Outcome-Based Predictive Admissions Models using LSAT and UGPA (March 2015)

Introduction For many years, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School admitted students based on either of two alternatives: (1) the applicant’s LSAT score alone or (2) the student’s Cooley Admissions Index, which is the sum of the applicant’s undergraduate grade point average multiplied by 15, plus the applicant’s LSAT score. In mathematical terms, the index is expressed by the following equation: Index = (UGPA x 15) + LSAT. We granted admission to applicants based on where their individual LSAT score or their individual Index number fell in relation to more or less subjectively established LSAT score or Index score cutoff numbers.