Admissions

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Blog Posts

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.

July 25, 2019
Top 50 Law School Application Opening Dates for the 2019-2020 Cycle

When are law school applications opening this fall?

July 16, 2019
Ten Things to do After the July LSAT

It's done! Congratulations, you completed the July LSAT. But what now?

June 30, 2019
Application Timing

An explanation of "rolling admissions" and a look at application timing data.

June 21, 2019
How to Set Your Letter of Recommendation Writer Up for Success

The best recommendations come from people who know you well and can write about your abilities from personal observation.

June 8, 2019
June 7, 2019
Law School Application Fee Waivers: Part 1 (Unsolicited Fee Waivers)

This is a three-part series on fee waivers from Joe Pollak, Spivey Consulting Group admissions consultant and former admissions officer at the University of Michigan Law School. Part 1 discusses how to get unsolicited merit-based fee waivers for your law school applications. Part 2 will cover requesting merit-based fee waivers, and Part 3 will cover need-based fee waivers (both from LSAC and directly from schools) First, let’s be clear about which fees we are talking about here: we mean the app

Podcasts

March 25, 2021
Preliminary Waitlist Movement Perspectives

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.

March 17, 2021
Interview with a Biglaw Partner (Jeff Chapman, Gibson Dunn Co-Chair of Global M&A)

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.

March 31, 2021
Upcoming Podcast: Interview with Dr. Gabor Maté

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.

April 13, 2021
Advice & Tips for Law School Scholarship Negotiation

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!

May 16, 2021
Interview with Dr. Gabor Maté, Author of “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts”

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.