Data

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Blog Posts

May 21, 2018
Law School Admissions Help

2017-2018 cycle data + a capacity update.

May 1, 2018
2017/2018 Cycle Data as of 5/1/18

Key figures: applicants are up 8.4% and applications are up 9.0% as compared to this time last year. See below for more detailed data.

March 28, 2018
New 2017-2018 Cycle Data as of 3/27/2018

As of 3/27/2018, there are 341,337 applications submitted by 50,908 applicants for the 2017–2018 cycle. Applicants are up 8.6% and applications are up 9.0% as compared to 2016-2017 cycle data from 3/28/2017. Highest LSAT# Applicants% Change YTD< 1402,958-1.7%140-1444,304-1.5%145-1497,492 3.4%150-1549,6385.3%155-1599,3796.0%160-1647,77615.3%165-1694,92728.0%170-174 2,31215.7%175-18067368.7%Highest LSAT# Applicants% Change YTD< 1402,958-1.7%140 674-5.2%1417747.9%142900-3.7%143844-2.9%1441,112-2.4

March 7, 2018
New 2017-2018 Cycle Data as of 3/6/18

As of 3/6/18, there are 306,549 applications submitted by 46,124 applicants for the 2017–2018 cycle. Applicants are up 7.4% and applications are up 7.0% as compared to 2016-2017 cycle data from 3/7/17.

January 25, 2018
Applicant & Application numbers throughout the cycle comparison: 2015-2018

Data on law school applicant and application volume between 2015 and 2018.

January 22, 2018
2017/2018 Cycle Data as of Jan. 12, 2018

Key figures: applicants are up 10.8% and applications are up 12.3% as compared to this time last year. See below for more detailed data.

January 8, 2018
2017/2018 Cycle Data as of 12/29/17

Applicants to ABA approved law schools are up 14.4% year-to-date, with a total of 22,200 applicants vs. last year's 19,400 by 12/29/17. Applications are up 17.1% year-to-date, with a total of 137,000 applications vs. last year's 117,000. The rest of the data we have is below: % Change in applications# SchoolsIncrease of 100% or more1Increase of 50% to 99% 9Increase of 40% to 49%9Increase of 30% to 39%17Increase of 20% to 29%39Increase of 10% to 19%58Increase of 1% to 9%36No change1Decrease of

January 2, 2018
Just What Can We Learn From LawSchoolNumbers.com?

This is a great guest blog post from Warren Buff, who took it upon himself to crunch the numbers and look at the data behind Law School Numbers.

December 7, 2017
How Competitive?

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

Podcasts

September 11, 2023
How Important is Work Experience in Law School Admissions?

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses a question we receive often (especially lately, in light of the most recent U.S. News law school ranking methodology changes that significantly emphasized job outcomes over admissions metrics)—just how important is work experience in the law school application process?

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, and Google Podcasts.

October 17, 2023
Mike Spivey's Top 5 All-Time Admissions Advice

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike gives his top 5 pieces of advice from his 20+ years working in law school admissions.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Stitcher⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Google Podcasts⁠⁠.

December 6, 2023
Handling Expectations & the LSAT with ‘Loophole’ Author Ellen Cassidy

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Ellen Cassidy, author of the acclaimed Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning and founder of Elemental Prep, on LSAT strategies, handling expectations (both from others and self-imposed), trends in law school applicants/LSAT-takers over time, and more. Ellen, as an LSAT expert and former applicant who was admitted to Harvard Law but turned them down thrice, has a great many nuggets of wisdom to share about confidence, bad advice, mentorship, destiny, and imaginary ceilings. Listen below.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Stitcher⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Google Podcasts⁠⁠.

November 11, 2023
The Slowest Cycle Ever

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the reasons that this law school admissions cycle will be the slowest one ever (or at least within our admissions careers)—and, perhaps more importantly, what you should do about it if you're a current applicant.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Stitcher⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Google Podcasts⁠⁠.

December 15, 2023
Dopamine & Success with Dr. Daniel Lieberman

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, a psychiatrist and best-selling author of The Molecule of More. Mike and Dr. Lieberman discuss tenacity, goal-setting, and both achieving and finding contentment in success—all as they relate to not just law school admissions (Dr. Lieberman gives some excellent personal statement advice), but a variety of topics, from "doomscrolling" to extinction-level asteroids to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Dr. Lieberman's new book along with his coauthor Michael Long, Taming the Molecule of More, comes out in 2024.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Stitcher⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Google Podcasts⁠⁠.

December 11, 2023
An Insider Look at Admissions with UVA Law Dean Natalie Blazer (Reddit Q&A + Artificial Intelligence in Admissions)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews UVA Law Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer on differences between this year and past years in admissions, special factors influencing this cycle, AI in admissions, and an insider look into UVA Law's application review process (including why some applicants hear back sooner than others).

For more law school admissions advice from Dean Blazer, check out the UVA Law podcast she hosts, Admissible.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Stitcher⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Google Podcasts⁠⁠.