Advice

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Blog Posts

May 26, 2017
33 Things That Annoy Admissions Officers and Hiring Partners

We've reached out to a number of friends at law schools and firms and companies to see what things applicants did that made them grouchy.

May 20, 2017
About That New LSAT Retake Policy…

If you haven't heard, the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) recently announced a change in their LSAT retake policy.

April 11, 2017
The Multiple Deposit Dance

Over the past few years more and more schools have tried a variety of methods to control the arms-race of scholarship negotiation; one way is asking for people to withdraw from all schools to which they have been admitted and to verify that they have done so when depositing. Below is a link to the LSAC Statement of Good Admissions Practices – a good reference this time of year. Note the section on Commitments: http://www.lsac.org/docs/default-source/publications-%28lsac-resources%29/ statemen

March 21, 2017
5 Scholarship Negotiation Necessities

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

March 20, 2017
The Top Two Traits of Leadership

A parable of leadership.

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

December 23, 2016
Show up every day

Twelve years ago, a student at Harvard invited 5 people over to his dorm room to discuss a business opportunity. Only 2 of the 5 people showed up. Today those two people are billionaires: Dustin Moskovitz ($9.9 billion) and Eduardo Saverin ($5.8 billion). And the guy they met that night? None other than Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, whose current net worth is $35.7 billion. Now, during the holidays, it would be easier than ever to jump off the grid. But if you have applications you haven

September 24, 2016
Choosing a Personal Statement Topic

“But I don’t have a WOW factor.”

July 15, 2016
Danielle Early's Top 5 Blog Posts

I’m going to share a secret with you all… while I was the working in the Harvard Law School Admissions Office, I read this blog. I thought it was great – Mike was providing good advice to applicants, and it often reminded me to think more about what the application process is like for you as applicants. When Mike asked me what my favorite blog posts were, I found it hard to narrow down because there are many. Today, I am sharing with you the top 5 posts that resonated most with me. I encourage

Podcasts

February 3, 2023
How to Crush the Second Half of the Law School Admissions Cycle

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike gives an update on 2022-2023 cycle data and discusses admissions strategies for the second half of the application cycle: waitlists and letters of continued interest, tips for asking for scholarship reconsideration, and handling the waiting/anxiety. (It may surprise you how impactful that last item can be to your outcomes!)

Mike recorded this episode before final January 2023 LSAT data was out—you can find the latest update on our Twitter, here. A few other Status Check episodes are mentioned in this podcast as well:

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

January 23, 2023
What Triggers Admit Waves?

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks about the different factors that precipitate waves of law school admissions decisions being released, especially late in the cycle/during waitlist season.

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

April 28, 2023
“Everything”

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks about the widespread notion that, even beyond whatever specific and concrete challenges we each may be facing, there is an added factor of "everything" (in today's society, in life) that can sometimes feel crushing. Then he gives some advice.

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

February 23, 2023
When Should You Reach Out to an Admissions Office, and How Should You Do It?

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses a question that tends to come up frequently this time of year—“Should I contact x law school's admissions office to ask for an update since I haven't heard back yet?”—then talks generally about when it can be advantageous to reach out to admissions, why, and how you should do it.

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

February 10, 2023
The Rules of Reddit

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks about how online law school admissions discussion can affect (or not affect) your outcomes. Are adcoms on Reddit? Will they Google you? What sorts of online conduct can turn an admit into a waitlist or deny? Mike gives his thoughts on these questions and more from 15+ years following law school message boards.

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

March 1, 2023
Why Is This Cycle So Slow—& What You Can Do About It

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the factors that have led to this historically slow-moving cycle—and how you can strategically leverage that knowledge to your advantage.

Mike references two of our other episodes in this podcast:

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