Advice

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Blog Posts

March 15, 2016
Guest Blog from a Wait List Success Story

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

February 26, 2016
Basics of Law School Scholarship Reconsideration

Requesting a scholarship increase can be a tricky process.

February 3, 2016
Generation Neurotic

Thoughts on millennials.

January 27, 2016
February LSAT: What's important now

Below is an email I just sent to a client.

January 1, 2016
12 minute video of the single most important aspect to law school admissions

Many thanks to Mike Kim of The LSAT Trainer and LSATTERS for setting this up.

October 30, 2015
Applicant Considerations in an “Up” Cycle

This cycle will be more competitive than the last for many law school applicants. Indeed, we thought this might be the case way back in March [http://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/predicting-the-20152016-law-school-admissions-cycle/] and the June (up 10% for first-time test takers) and October (up 7.1 %) data coupled with conversations we have had with numerous law schools (almost all up) would seem to put an exclamation point on it. More applicants ostensibly equates to more competition (a bit on

September 3, 2015
To ED or Not to ED?

A checklist of considerations if you're considering applying to law school early decision.

July 17, 2015
The Single Biggest Administrative Mistake Law Schools Are Making

Much has been said about the training of law students.

Podcasts

June 18, 2020
Academics, Athletics, and COVID-19

Mike was asked by a rivals.com affiliate to speak about higher education as it relates to the upcoming fall athletic season. Listen to the interview below:

Spivey Consulting Group · VandySports Podcast Academics, athletics and COVID-19

November 26, 2020
What to Do When You Get Your First Waitlist

Chances are, if you're applying to a healthy range of target, safety, and reach schools, you're likely to get a waitlist or two (at least!). Especially if it happens relatively early in the cycle, or if it's your first decision, a waitlist can be difficult to interpret and hard to know how to respond. In this podcast, Mike Spivey talks about what to do when you get your first waitlist.

Our podcast is embedded below, but here are also links to podcasts/videos mentioned in this podcast:

And a bonus link: Blog — Every piece of Spivey Consulting Law School Waitlist Advice

You can listen to this podcast below, or via SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

Please note that our reservation list for next cycle (2021-2022) is now open.

September 28, 2020
Predicting this Cycle's Admissions Pace

In this podcast, Mike Spivey predicts what to expect as far as the timing of admissions decisions this year, then discusses the preliminary LSAC data that has applicants wondering whether this will be a far more competitive cycle than normal.

You can also listen to this podcast on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts, or read the transcript below.

October 7, 2020
Hold. On.

A 3-minute motivational podcast inspired by the William Feather quote, "Success is largely a matter of holding on after others have let go."

I think there is something extra and meaningful we can take from Feather's words, particularly as it relates to law school applicants. Because even in the holding on, in the inevitable ups and downs of the law school admissions cycle, job search, career challenges in a world that can seem unforgiving and cruel at times, there is always growth and very often triumph at the end of any long and worthy cause.

November 12, 2020
Self-Care, the Fallacy of Reductionism, and Something to Be Said for an N of 1

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses one of the fundamental difficulties of applying to law school—and how to cope with it. Mike mentions two blog posts in this podcast: the first, about all the different variables that go into law school admissions, can be found here, and the second, about load management days, can be found here.

You can listen to this podcast here or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts, or read a transcript below.

Please note that our reservation list for next cycle (2021-2022) is now open.

October 12, 2020
The Three Elements of Admissions and Why the Most Important is Also the Most Overlooked

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses the three elements of admissions, particularly focusing on the one that is both the most important and the least understood.

Listen to this podcast below, or via SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.