Admissions

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Blog Posts

January 20, 2020
Understanding ABA 509 Reports

A comprehensive guide.

January 18, 2020
Is There Luck Involved in Admissions?

Yes, there is. But you can’t predict it.

January 12, 2020
Applying to Law School: Top 8 Tips from Former Faculty Admissions Chair Scott Moss

Scott Moss, as a full-time professor at two law schools, served on law school Admissions Committees for 13 years, including serving as Admissions Chair for 10 years after receiving tenure.

September 5, 2019
Explaining Why You’re Applying to Their Law School (The “Why X” Essay)

In this blog post, we will be discussing one type of optional essay, the “Why X” statement, or an essay in which you describe to the law school why you are interested in attending that school in particular.

September 3, 2019
Mike Spivey's My Rank Top 50 Law Schools

As many of you know, we have spent the past several months developing a tool for prospective law school applicants to create their own customized law school rankings.

August 24, 2019
Should You Submit a GPA Addendum?

This is a particularly tricky question for applicants—and one where we often see that instincts tend to be a good bit off.

July 26, 2019
MyRankBySpivey.com has launched!

As of today, we are excited to announce the launch of our newest project, My Rank!

July 26, 2019
Don't Dox Yourself

I almost beg this of you. Please do not post identifiable information online associated with your law school application ever. It costs multiple people admission every year.

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.

August 30, 2021
The Past & Future of Legal Education, with Reuters Legal Reporter Karen Sloan

In this episode, Mike speaks with long-time legal education reporter Karen Sloan about her experiences and stories and the future of the legal field.

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

September 23, 2021
Interview with Penn Law Admissions Dean Renee Post

In this episode, Spivey Consulting's Derek Meeker — a former Penn Law Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid — interviews Renee Post, Penn Law's current and long-standing Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid. Derek and Dean Post walk through the components of the law school application, including the personal statement, resume, addenda, and Penn's "Core Strengths, Goals, and Values" essay, and they also discuss topics including joint degrees, the merits of going to law school straight from undergrad vs. getting full-time work experience, handling the stress of the admissions process, their craziest admissions stories, their favorite things about Philadelphia, and what gives some law school applicants that "it" factor.

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

September 30, 2021
The Challenge of Self-Doubt in Higher Education, with Terry Real

In this episode, world-renowned author, speaker, teacher, and therapist Terry Real — who has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and many more — discusses the emotional health hazards of grad school and law school and how to stay human during these stressful and highly evaluative periods of life. Law school can feel a lot like high school at times, and this is so often expressed by both students and faculty in terms of grandiosity — "I am superior to others because." Real speaks on how the field of psychology has focused so much on bringing people up that it has ignored the equal need to help bring people down from that superior position based on covert insecurity. In Real's words, "We are all born equal, no better or worse to the person to our left or right." For anyone who has had self-doubt in the law school admissions process, in law school, or in practicing law, this podcast offers an amazingly insightful message with advice toward reclaiming self-esteem from one of the world's very best.

Terry's first book, I Don't Want to Talk About It — in which he writes about treating and destigmatizing depression in a patriarchal society — has been a best-seller for over 20 years since it was first published in 1997. He has written two other books and has a new book coming out in March of next year, Us: How Moving Relationships Beyond You and Me Creates More Love, Passion, and Understanding.

For more from Terry, you can receive free access to his very popular interview with Carol Gillian, an internationally recognized ethicist and psychologist,  by texting OPT IN to (415) 813-1025.

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

October 11, 2021
Diversity & Adversity in Law School Admissions, with Sydney Montgomery

In this episode, Mike has a conversation with our consultant Derek Meeker (former Dean of Admissions at Penn Law) and Sydney Montgomery (founder of S. Montgomery Admissions Consulting) about the role of diversity and adversity in law school admissions.

Derek's YouTube video on how to choose a personal statement topic was mentioned in this podcast; you can watch that video here.

You can listen to Sydney's podcast, "Break Into Law School," here.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.