First professional · Lansing, Michigan

Is Law at Thomas M Cooley Law School worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 17.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $60,061; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $79,643; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $160,093; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $170k (likely $170k – $170k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $15k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 17.3 years (likely 13.9–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$437k (likely −$519k – −$373k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$217k (likely −$367k – −$77k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.