ABA 509 Profile · Private · Lansing, MI
Thomas M. Cooley Law School: admission requirements and 509 data
A median LSAT of 147 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.09 describe the class that entered in 2025. 1,323 people applied, 700 were admitted and 237 enrolled. Every figure below is taken from this school's ABA Standard 509 Information Report, the disclosure the ABA requires each approved law school to publish for applicants.
Median LSAT
147
p25 145 to p75 151
Median UGPA
3.09
p25 2.67 to p75 3.45
Acceptance Rate
52.9%
700 offers of 1,323 applications
First-Year Class
237
147 full time, 90 part time
Tuition Per Credit
$1,580/cr
billed by credit hour, not by year
Living Estimate
$29,972
school's own figure, single student off campus
Median Grant
$13,746
57% of students hold one
First-Time Bar Pass
51.5%
jurisdiction average 74.1%
How the acceptance rate is worked out
700 offers of admission ÷ 1,323 completed applications = 52.9%
We divide offers by completed applications rather than reprinting a rate. The 509 report states 52.91%, which agrees with the division above. The rate counts every completed application, including applicants who never became competitive, so it is a measure of volume as much as of standards.
What the 2025 numbers say about Thomas M. Cooley
Thomas M. Cooley received 1,323 completed applications for the 2025 entering class and made 700 offers of admission, an acceptance rate of 52.9%. 237 of those admitted enrolled, a yield of 33.9%. Counting deferred admits and part-time entrants, the first-year class came to 237 students: 147 full time and 90 part time. Total JD enrollment across all years is 476.
Enrolled students posted a median LSAT of 147, with a 25th percentile of 145 and a 75th of 151. That is 12 points below the 159 median across the 196 ABA-approved schools in this data. It ranks 192 of 196 on LSAT median. Undergraduate GPA ran 2.67 at the 25th percentile, 3.09 at the median and 3.45 at the 75th.
The school bills tuition by the credit hour rather than by the year, at $1,580 a credit, against the 90 credits the JD requires. The school's own living-expense estimate for a single student off campus is $29,972. 260 JD students hold a grant or scholarship, 57% of the student body, and the median full-time award is $13,746. 6 awards cover full tuition or more.
Of the graduating class that sat a bar exam for the first time, 67 of 130 passed, a rate of 51.54%. The weighted average across the jurisdictions where those graduates sat was 74.12%, so the school ran 22.58 points behind the jurisdictions it feeds. Ten months after graduation, 90 of 143 graduates (62.9%) held a job requiring bar admission. 1 joined law firms of 251 lawyers or more (0.7% of the class), of whom 1 went to firms of 501 or more. The largest single destination was Michigan with 53 graduates, followed by Florida with 49.
Thomas M. Cooley has been approved by the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education since 1975. It is a private school based in Lansing, MI. 18 first-year students left for academic reasons, 9.0% of the class. 2 students transferred in from other law schools.
The full 509 record
Admitted class profile, 2025 entering class
| Completed applications | 1,323 |
|---|---|
| Offers of admission | 700 |
| Matriculants from the applicant pool | 237 |
| Yield (matriculants per offer) | 33.9% |
| LSAT 75th percentile | 151 |
| LSAT 50th percentile | 147 |
| LSAT 25th percentile | 145 |
| UGPA 75th percentile | 3.45 |
| UGPA 50th percentile | 3.09 |
| UGPA 25th percentile | 2.67 |
| Students admitted on an LSAT score | 231 |
| Students admitted on a GRE score | 0 |
Program, faculty and calendar
| Total JD enrollment | 476 |
|---|---|
| JD degrees awarded | 143 |
| Credit hours required for the JD | 90 |
| Academic term | Semesters |
| Full-time faculty | 26 |
| Faculty other than full time | 52 |
| Course titles beyond the first year | 113 |
| Law clinic seats filled198 available | 50 |
| Field placements filled | 192 |
| Application deadline | 5/1, 9/1 |
| Application fee | No fee |
Tuition, fees and living costs, 2025 to 2026
| Full-time annual fees, resident | $0 |
|---|---|
| Full-time annual fees, non-resident | $0 |
| Full-time tuition per credit, resident | $1,580 |
| Full-time tuition per credit, non-resident | $1,580 |
| Living expenses, off campus | $29,972 |
| Tuition guarantee program | No |
Grants and scholarships
| JD students receiving a grantof 457 students | 260 |
|---|---|
| Share receiving a grant | 57% |
| Awards below half tuition | 195 |
| Awards from half to full tuition | 59 |
| Awards at full tuition | 6 |
| Awards above full tuition | 0 |
| Full-time grant, 75th percentile | $23,463 |
| Full-time grant, 50th percentile | $13,746 |
| Full-time grant, 25th percentile | $9,279 |
| Conditional scholarships offered | No |
Attrition, transfers and outcomes
| First-year academic attrition9.0% of the first-year class | 18 |
|---|---|
| First-year other attrition | 7 |
| Students transferring in | 2 |
| First-year students transferring out | 1 |
| First-time bar takers | 130 |
| First-time bar passers | 67 |
| Gap to the jurisdiction average | -22.58 points |
| Graduates in a job requiring bar admission62.9% of 143 graduates | 90 |
| Graduates at firms of 251 or more lawyers0.7% of graduates | 1 |
| Graduates at firms of 501 or more lawyers | 1 |
| Graduates in federal clerkships | 0 |
| Graduates seeking work at the reporting date | 12 |
As listed on the 509 report
300 South Capitol Avenue
Lansing, MI 48933
(517) 371-5140
Council approved since 1975
Michigan has 5 ABA-approved law schools. The Michigan guide compares them on LSAT median, cost and bar passage, and covers the state's admission rules.
Thomas M. Cooley 509 report: common questions
Where can I find Thomas M. Cooley's ABA 509 report?
›
Every ABA-approved law school files a Standard 509 Information Report each year, and the ABA publishes them at https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/. This page restates Thomas M. Cooley Law School's 2025 report, covering the class that entered in 2025: LSAT and GPA percentiles, applications and offers, first-year class size, tuition, grants, bar passage and employment. The figures come from the school's own filing, not from a ranking or a survey.
What LSAT score do you need for Thomas M. Cooley?
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Thomas M. Cooley Law School reported a median LSAT of 147 for the class that entered in 2025. The middle 50 percent ran from 145 at the 25th percentile to 151 at the 75th. A score at or above 147 puts you at or above the median half of the class; below 145 you are in the quarter of admitted students who needed something else in the file to carry the application. Law schools do not publish a minimum LSAT, and these percentiles describe enrolled students rather than a cutoff.
What GPA do you need for Thomas M. Cooley?
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Thomas M. Cooley Law School reported a median undergraduate GPA of 3.09 for the 2025 entering class, with a 25th percentile of 2.67 and a 75th of 3.45. These are LSAC Credential Assembly Service GPAs, which are recalculated from every undergraduate transcript and can differ from the GPA on your degree certificate.
What is Thomas M. Cooley's acceptance rate?
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700 of 1,323 applicants were offered admission for the 2025 entering class, an acceptance rate of 52.9%. That figure is offers divided by completed applications, both as filed in the 509 report. Of those admitted, 237 enrolled.
How much does Thomas M. Cooley cost?
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Thomas M. Cooley Law School filed full-time tuition of $1,580/cr per credit hour in its 2025 509 report. The median grant among students receiving one was $13,746, so the published price is not what most students pay. Living costs are reported separately and are not included in these figures.
What is Thomas M. Cooley's bar passage rate?
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51.5% of Thomas M. Cooley Law School graduates passed the bar on their first attempt, as reported in the ABA's first-time bar passage outcomes for 2024 graduates. Bar passage is reported a year behind the admissions figures on this page because it tracks a graduating class rather than an entering one.
Closest on the numbers
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Data: ABA Standard 509 Information Report (2025), published for consumer disclosure, retrieved from the ABA Required Disclosures portal on 2026-09-01. Bar passage and employment figures come from the same portal's Bar Passage Outcomes and Employment Summary reports for the class of 2024. Figures describe the 2025 to 2026 reporting cycle for Thomas M. Cooley Law School and are restated in our own structure; no ABA document or file is reproduced here. Verify anything decision-critical with the school.
Related reading: LSAT score guide, GPA benchmarks, law school cost and ROI, application timeline, all 196 ABA-approved schools, and the Yale profile for the top of the range.