A few months ago, many law schools announced they would boycott sending U.S. News direct (and non-third party audited) data, essentially forcing U.S. News to change their methodology. The rates of the admissions metrics were significantly reduced. What does this mean?
Learn how to ask for a seat deposit deadline extension.
Submitting a LOCI is a necessary step in trying to get admitted off any waitlist—this blog will walk you through some key "dos" and "don'ts" to keep in mind while you're drafting yours.
Admissions office staff titles can be confusing. If you're trying to decipher who in an admissions office is the seniormost decision-maker, this blog likely has your answer.
We are excited to have recently completed and submitted to publishing the upcoming PowerScore/Spivey Consulting Law School Admissions Bible, scheduled to go to press next month (November 2022)! Here's a preview of the Table of Contents.
We often hear from applicants who feel they should scrub their resumes and other materials of any mention of their involvement in fraternities or sororities. While some applicants in online forums seem to support this prohibition, the best approach for you individually might be more nuanced.
Like the undergraduate process, visiting law schools and interacting with their communities can be an important part of selecting the right fit school for you.
It's certainly too early to make predictions with any sort of certainty, but given that we now have final June LSAT numbers, and registration for the August LSAT is now closed, we now have some early indicators of what we might expect to see in the 2022-2023 law school admissions cycle.
Apart from your LSAT score and your undergraduate GPA, the personal statement is often the most important component of your law school application. Step one is choosing your topic—but how do you determine what the best topic is for you?
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, a psychiatrist and best-selling author of The Molecule of More. Mike and Dr. Lieberman discuss tenacity, goal-setting, and both achieving and finding contentment in success—all as they relate to not just law school admissions (Dr. Lieberman gives some excellent personal statement advice), but a variety of topics, from "doomscrolling" to extinction-level asteroids to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Dr. Lieberman's new book along with his coauthor Michael Long, Taming the Molecule of More, comes out in 2024.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews UVA Law Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer on differences between this year and past years in admissions, special factors influencing this cycle, AI in admissions, and an insider look into UVA Law's application review process (including why some applicants hear back sooner than others).
For more law school admissions advice from Dean Blazer, check out the UVA Law podcast she hosts, Admissible.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews best-selling author Brad Stulberg (whose books include Master of Change, The Practice of Groundedness, Peak Performance, and The Passion Paradox) on how to make real and lasting change in your life. Brad and Mike discuss why we resist change, elective vs. forced change, identity, and how to actually make your New Year's Resolution stick.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Dr. Peter Grinspoon—physician, Harvard Medical School instructor, and author of Free Refills: A Doctor Confronts His Addiction, in which he writes about his struggles with and recovery from opiate addiction. Mike and Dr. Grinspoon discuss mental health and wellness for high performers, why lawyers have such high rates of addiction and depression, antidotes for the factors that lead to these high rates, the story of Dr. Grinspoon's 2019 debate on medical marijuana at Yale Law School, and more.
Listeners of this podcast are welcome to contact Dr. Grinspoon via his website, www.petergrinspoon.com—he loves talking to students, is able to discuss sensitive and confidential questions, and responds to all communications personally.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco, Spivey Consulting's new President, discusses common mistakes that applicants make in the second part of their admissions cycle—after they've submitted their applications.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna has a conversation with Joe Pollak—one of Spivey's consultants and a former admissions officer at the University of Michigan Law School—about differences and similarities in law school admissions today vs. ten years ago. Anna brings the perspective of someone who was applying to law school a decade ago, while Joe brings his perspective as a Michigan Law admissions officer at the time. They talk about changes in the competitiveness of admissions, the LSAT, the availability of standardized data and good information, what applicants are doing differently, what admissions offices are doing differently, and more.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.