Advice

columnscolumns

Blog Posts

February 2, 2018
Where to find us posting [free] message board advice online

It's a tough cycle, so we are going to try to double down on giving out some advice when we have extra time and hope that it helps. Also note we will break all data, rankings, etc. first at https://twitter.com/SpiveyConsult Come find us so we can help. 1: https://www.lawschool.life 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissions/

December 26, 2017
Law School Admissions Advice: “Is it too late?”

The easiest answer to this question is "almost never" — but obviously there are some qualifications. So let me start with a real life story and then the qualifications. A few cycle ago I got a call from someone who had taken the June LSAT and just received his score, in the upper 170s. He also had a strong LSAC computed GPA and was asking me if I thought he could get into Harvard next cycle (keeping in mind it was like roughly July 1 and Harvard clearly said on their website the application dea

December 7, 2017
How Competitive?

A look at this law school admissions cycle's competitiveness.

November 20, 2017
Purpose

This is the type of thing you think about a great deal about in your forties, that I wish I had a little more in my twenties. It's also, I believe, very relatable to your law school journey, so I wanted to share. What is our purpose in life? I'll be brief here: I was a Philosophy major (like many law school applicants – it's the 8th most popular major of law school applicants as of the 2016/2017 cycle, and we beat this subject to death. I suspect most of us have a nuanced and different answer.

September 29, 2017
Well below your dream school's LSAT? It can still happen.

This was written by a client the day after he was admitted to his dream school despite being almost double digit points below their median LSAT. Published with permission, only edits were to take thanking me out of it a few times :) You thrived academically in undergrad and now you’re hoping to do the same at one of your dream law schools. You look at their median GPA numbers and you’re above them and feel like you’re already in... but then there’s the LSAT. Maybe you just can’t master logic ga

September 15, 2017
It's a Trap

A cautionary tale about a common LSAT test day pitfall.

August 15, 2017
Getting Admitted Below Both Medians (here's how we did it)

Advice from a below-both-medians student who got accepted to her (T-14) dream school.

June 22, 2017
If You Didn’t Get the LSAT or Law School You Dreamed Of

This is for everyone who didn’t get the LSAT score they wanted, or who were not admitted into their dream school—basically, most people.

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.

Podcasts

October 14, 2019
Calming Your LSAT Anxiety

Something we encounter all too often is applicants who put so much pressure on themselves when they are taking the LSAT that it ends up being counterproductive, barring them from performing near the highest level of which they are capable. If we can help calm even one test-taker's nerves with this podcast, it will be worth it.

Something we encounter all too often is applicants who put so much pressure on themselves when they are taking the LSAT that it ends up being counterproductive, barring them from performing near the highest level of which they are capable. If we can help calm even one test-taker's nerves with this podcast, it will be worth it.

Note: You can also listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud. The blog post Mike mentions in the podcast is here.

Also check out a related blog post on "The Over-Estimated Impact of Median LSAT Change on USNWR Rankings." And our rankings/data tool for comparing law schools, My Rank.

April 28, 2020
Universities, Colleges, and Law Schools Plan to Be Open On Campus This Fall

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group founder and higher education expert Mike Spivey discusses the plans universities are making to resume on-campus operations this fall, as well as challenges to those plans from the medical community.

You can listen to the podcast via the YouTube video below, or via SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

November 25, 2019
The Waiting is Long and Full of Terrors

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group Founder and Partner Mike Spivey discusses the hardest part of the law school admissions process—the waiting—and how it can cause some applicants to hurt their own chances of admission.

Here's the blog post mentioned in the podcast: Spooky Halloween Blog: Real Stories of Things That Creep Out Admissions Offices.

Mike's other blog which is mentioned in this podcast: Spivey Blog.

Find our podcasts on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts. And check out our law school data/rankings tool My Rank.

October 9, 2019
Traits of Law School Applicants Who Outperform Their Numbers

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group Founder and Partner Mike Spivey discusses commonalities between applicants who punch above their numbers. This podcast is also available on SoundCloud  and Apple Podcasts.

Also be sure to check out My Rank, our tool for comparing and ranking law schools with according to your own priorities.

November 12, 2019
Mike Spivey on the Darker Side of Self-Doxing in Law School Admissions

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group Founder and Partner Mike Spivey discusses what happens when a law school applicant posts something that deeply offends or insults law school admissions officers who may know who they are in real life.  

The Spivey Blog is mentioned in this podcast.  

As always, please reach out to us at info@spiveyconsulting.com for more information about working with us.  

Also check out our custom law school rankings/comparison data website, My Rank.

January 15, 2020
How to Approach and What to Take Away from Admitted Student Days/Weekends

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Founding Partner Mike Spivey talks about why law schools have admitted student programs, what you can expect from them, what you can expect from others at the event, and how to make the most of the visit. He also answers r/LSA questions and added a separate podcast here on one of the elements that the toll and pressure of admissions can have on people and how to alleviate that.