Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Paralegals And Legal Assistants
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Wayne County Community College District, Oakland Community College, Grand Valley State, and Macomb Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Davenport, Madonna, Ferris State, and Eastern Michigan University.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Wayne County Community College District, University of Detroit Mercy, Henry Ford Community College, and Montcalm Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Kellogg Community College, University of Detroit Mercy, and Central Michigan University.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Siena Heights University, Eastern Michigan University, University of Detroit Mercy, and Northwestern Michigan College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Ferris State, Central Michigan University, Siena Heights University, and Grand Valley State.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Grand Valley State and Madonna.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Ferris State.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Detroit Mercy, Ferris State, Grand Valley State, and Madonna.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Baker College • Jackson, MI
Studying Paralegal (completion in 2011)
• 6/29/2011
"I don't think I received the right education from this school. There were a lot of classes that I thought my time and money was wasted in taking."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I don't think I would want anyone else to go to this school. I had a lot of struggles in this school, which is to be expected, but this school doesn't know what's going on at all. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | There isn't really a good reputation for the program at my school. I believe it could quite possibly be the program where the most students drop out of. I remember in my first class there were over 30 people. In the next class after that, at least half weren't there. By the time we graduated there were only 3 of us. |
| Program Quality | 4 | I don't feel that my school taught me as well as it should have. I felt that a lot of people looked down on Paralegal students. I think that they could've had better instructors. |
| Instruction | 3 | There were a lot of times we barely did anything in class. There wasn't really any teacher/student learning; it was more out of a book. |
| How Difficult | 9 | I rated this a 9 because there were a few things that came easy to me, but then there were some things that were hard as well. The thing that made it the hardest was the fact that there is just so much that you have to know. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | For the most part of the class, the teachers just gave us page numbers to read and told us what assignments they wanted us to do. Sometimes they provided examples for us. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school is extremely flexible on class options. They have early morning classes and they have classes that go until 9:40 at night. They also offer Saturday classes as well as online classes and hybrid classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | My school had an amazing library. Lawyers would actually come to our school and use our books because we had what they called a "law library." |
| Social Life | 10 | There weren't many options for paralegals when I was in school. We did have a paralegal club for which I was the secretary. |
| Placement Services | 1 | When we had to do internships, the advisor was supposed to help everyone graduating find a job. She helped out every other program besides paralegal. She claimed that it was to hard to find a job and that we had to find them ourselves. It wouldn't have been so bad, but we couldn't find jobs either, and this is what she was getting paid for. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I provided a 5 because I just recently became an Alumni. I haven't really needed any of the help from the college. |
Michigan Law School • Ann Arbor, MI
Studying Law (completion in 2011)
• 7/11/2011
"Good school. Very expensive, though."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | Not in this economy. Also, the skills learned are not very flexible. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | Very good reputation. Not much else to say. |
| Program Quality | 5 | In retrospect I should have been a scientist of some kind. Law jobs are becoming obsolete. |
| Instruction | 5 | Professors had good credentials. With that said, they were somewhat detached. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Not very hard (high graduation rate). However, you could not slack off. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Mostly book learning. Some hands-on stuff if you are willing to look for it. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | You can take most anything you want. No weekend or online classes are available, though. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Nice building. However, it's falling apart. |
| Social Life | 5 | Many smart people are around, but everyone is doing their own thing. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They work hard to make the school look good. Not the most creative people around, though. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Very good network. However, you have to want to use it. |
Oakland University • Rochester, MI
Studying English (completion in 2007)
• 7/30/2011
"Administration personnel were inept. Most professors were good."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | A degree in English can be applied toward many careers. However, if someone is only considering a career as a paralegal, I would recommend a paralegal studies program. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | I believe the university's reputation of the English program is slightly above average. The university tends to focus on other fields and the English department doesn't have much funding. |
| Program Quality | 5 | A degree in English can be applied to paralegal jobs. The program at OU was average. |
| Instruction | 5 | There was no career preparation in the program. However, a degree in English can be applicable for many career fields, including law. |
| How Difficult | 4 | I attended community college first, and expected the workload and challenge to be higher at the university. However, it was not. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | English degrees are book heavy by nature. I don't think this is a negative assessment. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | All of the classes I took for my degree were offered in the evening. Many classes were also offered online. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The library and electronic media were great. Classrooms were not updated for most English courses. |
| Social Life | 5 | I worked full time and attended school part time. I did not attend any school social events and am not able to provide an informed opinion. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I did not use the job placement and career services assistance. I am unable to provide an informed opinion on this matter. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have not used the alumni network. I am not able to give an informed opinion on this matter. |
Grand Rapids Community College • Grand Rapids, MI
Studying Business Administration (completion in 2009)
• 2/24/2012
"The school's best aspect was it's flexibility in class offerings. After that, I really enjoyed working with the professors of my classes."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | There aren't very many schools in the area that have a legal department other than the law schools, so this is a very popular choice for those wanting to get their foot in the legal industry. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school is very well known for it's police academy, so often that blurs in with the legal department. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The school has an excellent relationship with the city's police department as well as the city's prosecuting attorney's office. Often times, the professionals from the respective offices are professors at the school and they can teach about the "real world." |
| Instruction | 10 | The program is very relevant to my career. I have learned from police officers how to properly speak in public. I have learned from attorneys how to dissect and digest details in a case. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The work load was very heavy. There would be nights when I was doing homework 2 hours every night regardless of whether or not that class actually met that day. This prepared me for my career and to expect that the end of the day isn't over at 5:00 p.m. Often times you have to go the extra mile (without being recognized) in order to complete the job. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My program had a pretty even delivery in regards to book work and hands on work. The school is known for doing a lot of networking, which is important so that you can get your foot in the door. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school offers both day and night classes as well as “in between” classes. Classes are also held on Saturdays and hybrid (online/in class) and online classes are also offered. There are many sections offered per class, making it easy to enroll in a class that fits your schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The college has a huge campus in the downtown area so they have their own library and computer lab. Since they are downtown, they are also near the public library so you have a choice as to where you'd like to study and do your research. |
| Social Life | 7 | I was not highly involved in the social aspects of the school as my full time job and school schedule ate up my time. However, I know that the school has many programs available to provide high quality social experiences for students. |
| Placement Services | 3 | The placement center does not have a good relationship with employers so they don't have very many openings available. If at all, the school will hold one job fair each year which is very weak considering the fact that this is the largest community college in the area. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I have not heard from the alumni network at all. The school hardly ever contacts me except for when they want money. I would suggest that they keep me informed about new programs or classes available in case I'm interested in taking a "refresher" class. |
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