Michigan State University College of Law Class of 2016 Forum

[danquayle]

Admitted with a 50% tuition scholarship. I am from Miami and decided to apply to MSU after the personal phone call made by an admissions rep. Personal touch was influential. After looking into the school, it has become a serious contender. It appears that my decision will likely come down to MSU or LSU. I am in at LSU with a scholar award that gives me in state tuition PLUS 25% off of that. Looking at about 14k a year for law school at LSU...weighing heavy on me.

Can anyone offer any inside info on MSU and/or East Lansing that would be helpful?

LOVE the midwest. LOVE the outdoors.

I'm terrrriiiiffffiiieeedddd of the winter.. really... terrified. I've never been in weather colder than 40. This may seem like something that can be easily overlooked for those of you who have lived in snow, but for me, it is pretty serious. lol.. and obviously I am looking into the cities these schools are in because the move will most likely be permanent.

Help! Thanks!

MSU was founded as an agricultural college, and despite its growth, it has very much maintained truthful to that mission. As a result, the campus is rather large and filled with tons of things intended for outdoor activity. It's rather nice in the spring, summer and fall. Yes though, winter can get pretty rough. That said, if you dress properly it really isn't that terrible. Most people just don't.

LSU and MSU are in radically different regions. This decision really has to come down to where you want to live. If you prefer the Midwest to the Gulf Coast or vice versa, that should be the only question.

Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions about MSU/East Lansing, I'm still living in East Lansing part time.

[spartanlaw877]

Is anyone else optimistic about the ranking of MSU by the time we would graduate? They have steadily grown in the last several years

[ashleydy10]

Is anyone else optimistic about the ranking of MSU by the time we would graduate? They have steadily grown in the last several years

I am optimistic about the rankings! They are consistently climbing. They have been associated with Mich State for such a short time and have jumped significantly in the rankings! Big university with a good reputation, MSU wont stay at 81/82 for long.

[danquayle]

Is anyone else optimistic about the ranking of MSU by the time we would graduate? They have steadily grown in the last several years

I am optimistic about the rankings! They are consistently climbing. They have been associated with Mich State for such a short time and have jumped significantly in the rankings! Big university with a good reputation, MSU wont stay at 81/82 for long.

Eh, I wouldn't be so sure. There are plenty of schools with better reputations that have seen their law schools actually decline or hover lower than their "general reputation": Pitt, Syracuse, Case, etc.

The MSU luster has already done about all I suspect it will do in elevating Detroit College of Law way beyond its old rep. 20 years ago, no one would have said MSU was a stronger law school than Wayne State (and this is probably still true locally), but MSU has owned Wayne for years now in the US News. It's turned it into an ok local law school into an ok regional law school. I don't think it goes beyond that. Penn State's been on a similar journey the last few years, and I think that is a good indication of what you can expect out of MSU.

Of course, the further down you go, the rankings really only have meaning as tiers. Which I suppose is the point.

[spartanlaw877]

Sadly I think I agree, just hopeful to be tier 3 by 2016.

What scholarship offers has everyone received, if you have?

[ashleydy10]

Sadly I think I agree, just hopeful to be tier 3 by 2016.

What scholarship offers has everyone received, if you have?

Are they not borderline tier 2/3 right now? I was under the impression that they were.

[Burne182]

Sadly I think I agree, just hopeful to be tier 3 by 2016.

What scholarship offers has everyone received, if you have?

Are they not borderline tier 2/3 right now? I was under the impression that they were.

Unless there is some strange tier system I don't know about, at USNWR #82 they are a tier 2 school now...

Am I missing something?

[ashleydy10]

Sadly I think I agree, just hopeful to be tier 3 by 2016.

What scholarship offers has everyone received, if you have?

Are they not borderline tier 2/3 right now? I was under the impression that they were.

Unless there is some strange tier system I don't know about, at USNWR #82 they are a tier 2 school now...

Am I missing something?

^ agreed. Are we missing something? They share a spot with Catholic U at the 81/82 which would put them at a tier 2. To hope they get to tier 3 by 2016 would imply theyre a tier 4 right now, which is not correct.

[danquayle]

Sadly I think I agree, just hopeful to be tier 3 by 2016.

What scholarship offers has everyone received, if you have?

Are they not borderline tier 2/3 right now? I was under the impression that they were.

Unless there is some strange tier system I don't know about, at USNWR #82 they are a tier 2 school now...

Am I missing something?

^ agreed. Are we missing something? They share a spot with Catholic U at the 81/82 which would put them at a tier 2. To hope they get to tier 3 by 2016 would imply theyre a tier 4 right now, which is not correct.

The implication I got was he was just hoping they stay at least tier 3. I really don't think there's even a shot of it dropping into tier 4, but historically DCL was in that range.

I'm guessing MSU will oscillate between 75 and 100. IMHO opinion Penn State is in a stronger position than MSU, and their surge topped out at 67 I believe before subsiding.

Again, this is all a little irrelevant in this range. MSU will place better in Michigan and Penn State better in Pennsylvania. Penn State doesn't have to compete with the human assault waves of thousands of livid Cooley students crashing down upon their law school gates.

[ashleydy10]

Lulz to the last point made lol

[jne381]

There is no reason to believe that MSU is not going to make gains in their rankings. From what I have witnessed, it has made gains in the legal community in Michigan. On the west side of the state, I rarely run into people that went to Wayne, so it tells me Wayne is losing influence on this side of the state. Obviously Michigan is the top contender in the state, but when only 32 graduates from U of M take the bar exam in July, it tells me MSU grads are not really competing much with them in the state.

I don't know how MSU Law allocates its money, and what financial advantages it gets from being associated with MSU, but they have been consistently investing in things to make it a better law school. The clinics have expanded from 3 areas a few years ago to at least 8 now. They keep getting new faculty wit credentials that will help rankings, and bring in distinguished visiting faculty. Beyond that, they have expanded and invested resources in their journals.

Other factors that will help, applications to MSU have increased every year despite a trend in law school apps going down. Unlike many other law schools, the medians for LSAT and GPA did not go down for this past year, even with the enrollment basically staying the same. In addition to that, MSU has said it will be lowering enrollment in the coming years from about 300 to 280 per year. That is only going to make it more difficult to get into the school, and probably boost those numbers a bit.

Does this mean MSU Law will make huge strides every year? Probably not, but they are playing the long game and will continue to make steady strides to improving the reputation, and ranking of the school. I suspect it will take a while, but they will eventually settle where the majority of other B1G schools are, somewhere in the bottom of tier 1.

[ctdunlap12]

Hi all, I'm in with 75% scholarship and it looks like I will almost certainly be enrolling this fall. Does anybody have any thoughts on the commute from Ann Arbor to EL? My fiancee will be attending UM for her Master's in architecture and it looks like I'll be the one making the drive. Road conditions in winter? Traffic? Drive time? Thanks for the input and I look forward to seeing you in the fall!

[spartanlaw877]

Sorry about all the tier confusion, I guess there are different measures to rank the tiers-mine obviously wasn't the norm haha

and I'm glad to hear MSU is being recognized on the West side of the state!

It is not an awful commute, and I'm jealous that you'll be in ann arbor possibly studying in there multi million dollar law lib-it's like hogwarts!

The drive is about an hour in normal conditions, but during peak hours can take around and hour and a half depending on city traffic and where exactly you live in AA. The highways are usually always cleared/plowed and the past couple of winters have been rather mild in regards to the amount of snow. The MSU law school is about ten minutes off the highway in EL.

Any more questions?

I have 75% too, with and $8500 bonus the first year. I am hoping to get a full ride, which is why I applied to so many competitor schools.

[danquayle]

Hi all, I'm in with 75% scholarship and it looks like I will almost certainly be enrolling this fall. Does anybody have any thoughts on the commute from Ann Arbor to EL? My fiancee will be attending UM for her Master's in architecture and it looks like I'll be the one making the drive. Road conditions in winter? Traffic? Drive time? Thanks for the input and I look forward to seeing you in the fall!

I do this commute in the opposite direction quite often. Traffic can get pretty nasty around Ann Arbor, depending on where you live. It's not quite as bad coming into Lansing, but it can be slow at spots. The biggest difference here is that Ann Arbor is essentially part of Detroit's sprawl whereas Lansing is its own metro.

I'd count on an hour commute. Unfortunately, there are some long stretches that are pretty much just farmland, so during the winter these spots of highway can get quite nasty. The snow isn't so much as a concern as the patches of black ice that can pop up without warning.

The good news is that MSU has a giant parking complex next to MSU's law school, and driving around campus isn't usually bad at all. You'd also probably be able to get off in Okemos which spares you most of the Lansing traffic. I honestly hated the commute when I did it for evening classes at UM, but it was doable. Doing day trips

My only warning is that to do very well you'd better develop a strong network of classmates you can study with. Make some good friends so you have a homebase to operate from during those days you'll be pulling all nighters. Socially, you should be helped by the fact your fiancee will surely have friends through her masters.

In terms of quality of life, I think Ann Arbor greatly surpasses East Lansing, so I think its probably the right decision.

[ctdunlap12]

Thanks for all the info! Having some answers definitely makes me feel a little better about the situation. I'll be attending the Open House on March 15 so I'll drive back and forth a couple times to make sure I can do it a couple times every day (albeit without the weather factor). Anyways thanks again!

[jne381]

Yeah, I made the commute from Grand Rapids. 1L was a pain because I had class 5 days a week, but my schedule was pretty good for 2 and 3L because I could schedule most of my classes on 2 days of the week.

Weather during the commute could be a pain, but in three years, I only hit really bad stuff a few times.

[hankb334]

Ok, I am accepted with a full tuition scholarship. I am considering MSU. I am from the south and would like to return their eventually. Can anyone weigh in with some advice and info about the school

[jne381]

Ok, I am accepted with a full tuition scholarship. I am considering MSU. I am from the south and would like to return their eventually. Can anyone weigh in with some advice and info about the school

What would you like to know?

[hankb334]

Ok, I am accepted with a full tuition scholarship. I am considering MSU. I am from the south and would like to return their eventually. Can anyone weigh in with some advice and info about the school

What would you like to know?

If a degree from MSU will lock me into that region, and anything you could tell me would be great!!

[yupyup]

How's the weather like in March? (California native and wary of the cold, snowstorms, etc. ) Thinking about attending one of the admit days if I can get a travel stipend, but don't know what would be the best date: March 1, 9, or 15.

[Tier2Allstar]

anyone else going to ASW?

[yupyup]

Submitted my travel stipend request. If approved, this'll be my first time going out-of-state! (Though, I've been out of the country several times...)

[jne381]

Ok, I am accepted with a full tuition scholarship. I am considering MSU. I am from the south and would like to return their eventually. Can anyone weigh in with some advice and info about the school

What would you like to know?

If a degree from MSU will lock me into that region, and anything you could tell me would be great!!

Of course it isn't going to open doors for you everywhere like a degree from a top school will do, but I have classmates that are practicing all over the country. However, for the most part, it is in the regions they came from. Half of MSU's students come from out of state.

[jne381]

How's the weather like in March? (California native and wary of the cold, snowstorms, etc. ) Thinking about attending one of the admit days if I can get a travel stipend, but don't know what would be the best date: March 1, 9, or 15.

March is hit and miss. It can be nice, but you can also get a late season snow storm if you are unlucky. However, most of the bad stuff is behind you in March.

[spartanlaw877]

MSU undergrad's have their spring break the 1-10, so if you're trying to come to an empty campus pick one of the first two dates...if not come the 15th and check out the life here!

Has anyone had their scholarship bumped up yet?

I am at 100 for the first year and 75 the second and third, looking for a full ride though!