere else. Its pretty clear to see your bitter about your failures. its ok, like you said; Cooley isnt for everyone, and that included you. Best of Luck to you!!!!!!!! Anna Sanchez is an idiot 04/01/2011 11:55pm
I didn't go to Cooley, you dumb bitch. I attend a tier school, because unlike you, I had a decent LSAT score and ugpa. My school is far from Harvard, but it is a respectable regional school that will hopefully help land me a decent job. Have fun finding employment with your Cooley degree!! Anna Sanchez is an idiot 04/01/2011 11:57pm
Had a typo in the above post. I attend a tier two school. anna sanchez 04/04/2011 12:55am
so you didnt go to Cooley, then you have no grounds to stand on. I refuse to visit this page any more. Ive clearly defeated your arguments. Rockstar05 04/06/2011 10:56pm
@Cooley Pride 04/06/2011 11:25pm
@Anna Sanchez 04/06/2011 11:26pm
@Anna Sanchez 04/11/2011 8:01am
Hey Rockstar05: 04/11/2011 2:36pm
Thanks for the comment JDPainterguy. Seems like there was also a spike of multiple posters lately who all "happened" to be from the same IP address leaving stupid and irrelevant comments on this blog. So henceforth comments will be filtered and any stupid or irrelevant comments or personal attacks which add nothing insightful to the topic of this blog will be deleted. Caribbea 04/19/2011 9:58pm
In defense of the People's College of Law, it is not your typical school. It is intended to provide a legal education to the disadvantaged for the express purpose of doing public interest law. ("PCL's goals are to advocate people before property, human rights, women's rights, tenants' rights, consumer rights, workers' rights; to fight discrimination, economic and political oppression; and to enable and empower those who have been historically denied legal resources and protections.") It charges almost nothing to attend (currently $223 per credit). Its faculty and staff are primarily volunteers. I don't go there, have never been there, and have nothing to do with it, but do know that it is a unique place. To compare it to any other law school is just unfair. It's almost like the old Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movies where a bunch of kids get together and put on a show. Here, a bunch of community organizers got together and created a law school. Anonymous 04/21/2011 2:21am
@Anna Sanchez I respectfully disagree with your posts and the assertions made therein. An acquaintance of mine has been involved in an undercover investigation of Cooley for the past two years and here's what he and his team uncovered: 04/21/2011 2:14pm
^^^^^ This is even over my head. Buddy you got enough there to start your own blog posting on Cooley LOLLLL. Anonymous 04/22/2011 12:33am
LOL...well from what I understand it's been a two-year multi-agency undercover investigation/sting operation...that's about over. The big guys involved are pleading out one by one so I hear some of the Cooley folks are trying to turn state evidence to get immunity; but that could just be hearsay ;-) Ghost Face 04/22/2011 3:29am
What is the actual numbers of people going on academic probation at this school? Has to be crazy high? E.L. Adkins 04/29/2011 1:01am
Went to cooley. The tuition was actually much lower than other schools. Got an llm which cost waaay too much. Had no trouble getting a job first with a firm then onto a nonprofit policy organization where I now supervise columbia and nyu and other top school grads. I work hard am thoughtful of others and learned enough at coolio to figure out the answers to what I don't know. I am ethical. Make 6 figures. You rockstar have dedicated alot of time and effort to your "cause"...cheers I guess but I feel you are bitter and angry..your life is what you made it. Blame blame crazy man rant...boring and pathetic. Best of luck to you. Really being a lawyer kinda sucks whether from coolio or yale. But hey I live up to my choices. ryan 05/06/2011 11:00am
I want out. What school accepted you?? Curious2011 05/17/2011 3:38pm
I loved your original blog post. I could literally feel the bitterness and anger just seeping out of you. Its the kind of unrelenting hate and unbashed vengenful attitude that brings out the mentally unstable of the virtual-world. You have created quite the hate site, my friend, and my hat is off to you. Any future plans/targets? You have a talent, and can definitely use it to spread "the right" kind of information. What law school did you attend? HumbleMe 05/18/2011 11:50am
Well, I am one of those who flunked this school. I only had two miserable years in my entire life, and those were in Cooley. Still paying my student loans unfortunately. May be Cooley should repay it. Administration was terrible. Talked to NYU students and was shocked that they had open book exams. And Cooley did not. I did not even dare to mention Cooley. 05/18/2011 1:50pm
@Ghost Face- no idea. The schools administration would probably never let the real figure out anyway. I see your point . . . 05/28/2011 10:46pm
I wouldn't necessarily say that I am a "Cooley defender" but I went to Cooley, graduated in two years, and never got below a B. Most importantly, I got a great job right after graduation. With that being said, Cooley has its fair share of problems. While I am sure there is exceptions, anyone who goes to Cooley and believes they are going to work at a top firm out of law school needs a reality check. Also, it is beyond me why people would move to Michigan to come to Cooley. Tired of Whiners 06/07/2011 7:11am
Oh yeah. Did I neglect to mention that only 68% OF ALL law grads ACROSS THE NATION are working between 1 and 9 months after graduation? Did I also neglect to mention that quite a few of those out of work are from from Ivy League schools as well as 3rd and 4th tier schools? 06/07/2011 12:55pm
There are several blogs devoted to the fact that law schools IN GENERAL are pumping out way too many lawyers. That is not my job here, but I have alluded to the problem several times within my post. It was my duty to slam the biggest culprit and morally bankrupt institution of all charging exorbitant amounts for the one of the most toxic law degrees on the market! 06/11/2011 4:49am
Thank you for taking this opportunity to talk about this, I feel strongly about it and I benefit from learning about this topic. Bangbus 06/17/2011 7:33pm
Good work. Cooley is trash 07/11/2011 3:12am
Cooley, the ABA, etc... are problematic. However, the real criminal in this scam is the government. Even though Uncle Sam is trying to help by funding higher education, these unlimited "non dis-chargeable" loans ENABLE shitty law schools (and even good law schools) to charge outrageous tuition. Add in the fact that Jose Baez went to a TTTier 4 toilet in Miami and we're going to see another wave of hopeless applicants saying "see, he did it." Guest 07/13/2011 4:28pm
Currently posted on Craigslist Matt Miller 07/14/2011 5:37pm
I'm a reporter with the Lansing State Journal. I'm writing a story about the lawsuit Cooley has filed against you. If you care to comment, you can e-mail me at the address submitted with this post. My deadline is Friday, July 15. Old Timer 07/14/2011 7:50pm
When did law schools start giving open book exams? I went to law school in the mid-80s and there were no open book exams or reading weeks or any of the other things you mention. No wonder new attorneys don't have the skills they need to survive in private practice. ellewoods79 07/15/2011 6:14pm
So, I went to Cooley for one whole semester. While I was waitlisted elsewhere. Why did I end up at Cooley? Well: I went to cool-school. Anonymous 07/15/2011 8:42pm
You should reach out to Marc Randazza, the guy who is defending all the internet bloggers in the Rakofsky lawsuit. I bet he would love this. Bangbus 07/16/2011 7:27am
Rockstar05, Guest 07/18/2011 12:58pm
I recently transfered out of Cooley to a better school. I completely agree with your original post. This school is ridiculous and I am honestly afraid in regard to the fact that some of the students who go there will eventually become lawyers... polecat 07/19/2011 12:41pm
Hmm. Not as much smack talk in your latest post rockstar05. A little nervous are you? Autonomous Unit 07/19/2011 10:56pm
It's a shame that you took down your original post. I like your blog, and am a fan of Nando and the others bringing to light the fact that there are too many crap law schools cranking out (shitting out?) new JD's with dim (to none) job prospects in the legal market. To me, this Cooley law suit is nothing but an intimidation move. What matters to a school is "butts in seats." Student loans are the driving engine in getting students to mortgage their futures with a crap degree. Your website might deter people from attending, and that's bad for their business. May I suggest that other lawyers (and readers of this blog) begin providing for your pro-bono defense? Jonathan 07/22/2011 12:24am
Cooley does everything they can to keep their students from transferring. I applied to transfer to a different school in another state because of the financil need to finish up in the same state where my husband is. I ordered a letter of good standing, paid for it online, and paid for overnight service so that the letter would meet a deadline at the school I was trying to transfer to. I got a confirmation e-mail stating that the transcript would be sent overnight. Two days later, which happened to be two days from the deadline, I got an e-mail saying that they were not going to send my letter overnight as agreed and paid for. "We're sorry. Due to an administrative hold (non-submission of Honor Code and/or Policy Procedure Forms) on your student account we were unable to fulfill your request. The request will not be processed until the administrative hold has been lifted." Jonathan 07/22/2011 12:25am
Cooley does everything they can to keep their students from transferring. I applied to transfer to a different school in another state because of the financil need to finish up in the same state where my husband is. I ordered a letter of good standing, paid for it online, and paid for overnight service so that the letter would meet a deadline at the school I was trying to transfer to. I got a confirmation e-mail stating that the transcript would be sent overnight. Two days later, which happened to be two days from the deadline, I got an e-mail saying that they were not going to send my letter overnight as agreed and paid for. "We're sorry. Due to an administrative hold (non-submission of Honor Code and/or Policy Procedure Forms) on your student account we were unable to fulfill your request. The request will not be processed until the administrative hold has been lifted." A future law student 07/24/2011 3:30pm
i will be going to tier two next year. A school nando has not wrote about yet. Thank god. 07/27/2011 5:15am
I absolutely adore reading your blog posts, the variety of writing is smashing.This blog as usual was educational, I have had to bookmark your site and subscribe to your feed. Your theme looks lovely.Thanks for sharing. Souris09 07/27/2011 4:40pm
two things 08/06/2011 10:10am
very interesting and nice information it has very informative article. halflight 08/06/2011 11:38am
Cooley Sucks? Well, yeah. 08/06/2011 2:06pm
All I can say is hang in there and don't let these people bully you. Seriously, for all the Cooley students who can't get out because their professors either won't give recommendations or have been scared by the administration into making it nearly impossible to get one from them-something I've noticed has become even more of a problem in the past year (professors w/o tenure really don't want you to ask for a recommendation... interesting side note there)-and/or don't have the grades because of the philosophy that "a C at Cooley is an A anywhere else", (which is tough to understand given that anything below a 2.0 is considered academic probation) let me say that you are fighting the good fight. This school does misrepresent itself, and it does lock most students in by making it as hard as possible to transfer out with these obviously punitive grading practices, to say nothing of the constant berating of students for wanting to transfer out and questioning their loyalty-this is not a joke, this happens regularly. Professors are not allowing students to audiotape their lectures either... any guess as to what that could be about? Then when a student is stuck here and they realize what a joke it is and how few job options are available because of that, well, someone does need to put an end to this craziness before another unsuspecting kid gets hit with 30k/year in tuition debt and has no choice but to finish and hope for the best. I am a student at Cooley, and I say shut them down, it's that bad. CooleyGrad 1980s 08/06/2011 4:51pm
The school was only a few yrs old when I entered. I found the administration to be arrogant, aloof and disinterested in many aspects of student life. It hiked tuition substantially and with little notice, with no substantive explanation. It required classes to be conducted in unsuitable space, the literal ruins of the old Masonic Temple. It hired the young and perhaps unqualified son of the founder, Brennan Jr., into an important administrative position, the appearance of nepotism be damned. It was, to me, a really bad scene. Cooley Grad 07 08/08/2011 3:56pm
As a graduate and a successful attorney in private practice, I myself have been appauled by the "Cooley" approach to education. Having only a couple options for law schools I took the scholarship offer, knowing little of Cooley. It didn't take long to figure out what it was about, money. They only reason they are interested in bar passage, and employment is for their statistics to sell to the next suckers. Someone explain to me how it helps my J.D. on the wall with the Cooley name by purchasing a minor league baseball stadium or popping up campuses like Starbucks? They are not doing these things for me, the other alumni, the current students, they are doing them for money and publicity to attract more students. Cooley has choosen quantity over quality and made no qualms about it. Their self proclaimed rankings were created as a tool to refute the actual rankings that puts them as a bottom dwelling school based on real statistics. Cooley's own no. 2 ranking is based on size of campuses, faculty and students, purely numbers and size. We all know that is a great way to rate a law school, who cares about grading, knowledge, or jobs. Learning of this florida campus just shows us alumni even more, that it's all about the money. m 08/11/2011 2:20pm
I cried when I heard Cooley was attempting to open a FLa LAw School. We are seriously overpopulated down here. The only thing I would add is there is 13 Law schools now in Fla.: Very Sympathetic Lawyer 08/11/2011 11:29pm
Hey Rock Star 05, about ten Michigan cases hold that a "John Doe" suit is not a "commencement" of a suit and there is no relation back to beat the statute of limitations. Jerk them around take an appeal etc steve 08/14/2011 3:51am
Cooley is almost everything you said has a former student but to say they give chance to to many people is shortminded. I had a 148 on the LSAT and Cooley took me since I have been in law school I have made the deans list and honor roll every term except one and i am starting my third year, so what did the LSAT prove. I transfered to a higher tier school and made deans list there also. So I cant knock them for letting me in. The rest of their practices are bad but giving me a shot is not one of them because now i dominate grade wise in a school that would of never looked at me because all they care about is the LSAT because cooley gave me a chance so rip on all you want and I will agree just not their acceptance policy because I would not of had a chance if it wasnt for them but I do agree with everything else!!!!! Crusader 08/17/2011 10:34am
I share the views of Rockstar05. I am a graduate of Cooley. I waged my own battles with the administration about academic probation, scholarships, and graduation. I have never experienced so much frustration and stress with the academic side of it and the administration. Don LeScam 08/18/2011 3:07am
Cooley sux donkey balls. I speak from experience. I can only hope Rockstar05 prevails in his right to free speech and opinion. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply |
