Admissions

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Blog Posts

January 9, 2015
Applicant questions answered, "will high LSAT scores be MORE or LESS valuable this cycle"

“Mike and Karen, as the number of takers continues to drop, won’t it become MORE acceptable to drop a median point in favor of maintaining GPA? Won’t this make high scores LESS valuable? For example, if Harvard or Yale’s median is going to drop to 172, doesn’t a 173 become LESS valuable, not more? If the median drops a point, suddenly, the pool of at/above median expands, right? So, in theory, I should be rooting for medians to stay the same?” This is something we spend a good deal of time loo

November 21, 2014
Timeline and Tips for the Best Possible Law School Application

A guide to the timing of applying to law school, from undergrad on.

August 6, 2014
Debunking The 1-Page Law School Resume Myth

Let’s put an end to a false piece of advice that we recently saw on the internet.

June 9, 2014
Timeline for Law School Applications

Admissions timeline for June through December of the fall you plan to apply to law school.

May 17, 2014
The Top 10 Law School Personal Statement Mistakes

Learn the mistakes to avoid in your personal statement.

May 16, 2014
The 3 Essential Features of a Great Personal Statement

Remember that exhausting exercise you had to go through applying to college? It’s about to get worse.

March 28, 2014
Rank Me! Please?

Thoughts on law schools ranking their waitlisted applicants.

February 7, 2014
Timing, Timing, and Timing

The waiting has begun.

November 22, 2013
103 Pages of Free Law School Admissions Advice

The following is the collective advice we (Karen and I) have given on top-law-schools, without the external noise, bad jokes (mostly from Mike), etc. It is organized categorically, not by date posted. Enjoy! http://www.mediafire.com/view/ng3p9aw0dbbcc28/SpiveyQA.pdf

Podcasts

July 23, 2021
Law School Admissions Q&A with Mike Spivey

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks asks Mike some admissions questions from Reddit, covering large-scale changes to law school admissions due to the pandemic, reapplication strategies, how law schools look at "KJDs," whether or not you should explain why you want to go to law school in your personal statement, how to write Why X statements when you can't visit a law school and don't know anyone who attended, and more.

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

We mentioned a number of other blogs, podcasts, and YouTube videos in this podcast — they are linked below:

August 5, 2021
Law School Admissions 101

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks goes over the basics of law school admissions for those who are at the beginning of their application process and don't know much about how it works yet.

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

This episode is meant to provide context and a basis on which you can expand your research — here are some further resources you may want to check out next, many of which were mentioned in the podcast!

Basic Law School Information & Rankings

Personal Statements

Diversity Statements

Other Application Components

After You Submit Your Applications

Other Concepts Discussed in this Podcast

August 21, 2021
Interview with Author on Resilience & Former Biglaw Hiring Partner Clint Schumacher

In this podcast, Mike interviews Clint Schumacher — author, podcaster, and former biglaw hiring partner — on resilience in the legal profession, imposter syndrome in law school, what hiring partners look for in applicants, and more.

Clint spent the first part of his legal career at Locke Lord, where he went on to be a hiring partner, then transitioned to Dawson & Sodd, a boutique firm with a focus on eminent domain. In addition to his legal practice, Clint hosts a podcast, The Eminent Domain Podcast, and recently published a book about resilience and overcoming adversity, Second Wind.

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

August 18, 2021
The Coming Law School Admissions Cycle: Brief Thoughts

In this podcast, Mike provides a brief recap of the historic last cycle (2020–2021) as well as the short version of our best predictions for what's to come this cycle (2021–2022). If you'd like a longer and more in-depth discussion of these topics, please listen to our full podcast on these topics, "Recapping the 2020-2021 Law School Admissions Cycle & Predicting the Upcoming Cycle" (featuring Spivey Consulting's data wonk Justin Kane and PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran).

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

August 25, 2021
Interview with UChicago Law Admissions Dean Ann Perry

In this podcast episode, Mike interviews the long-time Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at University of Chicago Law School, Ann Perry. Mike and Ann discuss admissions across multiple dimensions, including how admissions has changed over the past 20 years, typos in applications, when you should submit your applications (and what counts as "late"), how admissions offices set target medians, character and fitness, admissions pet peeves, and more.

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

September 6, 2021
Bad Law School Admissions Advice & More with UMich Law's Dean Z

In this episode, Mike has a conversation with Dean Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z") about a number of admissions topics, including the prevalence of bad admissions advice and how to identify and avoid it.

You can find Dean Z and much more admissions advice on her podcast, A2Z.

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.