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A big hat tip to Emory Law School for the epically clear C&F instructions. They give reasons behind why they are asking, samples, and explicit instructions on what to do if someone told them not to disclose. Couldn’t have said this better — thanks Emory, and I hope this helps everyone demystify some of the ambiguity around C&F issues. Please do note that C&F instructions is one of the areas where school instructions vary the most, read each carefully. GUIDANCE ON BAR CHARACTER AND FITNESS REQUI
With more than 100 years of law school admissions experience between us, we have read over a hundred thousand law school essays and applications. That is an incredibly rewarding experience, but there can be times when you start to see the same words used, or used out of context, again and again. The following list of words includes some of the most overused and/or at times aggravating usage of words we see in applications. Keep in mind that not all of these words annoy every admissions officer —
We wanted to help you sort out how to think about the GRE—so we took some of the most commonly asked questions to our friends, law school admissions deans.
Advice on handling anxiety and stress in law school.
Note: Since the time this blog was published, the landscape of law school admissions has developed a great deal with regards to the importance of work experience prior to law school. Check out this updated 2024 blog for more information and advice. This post was written by Tom Robinson, Spivey Consulting Group's newest Senior Consultant. Hi Everyone, I’m excited to be on the Spivey team and enjoyed working with clients in my first week with Spivey Consulting after spending my last three at Ha
This is a question we’ve been getting a great deal since the June LSAT and something we also bounced around the entire Spivey Consulting team in a large and lengthy group discussion. Here is how we look at it, with a brief bit of salient history. Apologies in advance for the length of this post; I’ve tried to incorporate different parts of the many inquiries we have received into this one blog. When I, and a few of my colleagues at Spivey Consulting, first started admissions in the late '90s, t
"The only guarantees in this life are death, taxes, and email blunders" is how the expression should be updated. We pretty much all have made said blunders and will almost be guaranteed to make them again. This happens to hundreds, if not thousands of applicants in the admissions process each year at some level, ranging from disastrous to laughable. How bad can the mistakes be? Epically bad of course — you have likely heard some from friends or online. But those aren't mine to tell. So instead,
Dear Dartmouth Law Office of Admissons: My friend, Ramsay Bolton, just withdrew as an admitted student and will be matriculating to another law school. I realize this opens up a place at Dartmouth Law, and believe I would be a great fit for your incoming class. DLS has always been my top choice and, if admitted for this spot, I would immediatly deposit. Most Sincerely, Theon Greyjoy A couple of things. 1. Just about every [actually exisiting] law school will get a letter like this, and
By Anne Dutia, Senior Consultant at The Spivey Consulting Group When I was a prelaw advisor, and before that an admissions officer at Michigan Law School, I encountered so many students asking me what they should do to get into law school. Of course, there are certain procedures and processes applicants have to follow to be admitted to law school, but these students were looking for the right way to be a pre-law student or applicant. A lot of them were still stuck in the college application men
In this episode of the Status Check with Spivey, Mike has the opportunity to have a conversation with Lauryn Williams, four-time Olympic athlete and financial advisor with a specialty in student loans. In addition to discussing Lauryn's life and experiences as an Olympian, they also talk about the differences between taking out student loans for undergrad vs. for law school, income-driven repayment plans, public service loan forgiveness (PSLF), how to save for retirement while paying off your student loans (and the perhaps surprising tax benefits of doing so), and more.
As an Olympic sprinter and later bobsledder, Lauryn earned the accolade of being the only American woman to have won medals in both the summer and the winter Olympics. Today, she is a financial advisor, student loan expert, author, and podcaster specializing in improving financial literacy in young people and athletes. Lauryn's book, The Oval Office, is out now, and also be sure to check out the Student Loan Planner podcast and the podcast Lauryn hosts, Worth Listening.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
Mike also references the legal field's bimodal starting salary distribution in this podcast. See below (via NALP):
In this podcast, Mike Spivey is joined by PowerScore founder and CEO Dave Killoran and Spivey Consulting Business Intelligence Director Justin Kane — a wonky law school admissions/LSAT crew if there has ever been one! — to discuss takeaways from this previous 2020-2021 admissions cycle and to make predictions for the upcoming 2021-2022 cycle.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this podcast, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks asks Mike some admissions questions from Reddit, covering large-scale changes to law school admissions due to the pandemic, reapplication strategies, how law schools look at "KJDs," whether or not you should explain why you want to go to law school in your personal statement, how to write Why X statements when you can't visit a law school and don't know anyone who attended, and more.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
We mentioned a number of other blogs, podcasts, and YouTube videos in this podcast — they are linked below:
In this podcast, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks goes over the basics of law school admissions for those who are at the beginning of their application process and don't know much about how it works yet.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
This episode is meant to provide context and a basis on which you can expand your research — here are some further resources you may want to check out next, many of which were mentioned in the podcast!
Basic Law School Information & Rankings
Personal Statements
Diversity Statements
Other Application Components
After You Submit Your Applications
Other Concepts Discussed in this Podcast
In this podcast, Mike interviews Clint Schumacher — author, podcaster, and former biglaw hiring partner — on resilience in the legal profession, imposter syndrome in law school, what hiring partners look for in applicants, and more.
Clint spent the first part of his legal career at Locke Lord, where he went on to be a hiring partner, then transitioned to Dawson & Sodd, a boutique firm with a focus on eminent domain. In addition to his legal practice, Clint hosts a podcast, The Eminent Domain Podcast, and recently published a book about resilience and overcoming adversity, Second Wind.
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
In this podcast, Mike provides a brief recap of the historic last cycle (2020–2021) as well as the short version of our best predictions for what's to come this cycle (2021–2022). If you'd like a longer and more in-depth discussion of these topics, please listen to our full podcast on these topics, "Recapping the 2020-2021 Law School Admissions Cycle & Predicting the Upcoming Cycle" (featuring Spivey Consulting's data wonk Justin Kane and PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran).
You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.
