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.
Photo by Federico Di Dio photography on Unsplash

Blog & Podcasts

29 May 2024

Podcast: Tier-Ranking Admissions Strategies with UChicago Law School Admissions Dean Ann Perry

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Ann Perry, the University of Chicago Law School's Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, joins Mike Spivey and Anna Hicks-Jaco to tier-rank law school admissions strategies sourced from the folks over on the r/LawSchoolAdmissions subreddit.

17 May 2024

Examples of Letters of Recommendation

Here are three examples of law school letters of recommendation, two academic and one professional, two for regular 1L JD admissions and one for transfer admission.

29 Apr 2024

Podcast: Work Experience, Admissions Strategy, & Legal Employment—What You Need to Know

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we discuss growing importance of work experience in admissions, why the impact of being a "KJD" has increased over time, and—importantly—how work experience (or a lack thereof) plays out during law school and in the search for legal employment.

24 Apr 2024

Podcast: What Are Your Chances Off the Waitlist?

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the various factors that play into any given applicant's chances of admission coming off the waitlist. He also gives a quick preview of our (very early) predictions for next cycle.

15 Apr 2024

Podcast: Transferring Law Schools—Strategy & Process with Two Successful Applicants

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with Spivey consultant Paula Gluzman and two 2Ls who transferred to Columbia and Harvard (respectively) about the transfer admissions process and strategy.

09 Apr 2024

Podcast: The New 2024 Law School Rankings Explained

In this brief episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the changes U.S. News made to their methodology this year.

09 Apr 2024

U.S. News Law School Rankings: 2024 vs. 2023 (+/-)

With the embargo lifted at 12:01 ET today, here are the full U.S. News law school rankings.

03 Apr 2024

New U.S. News Top 25 Law Schools 2024-2025 (with +/-)

Here are the new 2024-2025 U.S. News top 25 law schools.

03 Apr 2024

Podcast: The New LSAT & The Elimination of Logic Games, with PowerScore's Dave Killoran

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with PowerScore Founder & CEO Dave Killoran about the removal of the Logic Games section of the LSAT, the new writing section, and what all this might mean for the future of the law school admissions.

26 Mar 2024

Which Law Schools have Early Decision/Early Action Transfer Programs?

Here's a list of law schools that have early decision or early action transfer programs.

21 Mar 2024

Law School "Gap Years," Work Experience, & Admissions Strategy

For several years now, the focus of law school admissions offices has been trending more and more toward employability. What does this mean for law school admissions strategy?

20 Mar 2024

Podcast: First-Gen Students - What We Wish We'd Known as Applicants, Law Students, & Young Lawyers

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, five Spivey consultants discuss their experiences as first-generation college students, law students, and lawyers, with a particular focus on passing along advice and knowledge that they wish they had known.

19 Mar 2024

Know Your Law School Deposit Deadlines

Updated with 2024 seat deposit deadlines for all ABA-accredited law schools.

04 Mar 2024

Podcast: Why Rankings Matter to People (& Why They Should Not)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses some of the psychological and societal reasons that rankings seem to matter so much to people—then explains the reasons that they shouldn't matter as much as they do.

26 Feb 2024

Podcast: International Students—Differences in Law School Admissions + Our Best Advice

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we discuss differences in the admissions process for international applicants, how law school admissions has changed for international students over time, and our best advice for strategically navigating the current realities of the application process.

23 Feb 2024

2023-2024 Law School Admissions Cycle Update + Predictions for Waitlist Season

It’s late February, which means that the earliest application deadlines have passed, we’re in the thick of decision-rendering season, and waitlists are starting to come fast and heavy. As such, it’s a good time for a general data update and some predictions on what’s yet to come this cycle.

14 Feb 2024

Will FAFSA Delays Affect Incoming Law Students?

You may have heard that the Department of Education announced delays in processing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). How will this affect incoming law students?

12 Feb 2024

Podcast: Law School Admissions Now vs. 10 Years Ago

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna has a conversation with Joe Pollak, one of Spivey's consultants and a former admissions officer at the University of Michigan Law School, about differences and similarities in law school admissions today vs. ten years ago.

08 Feb 2024

The Only 3 Things That Matter on the Waitlist

Being admitted off the waitlist is actually pretty simple—okay, not easy, but simple. There are really only three factors that law schools consider.

30 Jan 2024

Podcast: The Growing Epidemic of Addiction in High Achievers, with Dr. Peter Grinspoon

In this episode, Mike interviews Dr. Peter Grinspoon on mental health and wellness for high performers, why lawyers have such high rates of addiction and depression, antidotes for the factors that lead to these high rates, the story of Dr. Grinspoon's 2019 debate at Yale Law School, and more.