Thomas M. Cooley Law School was founded in 1972 and is the largest law school in the United States. It is named after Thomas McIntyre Cooley, a Michigan Supreme Court Justice and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1864 to 1885. The school’s main campus is located in Lansing, Michigan, with additional campuses in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Tampa Bay, Florida. The school offers both full-time and part-time programs of study for Juris Doctor (J.D.) students as well as Master of Laws (LLM) degrees for international students. Its curriculum focuses on practical skills such as trial advocacy and negotiation strategies. Additionally, it offers clinical opportunities for hands-on experience working with real clients in litigation practice areas such as immigration law and criminal defense. The school also offers extensive legal research resources through its library system which includes access to hundreds of online databases. Thomas M Cooley Law School has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1975 and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). The school has produced successful graduates who now work at some of the top law firms across the country as well as several former judges who have served on various state courts throughout the United States.
Thomas M. Cooley Law School is located in the state of Michigan. As one of the leading law programs, Thomas M. Cooley Law School has a high average LSAT score of 144-149 when recruiting new students. As a return, the median starting salary for law graduates reaches $66,000 per year. See the following table for detailed admissions information and career profiles of Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Admissions: Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School was founded in 1972 and is a private law school located in Lansing, Michigan. It is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and has campuses in Michigan, Florida, and Arizona. The school offers full-time, part-time, and online programs for prospective students. According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 rankings, Thomas M. Cooley Law School is ranked #143 out of 202 schools nationally with a median GPA of 3.02 and a median LSAT score of 145. The admission rate for the school is 71%, which means that out of every 100 applicants, 71 are accepted into the program. Additionally, the acceptance rate for students with degrees from non-ABA-accredited institutions is higher than the average acceptance rate at Thomas M. Cooley Law School – making it a great option for those who may not have attended an ABA accredited institution but are still interested in attending law school at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The student body consists of over 3200 students from over 40 states and several countries around the world making it one of the most diverse law schools in America today.
| Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Total number of full- and part-time applicants | 6,094 |
| Total number of full- and part-time acceptances | 3,736 |
| Overall acceptance rate | 61.3% |
| Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled | 1,533 |
| Number of full-time program applicants | N/A |
| Number of full-time program acceptances | N/A |
| Full-time acceptance rate | N/A |
| Number of first-year full-time students enrolled | N/A |
| Number of part-time program applicants | N/A |
| Number of part-time program acceptances | N/A |
| Part-time acceptance rate | N/A |
| Number of first-year part-time students enrolled | N/A |
| Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores | |
| 25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students | 2.62-3.33 |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students | 144-149 |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students | N/A |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students | N/A |
| 25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students | N/A |
| 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students | N/A |
Careers: Thomas M. Cooley Law School
| Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations) | |
|---|---|
| State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar | N/A |
| School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers | N/A |
| Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers | N/A |
| Class of 2018 Graduates | |
| Total graduates | 758 |
| Graduates employed at graduation | N/A |
| Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation | 77.8% |
| Starting Salaries of 2018 Graduates Employed Full-time | |
| 25th percentile private sector starting salary | N/A |
| Median private sector starting salary | N/A |
| 75th percentile private sector starting salary | N/A |
| Percent in the private sector who reported salary information | N/A |
| Median public service starting salary | N/A |
| Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018) | |
| Percent employed in academia | N/A |
| Percent employed in business and industry | N/A |
| Percent employed in government | N/A |
| Percent employed in all judicial clerkships | N/A |
| Percent employed in law firms | N/A |
| Percent employed in public interest | N/A |
| Percent employed in an unknown field | N/A |
| Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge | N/A |
| 2018 Graduates Employment Location | |
| Graduates employed in-state | N/A |
| Graduates employed in foreign countries | N/A |
| Number of states where graduates are employed | N/A |
| New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) | N/A |
| Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) | N/A |
| East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) | N/A |
| West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) | N/A |
| South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) | N/A |
| East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) | N/A |
| West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) | N/A |
| Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) | N/A |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) | N/A |
| Employment location unknown | N/A |
| Career Services | |
| (Data appear as originally submitted by this school) | |
| Career services operations | The Career and Professional Development Office helps students/alumni with workshops, resume reviews, and practice interviews. Employers from across the US recruit through on-campus interviews and direct submissions. Cooley Classifieds provide current postings; Cooley Volunteer Corps coordinates pro bono work. Faculty members supervise portfolio projects helping students focus their career efforts. |
| Job Type | |
| Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) | N/A |
| J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) | N/A |
| Professional/other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) | N/A |
| Nonprofessional/other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) | N/A |
