A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN known as SM blithely reaches for poisonous snakes, giggles in haunted houses and once, upon escaping the clutches of a knife-wielding man, didn’t run but calmly walked away. A rare kind of brain damage precludes her from experiencing fear of any sort. (Source: Wired [http://www.wired.com/2010/12/fear-brain-amygdala/].) Urbach-Wiethe disease is the name for the rare disorder, so rare that there have only been about 400 reported cases in history. I learned about this disease t
On Memorial Day this year, both Karen Buttenbaum and I will run a 10k race -- The BolderBoulder. It's a wonderful event with about 55,000 people, mostly in costumes eating bacon, drinking beer, and launching themselves down slip and slides as they run. But that isn't for me because I am absurdly competitive. So I will be running it to beat my time last year, and hopefully some people much more fit and runner-y than me. Fortunately, I have an advantage. I live 45 seconds from the start of the B
The full questions reads Is there an increasing premium on work experience in admissions? It seems seems like people going straight in from college have had rough admissions cycles, even with great numbers Yes, for many schools, and not surprising at all. For starters, deans of law schools have increasingly been asking their admissions offices to look at employability and maturity in admission decision-making. And this is an "up" cycle -- the first in a good while. So there are some schools who
Because I have been there (we all have) and because I spend hours a week discussing this singular topic -- I'd like to breakdown what if means when you email an admissions office (or hiring partner for that matter) and they do not respond. Before I do, let's set the backdrop. If you were to email me and I were not to respond, you likely wouldn't notice or care. Or, you would assume I am on vacation (if only), or very busy (bingo!). What you wouldn't do is re-read your sent email 100 times, and
The webinar panelist: Sarah Zearfoss, Dean of Admissions, Univeristy of Michigan School of Law Maria Rivera, Assistant Dean of Admissions, University of Texas School of Law Mike Spivey, The Spivey Consulting Group Moderator Don Macaulay, Esq., President of BARBRI Law Preview Here is the link: https://lawpreview.barbri.com/webinar-waitlist-placement/
This webinar will be hosted by BARBRI and attended by: * Sarah Zearfoss, Dean of Admissions, University of Michigan School of Law * Maria Rivera, Assistant Dean of Admissions, University of Texas School of Law * Mike Spivey, The Spivey Consulting Group Join us by signing up, here. It's FREE! https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&referrer=&eventid=1162511&sessionid=1&key=AF23D009FACE49E91EAAE1CEC3568E3A®Tag=&sourcepage=register [
Just click on the link and let it roll http://culawschool.org/media/moss/moss-4-1-16.mp3
Here is what is (barring C&F and sloppy application factors) happening.
Were you waitlisted at one of your top choice law schools? Was it one of your reach schools? If so, congratulations! This is wonderful news. Most borderline candidates view being waitlisted as neutral or even bad news—which is absolutely the wrong way to think about it! If you’re patient and continue to follow up with the school, you could reap enormous rewards just a few months later. I learned this from my experience applying to law schools years ago as a low GPA high LSAT splitter. In this po
In this episode, Mike has a conversation with Spivey Consulting's Business Intelligence Director Justin Kane (current 2L and data genius) about where this current admissions cycle (2021-2022) stands so far in terms of applicant volume, what that means, what we predict for the rest of the cycle, and some actionable admissions advice based on what we know so far. They also touch on why our numbers are slightly different from LSAC's (and why we believe ours capture a more accurate picture for current applicants), as well as how to interpret differences between applicant numbers and application numbers, plus a few other wonky topics throughout. We hope it's helpful!
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode, Mike predicts whether law schools will be able to maintain their high medians from last year, and how we expect that to play out across the course of the cycle. He also discusses how this will impact splitters and reverse splitters.
You can find the spreadsheet Mike mentions in this podcast with schools' medians from the 2020-2021 cycle here.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with our consultant Karen Buttenbaum (former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School) about how to prepare for law school admissions interviews, best practices, common pitfalls, and other advice for the interviewing process.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
We have space for one client for our new lower-cost application coaching pilot program. Under this program, you would work one-on-one with our Application & Editing Coach Lauren Brown on crafting the written components of your application. If you feel comfortable with your overall strategy and knowledge of the application process, but want help with your personal statement and other essays from start to finish at a lower price point, this may be the program for you! If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at info@spiveyconsulting.com with the subject line “Application Coaching.”
In this episode, Mike and our consultant Danielle Early (former Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School) talk about safety schools and backup plans. How do you choose the right range of schools where your worst-case scenario is an outcome you can live with? For some that might be a law school where they're well above both medians; for others that might be taking a year off to continue their job or gain new work experience. If you take a year off, how will you strengthen your application? Should you plan to matriculate to a safety school but then transfer out? When is too late in the cycle to add a safety school to your list? Mike and Danielle discuss these possibilities and the factors to consider when you make your backup plan — which everyone applying to law school should consider, especially in a competitive cycle.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this episode, we continue our interview series with "Barb," a current applicant. Barb is a splitter with a 176 LSAT and a 3.1 GPA, and she's also a non-traditional applicant with 10+ years of full-time work experience after college. In this interview, she and Mike discuss the many emotions and anxieties that come up after you hit that "submit" button, what to expect as far as a timeline for hearing back from schools, and the potential implications of the Omicron variant for admitted students' days.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
Another note, for applicants who may be beginning to think about preparing for the academic rigors of 1L — our Pre-L program just started accepting students, and we are temporarily offering last year's rates through January 15. More below:
Prepare for 1L with Our One-on-One Pre-L Classes
To help you get a jumpstart on what law school actually entails and on 1L preparation, we are launching our eighth year of Pre-L packages for applicants enrolling in Fall 2022.
This year, we’re offering last year’s Pre-L rates for anyone who signs up by January 15th. The 2022 packages have added content and resources, but we have locked in our 2021 prices through that date. The sessions can take place later in the year; the discounted pricing applies to those who sign up before the 15th.
Pre-L offers one-on-one training in law school prep, career prep, and/or writing training. We have different packages to prepare you for the hidden curriculum of 1L, the turbulent job market, and the rigors of learning lawyers' key skill: legal writing. We've helped students at top schools earn the results they want and prepare for a fast-paced job cycle. If you're interested in reserving a spot, send a note to info@spiveyconsulting.com, and we'll set up time for a quick phone call to discuss availability and which package/s would work best for you.
In this episode, Mike and one of our Spivey consultants Karen Buttenbaum (former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School) catch up with u/lightningmcboops (who we call "Megan"), one of r/lawschoolsadmissions' regular posters from last cycle, who went through the most difficult cycle we have ever seen without receiving a single rejection. After ultimately choosing Stanford Law over Harvard, Megan matriculated to law school in fall 2021 and just completed her first semester.
You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
