Advice

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Blog Posts

March 27, 2023
How to Ask for a Seat Deposit Deadline Extension

Learn how to ask for a seat deposit deadline extension.

March 22, 2023
How to Write a Law School Letter of Continued Interest (“LOCI”)

Submitting a LOCI is a necessary step in trying to get admitted off any waitlist—this blog will walk you through some key "dos" and "don'ts" to keep in mind while you're drafting yours.

August 22, 2022
Greek Life & Law School Admissions: Should You Include Your Sorority/Fraternity in Your Application?

We often hear from applicants who feel they should scrub their resumes and other materials of any mention of their involvement in fraternities or sororities. While some applicants in online forums seem to support this prohibition, the best approach for you individually might be more nuanced.

July 12, 2022
Summer Internship Skills Part 2 of 2: Writing

Employers and clients value a lawyer who can succinctly and informally explain a legal issue or communicate effectively by email, and those are skills that (probably) will not be covered in your first year of law school.

July 11, 2022
Summer Internship Skills Part 1 of 2: Networking

You have probably heard before that networking is crucial in this day and age. The lawyers who have the most success in law firms are the “rainmakers,” those who bring in new clients and new business, and the lawyers who have the most success finding new clients are also masterful networkers.

June 28, 2022
How to Get the Most Out of Visiting Law Schools

Like the undergraduate process, visiting law schools and interacting with their communities can be an important part of selecting the right fit school for you.

May 13, 2022
What Should You Do During Your Undergrad Summers if You Want to Go to Law School?

Often college students will approach us to ask what they should be doing with their summers if they’re interested in attending law school. If you’re currently in college and want to know how to make the best use of your summers in preparation for attending law school, think about the following.

March 22, 2022
Five Things to Consider Before Transferring Law Schools

If you are seriously considering transferring, or are a pre-1L and disappointed with your admission results and think you might transfer after your 1L year, then take a few minutes to review this. I hope it will help you decide what to do!

March 3, 2022
Should you reapply to law school?

Reapplying isn’t right for everyone. Here are some observations about successful reapplicants that may help you decide if it’s the right path for you.

Podcasts

December 15, 2020
Law School “Yield Protection”: What It Is & Steps to Take to Prevent It

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses the phenomenon in law school admissions known as "yield protection," and explains steps you can take to prevent being waitlisted as a result of it.

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

As promised in the podcast, here are some resources for how to choose which law school to attend:

January 4, 2021
Commonly Misunderstood—But Important—Parts of the Law School Application Process

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses some of the most commonly held misconceptions about the law school admissions process, and how understanding them can help you get admitted.

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

  • 0:30 – admissions is inherently comparative
  • 4:21 – admissions officers want to get to know you
  • 7:12 – how do law schools make money?
  • 11:03 – being a savvy applicant (regarding advice from law school admissions offices)
February 8, 2021
Anything is Possible

For today's podcast, a little something different — some advice on resiliency in the face of watching others succeed in the ways you'd like to be succeeding.

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

January 19, 2021
Reddit AMA: Why haven't I gotten a decision yet? Is January too late to apply? + the worst PS we've ever seen

In this podcast, Mike answers a few questions from Reddit.

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

January 16, 2021
Interviews with Law School Applicants About the Admissions Process

In this podcast, Mike Spivey interviews groups of current law school applicants about their experiences with the admissions process — what has surprised them, how they've handled the stress, what they expect for the future, and what advice they would give to someone at the beginning of the process. The participants are all volunteers from r/LawSchoolAdmissions, and only one happened to be a client of Spivey Consulting.

Here's a link to the blog post Mike mentioned in the podcast: Spivey Blog, The Malevolent Puppeteer.

You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening!

January 26, 2021
LOCIs & Law School Fit When You Can't Visit + International Applicant Considerations This Cycle

In this podcast, Mike Spivey answers more questions from Reddit. First up, he discusses differences international JD applicants might see in their admissions processes with the special considerations of this application cycle. Then, he talks about how to figure out whether a law school is the right fit for you when you can't visit in person — and, for those who haven't been admitted yet, how to write a strong letter of continued interest (LOCI) without visiting.

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

  • International JD admissions considerations this cycle: 0:52
  • Getting to know a school's culture when you can't visit: 4:32
  • How to write a LOCI when you can't visit: 7:32