Client Success & Buzz

I simply could not ask for a better experience than the one I had with Spivey Consulting. In particular, Jayme McKellop, who I worked with, was amazing. She made sure we worked together to truly represent who I am — my skills, interests, background, and motivations — for an end result of a cohesive application that I was proud of. Despite a below median LSAT score, I received T14 offers with scholarships and am attending the University of Michigan. Jayme’s expert background in law school admissions, her awesome sense of humor, and compassion for the stressful experience admissions can be, made her a pleasure to work with.

Mike — As I was doing some reflection this afternoon I wanted to send out some thank you notes to people who helped me along my Law School journey — it turns out, you’re on that list! As of two weeks ago, I’ve accepted an offer to work at Skadden in (City) once I graduate (and hopefully pass the bar) in 2020. I could not think of a better outcome for my legal education, and both my wife and I are on cloud 9 as we’ve found an opportunity that fits our financial goals and our desire to live and work in (City). Just wanted to say thanks again, and hope the business is thriving (as it deserves to!).

I am incredibly grateful that Paula was by my side throughout this application cycle, and I know that I would not have achieved my improbable results (a T14 acceptance with a sub-3.0 undergrad GPA!) without her. From the get go, Paula was incredibly warm and encouraging to me in a way that I cannot emphasize enough. I think she felt that despite my inconsistent numbers, I had a compelling story to tell to law schools, and she played a vital part in boosting my confidence and the idea that I could aim higher than I initially felt like I could or even deserved to.

She talked me through my reluctance to embrace the rougher edges of my narrative and to retake control of it, and provided lifesaving edits on my personal statement, a GPA addendum, as well as quite a few supplemental essays. She then guided me through the wildly confusing game of school interviews, visits, and timing, and finally, through a long and dreaded waitlist process. She probably did even more outside of this, so apologies if I left something off. Although Paula didn’t know this, I went through a several personal changes and family issues this year outside of an already-maddening and unpredictable application cycle.

Her warmth and genuine bits of wisdom helped me keep a level head through it all; in fact, I think she should guest blog for Spivey sometime to share her wisdom with all the other anxious applicants! As a result, as much as I value her sterling and meticulous guidance as a consultant and editor, I cherish the very human kindness and encouragement she brought to this process even more. I will never forget it.

After working with Tom Robinson on my personal statement, I am really happy with my admissions results. I am excited to be attending the University of Texas School of Law with a 95k scholarship! Working with Tom to perfect my writing definitely made all the difference. I even had an admissions dean come up to me at an admitted students event and tell me how much he liked my personal statement. Tom really went the extra mile and looked over several ‘final’ drafts until it was flawless. Hiring Tom was one of the best investments I made during my admissions process. I will be recommending Spivey Consulting to all of my friends applying to law school.

Paula — I just wanted to send you a note letting you know that I’m incredibly thankful to have your guidance and support throughout this process. I did not imagine at the start of this cycle that I would have schools which rejected me last cycle now offer me money to attend, or that I’d be riding out waitlists from two T14s. I am grateful and excited for whatever comes.

My results were all possible because of Paula’s help! I remember the day last year I was on the phone with her, vacillating over whether I should take the LSAT once more or not, and I was so confused and worried about whether I would be able to make it to law school at all. I am so glad that I will be attending a good law school entirely debt free, and this is something that I hadn’t expected last year. Thank you so much to Paula for being the support throughout this journey! This cycle has turned out so favorably for me, and I think her assistance made the difference. I am so grateful.

If you’re looking to make the most of your hard-earned credentials by being the best version of yourself, then working with Spivey is an excellent idea — especially if you get to work with Karen. Insightful, helpful and unfailingly responsive, my experience of working with Karen was phenomenal from start to finish. I could write a book about how awesome it was to work with Karen, but for now I’ll just say it was the best investment I’ve ever made. Without her, I would undoubtedly not have had the happy dilemma of having to choose between so many fantastic places to study law.

I really enjoyed working with Anne Dutia, and I’m so glad I did! She had great advice, she made sure my essays weren’t terrible, and I got to wrap up my addenda in a better way than I could have on my own. I think I lucked out big time with the full Darrow at Michigan; saying yes to that was a pretty easy choice to make. Thank you so much Anne for all your help throughout this process. I’m so proud of the outcomes you helped me achieve.

Tom Robinson could not have been more helpful. His insight into the thinking of the admissions committees was invaluable. He took me through the entire process from beginning to end — from school selection to numerous drafts of personal statements to interview practice and advice. He was extremely professional and very generous with his time. Highly recommended.

Working with Nick at the Spivey Consulting Group was the best investment in my future I could make. I am a non-traditional applicant with a GPA significantly below the 25th percentile at my target schools, and after getting rejected at my top choice last year, I worked with Nick to craft a reapplication strategy. He identified weaknesses in my original application, helped me choose new essay topics, and provided insightful feedback on my materials. I submitted my applications confident that I had put together the best package I could, and that even if I didn’t make it to my reach schools, I would end up with fantastic options. With Nick’s help, I was accepted to Harvard Law School, which I still cannot believe. Thanks for everything, Nick!

Tom Robinson, with his vast experience in law school admissions, cleared up much of the uncertainty that comes with being an international applicant and helped me get into Harvard. Result aside, I want to commend Tom on the process, because the value I got from his consulting goes beyond admission to my dream school. I went into the admission cycle with a bad case of Impostor Syndrome. I had spent weeks trying to think of something significant, a uniqueness about me, that I would be proud to write about. Tom, on the other hand, with a few pleasant conversations helped me uncover many interesting — even impressive — aspects of my life. Then, with his guidance, I crafted a cohesive, compelling application that I still, to this day, would read because it fills me with pride and confidence. That confidence, the feeling that I am deserving of this incredible result, is why I am forever grateful to Tom.

I wanted to thank you for setting me up to work with Jayme this cycle. She has been invaluable in helping me prepare my applications and I can say for sure that I put my best foot forward through working with her. You and your team really are the best at what you do, and I am eternally grateful that I got a chance to work with you all.

I worked with Jenn over the course of two years! She has amazing insight and advice. As someone who gets very anxious and emotional about applications, Jenn kept me on schedule and motivated during the whole process. When you are applying, there are so many uncertainties. It is wonderful to have someone to turn to for reassurance. Jenn is also a realist. She really knows what she is doing, and she is upfront about your chances. As a result of my work with Jenn, I got a full-ride to Cardozo School of Law in NYC. Thank you Jenn and Spivey!

Danielle was a highly impactful resource in my application cycle. Her creative and strategic expertise, coupled with her responsiveness and empathy, allowed me to streamline each step in the application process and efficiently craft my strongest possible applications. To all future applicants, I strongly recommend Danielle and Spivey Consulting. I am so thankful I chose to work with Danielle Early “early on” in my application cycle!

During my law school admissions cycle, I had the pleasure of working with Derek Meeker, and it was absolutely the best choice I could have made. Not only is Derek extremely knowledgeable about the law school admissions process, he is an amazing writer and editor. He coached me to elevate not only my writing but my entire application as a whole. He helped me take my very rough application, which included a character and fitness addendum, and polish it into something that highlighted all the best aspects. With Derek’s help and guidance, I earned admittance into a T10 despite having a previous conduct issue and being below both of the school’s medians. Working with Derek is absolutely the best thing you can do to ensure your application is the most compelling that it can be!

I worked with both Anna Hicks and Mike Spivey. Anna was accepted to a top 10 law school with a full scholarship, and I could immediately see why. She was an exceptionally detailed editor who was able to pick out the very best from me to help me stand out in everything I submitted. Mike knew the inside and out for the schools I applied to and added critical and individualized strategic input for each. Together they made a great team, and I was admitted to my number 1 school very early in the cycle!

Anne Dutia was a tremendous help throughout the entire application process. As a splitter, Anne provided invaluable advice on how to write an effective LSAT addendum that would serve as a beneficial addition to my application. She went above and beyond by editing several drafts of my personal statement, resume, and supplemental essays. It was Anne’s expertise, thoroughness, and patience that helped me secure a scholarship to a top 10 law school. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with Anne, and I would not be attending my dream school in the fall if it weren’t for her knowledge and support.

Nick Everdell helped me to transfer from a part-time program to Yale Law School. Nick was fantastic every step of the way: From my initial call with him to after admission to Yale. Nick was a true professional: organized, detailed oriented, accessible and always gave invaluable and honest advice, not just what I wanted to hear. Nick genuinely cared about my success and helped me keep the ups and downs of the transfer process in perspective. Without exaggeration, working with Nick and Spivey Consulting was the best investment I have made.

Penn Law Class of 2022! I was in shock when I got the call. Derek, I wanted to thank you for all of your help. Your writing skills are an asset alone. With your diligent notes and explanations, you endeavored to go beyond just improving my papers. Your guidance in crafting my thoughts toward the essays was invaluable in shaping my material to be the best it could. Further, you pushed me to take every essay to the next level. You ensured that every piece of the application really added value and was more than just another submission. When I submitted my applications, I was fully confident that I was putting forth the best product possible after working with you.

I worked with Emily Allen, and it was an incredible experience. I truly feel like I put together the best application possible. She pushed me to discover my personal story and show myself as a strong, well rounded applicant. Working with her helped me gain admission to a school I thought was out of reach. It was absolutely worth it, and I’d recommend Spivey Consulting to anyone.

Mike — Today is my first day of orientation at Northwestern, and I really, really enjoyed everything. I would like to thank you for everything that you did for me! You are absolutely phenomenal and so professional. Asking you to be my law school application advisor is one of the best decisions that I have ever made. P.S. — Rob Cacace and the Pre-L program are also amazing, and thank you so much for introducing me!

Working with Paula was a phenomenal experience. Each of her suggestions was impactful and strategic, and my personal statement was improved tenfold. I was initially hesitant at the financial investment, but looking back it was more than worth it!

I was very fortunate to work with Shannon for my entire admissions cycle. Shannon was extremely responsive and worked tirelessly with me to perfect every aspect of my application, from my personal statement to numerous supplements and school-specific essays. After I submitted my applications, Shannon’s deep insight into admissions interviews, events, and scholarship negotiation was truly invaluable. Throughout the whole process, I could always tell that Shannon had a sincere passion to help me succeed. By the end of my cycle, I secured a substantial scholarship at a top-5 law school, where I am now a student. I would not have been able to do this without Shannon’s incredible skill and expertise.

Just wanted to send a quick thank you for your help! I haven’t had a single ding or waitlist yet. I have been accepted at eight schools so far, and just got in to my best case scenario school… A few other applicants with similar stats to mine have already been rejected, so I can only attribute my success to my awesome essay editor (so glad I didn’t listen to the essay editing competitor person who just wanted to change a few words and knew nothing about admissions strategy!).

Applying to 20+ schools this past cycle was challenging, but it would have been impossible without the help of Nikki Laubenstein at Spivey Consulting. She helped me step by step through what ended up being an 11 month long process, from reviewing the first draft of my personal statement to assisting with waitlists. I simply would’ve been unable to craft a cohesive application without her. Her help proved invaluable at various moments throughout the cycle, whether it was putting my mind at ease or assisting in scholarship negotiations. She had answers to all of my (many!) questions along the ride and helped me gain admission to a law school I’m thrilled to begin attending later this summer. I would recommend Spivey Consulting to anyone looking for an edge in the law school admissions process, or with doubts over their candidacy.

As a splitter applicant with a few years of work experience, I knew that positioning myself properly was going to be essential. I chose Spivey after reaching out to several admissions consultants. Derek was knowledgeable, realistic, positive, supportive, organized, and insanely meticulous. He patiently walked me through every harebrained idea and my constant anxiety during an extremely competitive cycle. There are plenty of uncontrollable factors and things to agonize about as an applicant, but I never had to worry about a typo or strategy not considered in each application or school correspondence. Memorably, Derek even helped me edit a financial award reevaluation statement within the hour I sent it to him at 10PM. Under his guidance, I was accepted and offered competitive scholarships to multiple schools across the T14. This fall, I am going to a law school that is consistently ranked as one of the five most selective schools in the nation, with a significant financial package, despite having a GPA that hovers around its bottom 25%. I am so thrilled! Working with Derek and Spivey Consulting has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.