Fox Fact: Foxes can retract their claws as cats do, have vertical pupils (like cats) which allow them to see better in the dark, and have cat-like sensitive whiskers.
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Blog & Podcasts

10 Dec 2024

Podcast: The Future of Legal Education, AI, & Admissions with Dean Megan Carpenter

In this episode, Mike has a conversation with Dean Megan Carpenter on the highlights and challenges of being a dean, the future of law school and innovation in legal education, generative artificial intelligence, and her best law school admissions advice (plus, what res ipsa loquitur means).

13 Nov 2024

What happens to your application once it is submitted to law schools?

There is often a shroud of mystery among applicants once they submit their applications. As former admissions officers, we'll walk you through how the process tends to work.

05 Nov 2024

Podcast: Addendum Deep Dive—Advice from Former Law School Admissions Officers on LSAT, GPA, C&F, and Other Addenda

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with two Spivey consultants—Danielle Early and Derek Meeker, formerly of Harvard Law and Penn Law—diving deep into the law school application addendum.

23 Oct 2024

Podcast: Predicting the 2024-25 Law Admissions Cycle with Northwestern Law Associate Dean Don Rebstock

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike Spivey has a conversation with Northwestern Law Associate Dean Don Rebstock about the first 2024-2025 law school applicant data that was released last week, what it means for applicants, and why it's not as scary as it looks.

15 Oct 2024

Predicting the 2024-2025 Law School Application Cycle (Early Data)

The very first LSAC Volume Summary Report of the cycle just dropped, which means we have our first applicant (and application) data for 2024-2025.

15 Oct 2024

Podcast: Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-2025 Cycle (Part 1, Preparing Applications and the LSAT)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco introduces "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), the applicant who we'll be following throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025.

27 Sep 2024

Top 11 U.S News Law Schools Modeled 2025 Rankings

Here are our modeled Top 11 (due to a four-way tie at 8) 2025 U.S. News Rankings. Please note a few things.

25 Sep 2024

Basics of Law School Financial Aid

Financial aid is a necessary aspect of law school enrollment and one that benefits you most if you consider it early on in the process—not just at the end.

24 Sep 2024

Podcast: Making Your Law School List—Advice & Resources for Deciding Where to Apply

How do you estimate your chances of admission to determine reach, target, and "safety" schools? How many schools should you apply to? How many schools do most applicants apply to? Where can you find the best and most up-to-date information about law schools when doing your research?

16 Sep 2024

2024 U.S. News Best College Rankings

We’ve received from multiple universities the new 2024 U.S. News Best College Rankings and have decided to share the top 25.

10 Sep 2024

Podcast: The Differences Between College & Law School, with "How I Lawyer" Host Jonah Perlin

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews How I Lawyer podcast host Jonah Perlin on some of the many differences between college and law school, from cold calls to being graded on a curve to the nature of attending a professional school and more.

30 Aug 2024

Examples of Successful Experience/Perspective Essays (Formerly "Diversity Statements")

If you’re wondering what successful E/P essays look like, here are a number of examples, all of which are real essays (with minor anonymizing redactions) from applicants who had highly successful admissions outcomes.

27 Aug 2024

Podcast: Experience/Perspective Essay (Diversity Statement) Deep Dive with Former Law School Admissions Officers

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we discuss the relatively new category of law school admissions essays that we're calling "experience/perspective essays" or "E/P essays," many of which are variations on the essays previously known as "diversity statements."

16 Aug 2024

PSA on Misinformation in the Law School Admissions Consulting Industry

As we have podcasted on before, misinformation in the law school admissions process comes from all directions, and law school admissions consulting firms claiming to be experts (with little or no real admissions experience) are a growing source.

13 Aug 2024

Podcast: How PARENTS Can Best Support Law School Applicants

This special episode of Status Check with Spivey is directed toward parents of law school applicants—strategy and advice from former law school admissions officers.

01 Aug 2024

Law School Application Opening Dates 2024

When will law school applications open for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle? Here's the full list.

01 Aug 2024

Welcoming Mike Burns as Chief Operating Officer & Admission Consultant for Spivey Consulting Group

We are thrilled to announce that Mike Burns has joined Spivey Consulting Group as our new Chief Operating Officer and Admissions Consultant!

30 Jul 2024

Podcast: Addiction & Recovery in College with Author Mitch Leff

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with Mitch Leff, author of My Addiction, My Superpower, about his experiences overcoming addiction at a young age, the lessons he learned, and how others can use his insights to improve themselves.

29 Jul 2024

How to Create Your Law School List

In this post, we hope to help you think through the mountain of information and choices out there so that you can set yourself up for a successful application cycle.

23 Jul 2024

Podcast: The Law School Application Resume—Deep Dive with Former Admissions Officers

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco speaks with two Spivey consultants about the law school application resume—what to include and what not to include, differences from professional resumes, common mistakes, best practices, and more.