First professional · Lansing, Michigan

Is Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies at Thomas M Cooley Law School worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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 10.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $70,471; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $96,644; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $175,787; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $186k (likely $186k – $186k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $32k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 10.5 years (likely 7.3–17.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$303k (likely −$472k – −$111k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $122k (likely −$225k – $518k); Today's dollars

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