Requirements for Admission to Cooley Law School

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School, colloquially called the Cooley Law School or just Cooley, is in Michigan. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has campuses in Ann Arbor, Auburn, Grand Rapids and Lancing. Cooley is noted for having the largest student body of any law school in the nation, as well as for having a large number of minority students.

The Cooley Admission Index

Cooley Law School has a minimum LSAT requirement for admission, but it also created an index that incorporates undergraduate GPA called the Cooley Admission Index for those students who do not meet the baseline LSAT score but show academic aptitude. The Cooley Admission Index multiplies an applicant's GPA by 15 and adds the sum of that to the applicant's LSAT score to create an overall index score.

Regular Full-Time Admission

Students must have a minimum LSAT score of 143 and a minimum index score of 187 for admission into Cooley's full-time law program. Applicants can also be granted admission if they score a 149 or above on the LSAT or if their index score is 195 or higher.

Part-Time Admission

Cooley Law School also offers a part-time program with less stringent admission requirements. Admission into this program requires a 190 to 194 index score if the student does not meet the minimum 143 LSAT score requirement or an LSAT score of 146 to 148 if the applicant does not have an index score of 187 or above.

Restricted Part-Time Admission

Cooley Law School also offers a restricted part-time program that limits a student's first semester of course work to nine hours, as opposed to the part-time program's 12-hour limit. This restricted part-time program requires an index score of 187 to 189 if the applicant does not have an LSAT score of 143 or above, or the applicant can gain admission with an LSAT score of 144 or above if the index score is below 187.