
Blog & Podcasts
Podcast: Mike Spivey's Top 5 All-Time Admissions Advice
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike gives his top 5 pieces of advice from his 25+ years working in law school admissions.
Read full postPodcast: What's Wrong with the LSAT? + What is JD-Next? with Craig Boise & Dan Rodriguez
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, two experienced and respected law school Deans discuss the history, the present, and the future of law school admissions and legal education.
Read full postTop 15 Law School Websites
We have spent a great deal of time browsing and evaluating the websites of every ABA-approved law school, and we identified the following 15 as the strongest examples.
Read full postWhich law schools interview applicants, and what are their interview formats?
If you're planning to apply to law school, you may be wondering, which law schools employ interviews as a part of their admissions process? Info here.
Read full postU.S. News Best College Rankings (+/- 2024 vs. 2023)
The 2024 (published 2023) U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings were released today—here are the top 50 national universities with plus/minuses.
Read full postPodcast: How Important is Work Experience in Law School Admissions?
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses a question we receive often—just how important is work experience in the law school application process?
Read full postPodcast: What to Expect in the 2023-24 Law School Admissions Cycle (+ Q&A) with Mike Spivey & Anna Hicks-Jaco
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with Spivey Consulting's COO Anna Hicks-Jaco about what to expect during the upcoming cycle, her perspective as both a recent Dean of Admissions and relatively recent applicant, and advice for applicants getting ready to apply.
Read full postThree Tips for Brand New 1Ls (+ 1L Success Coaching)
Congrats to those of you launching your law school careers this month! As you navigate orientation and the heady first few days of classes, we thought it’d be a good time to share some advice—and an opportunity—from our Pre-L/1L Success team.
Read full postPodcast: Critiquing AI-Generated Law School Personal Statements
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Spivey Consulting's COO Anna Hicks-Jaco gives the insider perspective on AI-generated personal statements—currently a hot topic of discussion in law school admissions offices—and critiques two personal statements written with ChatGPT.
Read full post2023 Law School Application Changes Compiled
We have seen more law schools making changes to their application components and instructions this cycle than in any other we can recall. For your reference, we will be compiling these changes below, adding new schools as their applications and instructions are posted.
Read full postPodcast: The Biggest Non-Negotiable Rule in Law School Admissions
As much as we deign to use absolutes, there is at least one principle we can think of that is absolutely non-negotiable in law school admissions. Regardless of your qualifications, breaking this rule can tank the chances of any applicant—this episode of Status Check with Spivey discusses that rule.
Read full postPredicting the 2023-2024 Law School Admissions Cycle
The 2022-2023 application cycle is coming to a close, and overall, it will finish with about 2% fewer applicants than the prior cycle—the lowest total number of applicants since the 2017-2018 cycle. In this blog, we look at 2023-2024.
Read full postLaw School Application Opening Dates for the 2023-2024 Cycle
This post includes a full list of all ABA-approved law schools' application opening dates for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.
Read full postPodcast: The Myth of the Early Application “Bump” & Law School Rolling Admissions
In this brief episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses what has grown in recent years to be the biggest myth in law school admissions today.
Read full postPodcast: Dean Z on the Future of Law School Admissions + Other Admissions Questions (Part 2)
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike continues his conversation with Dean Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z").
Read full postWhy We Dedicate One In Every Four Podcasts To Mental Health
I mentioned something on a recent admissions podcast with Dean Z from Michigan Law School that I thought, even while saying it, was important enough to follow up on.
Read full postPodcast: What the SCOTUS Admissions Decision Means for Law School Applicants
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the recent Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard Supreme Court decision—which ruled against the legality of race-conscious admissions or "affirmative action"—and what it means for law school applicants, particularly applicants of color.
Read full postSpivey Consulting Group Statement on Supreme Court Race-Conscious Admissions Decision
At Spivey Consulting Group, we believe that diversity, in all of its forms, provides an inherent value in both the individual and collective experiences of who we are, where we come from, how we got here, and how this has affected our places in the world—this will always be relevant.
Read full postPodcast: Dean Z on Underrated/Overrated Law School Admissions Advice + Answering Reddit Questions (Part 1)
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with Dean Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z").
Read full postPodcast: What It's Like Applying to Law School, Part 3 (Final Decisions & Choosing a Law School)
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we wrap up our ongoing conversation with "Lucy," a 2022-2023 law school applicant.
Read full post