Admissions

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Blog Posts

March 21, 2017
5 Scholarship Negotiation Necessities

As deposit deadlines are nearing, scholarship negotiation season is in full swing.

February 9, 2017
Spivey Consulting in USNWR on a successful Harvard Law resume

Hi Mr. Spivey, I wanted to thank your for your review of my resume in yesterday’s U.S. News & World Report article on law school resumes [http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2017-02-02/a-law-school-resume-that-made-the-cut] . Surely, my success is due in-part to your willingness to support prospective applicants via your guidance on the Top Law Schools forums. I do not believe I would have applied to Harvard without the encouragement I felt from readin

January 4, 2017
An Exceptional Personal Statement

Please note that this example was published in 2017, and law school admissions develops over time.

November 25, 2016
How Long Does it Take for Law School Applications to Be Read?

This is an important post, notably because there are a few critical misconceptions out there about how files are read.

September 24, 2016
Choosing a Personal Statement Topic

“But I don’t have a WOW factor.”

August 3, 2016
When the Top 50 Law Schools Start Accepting Applications

*Please note, schools can change these dates, it is possible when we called to ask them that they gave us the dates applications open rather than are accepted (although we were very careful to clearly articulate when can you submit), etc. But this should be highly accurate to the extent we can control it. Please also note, just because they accept by a certain date doesn't mean they start reading on that date. FAR FROM IT, in most cases. These are good to know but September and October are cons

July 19, 2016
Super Awesome Homerun A+ Law School Personal Statements

Two examples of great personal statements from 2017.

July 12, 2016
A Personal Statement Thought & Testimonial

We get a good deal of unsolicited testimonials, and every so rarely we throw one up on our website to share.

Podcasts

April 2, 2020
How Will Law School Transfer Admissions Be Impacted by COVID-19?

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses how COVID-19 and new grading systems will affect law school transfer admissions. Listen below through YouTube, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

Also, a quick note — for a look into Mike's daily schedule (which we've been asked about many times) and some advice on staying sane while quarantined, see this recent blog.

March 18, 2020
Update on COVID-19 / Coronavirus & Law School Admissions

Just a quick update from Mike Spivey on how the continuously developing situation with COVID-19 / coronavirus is impacting — and will continue to impact — law school admissions. Watch here or listen on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

September 11, 2020
On the Prevalence of Bad Law School Admissions Advice

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group's Anna Hicks and Mike Spivey discuss bad advice in law school admissions — who gives it, how to identify it, and how to determine which advice is worthwhile. Plus, some bonus [good] advice on LinkedIn at the end!

You can also listen to this podcast on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

Here's the podcast on when admissions officers do take note of a specific applicant's behavior online and the consequences it can have.

And here's the Family Guy parody video mentioned in the podcast regarding subjectivity in admissions.

Please note that we are currently at capacity and are not taking new clients for this cycle at this time (we are still working through our current waitlist in date order). However, we will soon be opening our reservation list for next cycle! You can monitor our blog and Twitter for updates on our future availability for this cycle and for the reservation list announcement.

You may not know that I, and several of my Spivey Consulting business partners, were meant to be at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. You can read the story and my thoughts nine years later in a blog post I just published to my motivational blog here. –Mike

June 5, 2020
Harvard Law Goes Fully Remote for Fall 2020. Will Other Law Schools Follow Suit and What It Means for Applicants

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group founder Mike Spivey discusses Harvard Law School's recent announcement that all classes will be held fully remotely for Fall 2020 — what does it mean for other law schools, for international students, the ABA, and current applicants? Will this cause more waitlist movement? What about deferrals? Plus, a bit of a look into what the 2020-2021 cycle might bring.

Listen below, or via SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

August 9, 2020
How to Tell If You're Overdoing It in Law School Admissions

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group founder Mike Spivey discusses one of the most common mistakes in law school admissions that we see from applicants who have underperformed their numbers — overdoing it in the admissions process — then details the most common types of applicants this happens to: the "over-explainer," the "over-spammer," the "over-[publicly] talker," the "permutator," and the "boundary pusher."

You can find the blog post Mike mentions in the podcast, "Spooky Halloween Blog: Real Stories of Things That Creep Out Admissions Offices" (examples of the most extreme "boundary pushers"), here.

You can also listen to this podcast on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

And for our free tool for comparing law schools/medians/data, check out My Rank.

June 11, 2020
Recession Job Search Tips You Won’t Hear from Career Services

Mike Spivey served as a law school dean of career services during the Great Recession, and in this podcast he shares actionable advice for legal networking that you won't hear from your CSO.

Listen below via YouTube, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.