April 7, 2006

Cooley’s Astounding Record-Breaking Pace Continues

Lansing, Michigan — Following closely on the heels of a record February, Cooley Law School has chalked up yet another triumph in the number of applications flowing into the Admissions Office. Six of the past seven months have been record-breaking months with applications at an all-time high.

Counting just those applications for students seeking the September 2006 class, Cooley is up a whopping 34 percent over previous figures. This puts Cooley in the top 5 percent of law schools across the U.S. showing an increase of 30 percent or more. In raw numbers, this translates into a huge number of applications: At Cooley, 3,438 applications have been received for the September 2006 class, compared to 2,558 for September 2005 at this time last year.

These successes continue to distance Cooley from national trends, which show the bulk of law schools down anywhere from 1-39 percent.

Cooley is setting records no matter how the numbers are compared. In overall applications for March 2006, Cooley Law School saw a 3.4 percent increase in applications. Some 770 applications came in to Cooley during March 2006, up from a previous record-breaking March of 745 applications recorded in 2005.

“Applications are up 11 percent to date (March 31, 2006) for the official applicant year, which began in September 2005,” stated Cooley’s Assistant Dean of Admissions Stephanie Gregg. This figure includes applications to all classes at the law school. Cooley admits three classes per year, in January, May and September. “Cooley is in the top 15 percent of law schools across the nation with an increase this high.” In the seven months of the applicant year, over 4,500 applications have come in from potential students seeking admission to Cooley.

Cooley’s success continues to ignore nationwide law school application figures. Application rates at law schools across the United States are a mixed bag, from the steepest declines of 11.5 percent, in the Midsouth region, to an increase of 3.6 percent overall in the Mountain West region. The Great Lakes region, of which Cooley is a part, was up 3.1 percent, putting Cooley ahead of schools in its immediate area for the overall application figures.
“Cooley applications are up in a variety of categories,” continued Gregg. “It is exciting that Cooley has been able to bring in the most diverse student population of any law school in the country and to see record-breaking enrollment increases, but to also see those increases in nearly all areas of ethnicity.”

Applications to Cooley this year show increases in applicants from most ethnic categories: a 3 percent increase in African American applicants compared to a 6 percent decrease nationally; a 5 percent increase in Asian or Pacific Islander applicants compared to a 9 percent decrease nationally; an 8 percent increase in Mexican American applicants compared to a 10 percent decrease nationally; and a 26 percent increase in other Hispanic applicants compared to a 4 percent decease nationally. Female applicants to Cooley are up 12 percent compared to a 7 percent decrease nationally and male applicants to Cooley are up almost 10 percent compared to a 7 percent decrease nationally.

With year-around scheduling; morning, afternoon, evening and weekend courses, and three admitted classes each year, flexibility continues to be a strong attraction at Cooley. Other factors cited as major benefits at Cooley are notes as skills training — including required externships in which senior students work a term in an approved legal setting — as well as the diversity of the student body, the ability to specialize in an area of concentration, a practical preparation to practice and diverse faculty members with strong legal experience of their own.

Founded in 1972, Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country. Cooley has three campuses across Michigan: its campus in downtown Lansing, its downtown Grand Rapids campus in west Michigan and its Rochester/Oakland University campus in southeast Michigan. In addition to the juris doctor program, students at Cooley can also pursue a master of laws degree in tax or intellectual property. Find out more about Cooley Law School by visiting the Cooley Web site at www.cooley.edu.