Thomas M. Cooley Law School

Updated: February 2011
As an older, non-​traditional student, Cooley was a perfect match for me because the school has many course options and scheduling possibilities. With multiple campuses, the resources and course offerings are vast. Plus there is a 2-​year option in which you have the option to do three terms a year instead of the traditional two terms a year like 95% of all other law schools.
I know many people say bad things about Cooley, but I have experienced nothing other than professionalism, excellent academic resources and a faculty the truly does care about each student. The faculty are there to help you succeed and if you fail, it’s your own fault. There are numerous extra-​curricular organizations, top-​notch moot court and mock trial teams and excellent clinic opportunities.
Personally, some courses are easier than others, but for my difficult courses, the professor, the Academic resource faculty and even the Dean of the school have assisted with helping me to get a grasp on topics that are tough for me.
The school has a «working» court room that has actual Federal District court hearings a couple time a year. In Feb 2011, there are several big cases being heard in our courtroom with some of the top Federal judges presiding. This is no «mock trial» or «moot court»… this is the real deal!
The final exams are tough! But hey, it wouldn’t be law school if the exams were easy! Based on your personality, you have the choice of using your computer to type the exam or you can go the «old school» way and write in a Blue Book. The grading is very fair. In fact it takes most Profs upwards of 6 weeks to grade the exams. They use a scoring «rubric» to accurately grade each exam on a non-​biased approach. If you aren’t familiar with what a rubric is, in short it’s an outline which attaches a point value to each item you must mention/​describe. All exams are 100% anonymous, so the Profs cannot give you a better (or worse) grade based on if they like you or not.
Depending on the state in which you plan on practicing, Cooley will help make sure that you take the appropriate courses so you can do well on the bar. For those students that are worried about the bar, there are optional classes you can take in order to prepare you for the multi-​state bar exam. FYI, approx. 94% of the Grand Rapids graduating class passed the Bar Exam last summer… Not too shabby!
As I continue with my education, I’ll keep updating this profile. For those of you considering Cooley, don’t read too much into all the «Nay-​sayers» out there… they are only looking for a way to justify their spending an additional $ 50K on their education!
Ohhh. just in case you are wondering, I’m a 2^nd term, full-​time student and plan on graduating in December 2012.
UPDATE DECEMBER 2011
I’ve become extremely upset (as have 85% of the students) that most of our classes are now evening or weekend classes. This is not what the majority of us signed up for!
I’m a full time, 3L student and I have ZERO day-​time classes! Seems like Cooley has turned to a nights and weekends program. Students that have children at home are extremely frustrated that they can’t take classes now during the day while kids are in school.
I know it’s bad too because even two professors even commented to me that it seems like all classes are now scheduled in the night.
If I wasn’t finishing up at Cooley in the next 7 – 8 months, I’d consider transferring.