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It's that time of year again — law schools are beginning to place applicants on the dreaded waitlist. Luckily, we have two helpful resources if you've been waitlisted this cycle.
An update from approximately 50% of the way through the cycle.
You've probably heard some of the many horror stories of colleges and universities rescinding (note: not "resending" – which would mean to barrage someone with the same admission over and over again). In fact, I can vividly remember my dad telling me after I got into my dream school for my undergraduate degree that if I did poorly my last semester of high school the college would pull my offer. These cases have become more common, especially with cases of social media; here is one example that
LSAT median changes for the fall 2018 entering class: No Change 1 point increase 2 point increase 3+ point increase
All cycles are different – for those that have been following us for a while you will recall the term "counter-cycle" for example – but last year, the 2017/2018 cycle, was truly an outlier. We have well over 100+ years of law school admissions experience on our team, and we have never seen a year with such little waitlist movement. It caught most schools off guard too, but the simple fact of the matter is that if the schools above you are not admitting people off the waitlist, then you aren't ei
First, a quick disclaimer (get used to writing these, future lawyers): when we say “law schools” we do not mean to speak for every single law school. There likely are a few outliers. But at the macro-level, here is what is going on. Most law school Early Decision (ED) programs don’t provide the substantial boost that applicants believe. An analogy I often use is that a Las Vegas casino wouldn’t have a blackjack table that loses money. In blackjack, if a player follows perfect betting strategy,
Big news — we just launched our new Spivey Consulting Group YouTube channel!
Join us on Monday, November 19, 2018.
A video submission that worked.
In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses perspectives and considerations as we head into the 2021 law school waitlist season.
You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.
In this podcast, Mike interviews Jeff Chapman: Partner, Co-Chair of Global Mergers and Acquisitions, and Executive Committee Member at Gibson Dunn. Mike and Jeff met when Mike was a law school Dean of Career Services, and they became good friends — in this interview, Jeff shares his story, some thoughts and advice about law school, and a bit of biglaw hiring advice.
You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.
We are thrilled to announce that we will be interviewing Dr. Gabor Maté — renowned physician, speaker, and author of four best-selling books including the critically-acclaimed In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts — for a podcast episode to be released on May 15. We will be discussing with Dr. Maté the roots of anxiety and addiction, particularly in relation to law school and the legal field. One in 5 attorneys struggle with alcohol abuse, 1 in 5 show symptoms of clinic anxiety, and 1 in 4 suffer from depression (source) — mental illness and addiction are very real and present problems in the legal field, and we look forward to sharing Dr. Maté's insights with you.
You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, or YouTube for access to all of our past and upcoming episodes. We post advice, analysis, and predictions about law school admissions, plus we interview notable people about admissions, legal education, and the legal field. Our last two podcast interviews featured Gibson Dunn Partner/M&A Chair Jeff Chapman and acclaimed psychologist/TED Talk speaker Guy Winch, and we are excited for upcoming interviews with a law school dean, the preeminent researcher on self-compassion, a current admissions dean from a top 3 law school, and many more.
Listen below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.
In this podcast, Mike Spivey explains how the scholarship negotiation process works from the law school's perspective and gives some advice and tips for how to strategically approach increasing your merit aid offers.
You can listen to this podcast below, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, or RadioPublic.
You may also notice our new name and new look — thanks to u/lightningmcboops from r/lawschooladmissions for the name suggestion, and thank you all for listening to the first official episode of the Status Check with Spivey!
In this podcast, Mike Spivey speaks with Dr. Gabor Maté, one of the world’s leading experts on physical and mental health and author of four best-selling books including "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" and "When the Body Says No." Dr. Maté shares his thoughts and advice on self-doubt, stress, anxiety, and addiction, and offers the following insight for prospective law students (among others):
"You're going to look at all your confident classmates, and you're going to go in there with all manner of self-doubt. You're making the big mistake of comparing their outside with your inside. You have no idea what their inside is like. And believe me, you're not the only one."
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
