Data

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Blog Posts

February 17, 2015
2014-2015 Application and Applicant Data

The following is a breakdown of ABA 2015 applicants and applications based on data received through 2/06/15 and the percent change from last year. RegionApplicantsApplications#Pct Chg#Pct Chg[Far West]()4,804-5.1%37,277-8.2% [Great Lakes]()3,815-5.8%30,289-9.7%[Midsouth]()3,616-5.8%39,786-9.0%[Midwest]() 1,005-4.7%6,207-5.4%[Mountain West]()1,689-0.6%6,396-1.7%[New England]()1,351 -9.1%18,221-7.4%[Northeast]()4,905-4.2%37,115-8.4%[Northwest]()852-6.1%3,964 -13.3%[South Central]()2,939-4.0%12,32

January 27, 2015
LSAT Changes in the Past 5 Years at the Top 75 Law Schools

How have law schools' LSAT medians shifted between 2010 and 2014?

January 7, 2015
Law School Admissions Data: The First of 2015!

The following is a breakdown of ABA 2015 applicants and applications by region (based on data received through 1/02/15) and the percent change from last year: RegionApplicantsApplications#Pct Chg#Pct Chg[Far West]()2,310-12.1%17,815-11.8% [Great Lakes]()2,393-8.2%18,016-11.9%[Midsouth]()2,221-6.6%23,704-11.4% [Midwest]()602-4.7%3,552-5.9%[Mountain West]()863-3.1%3,018-5.8%[New England]() 806-12.4%10,380-11.8%[Northeast]()2,963-10.4%21,972-10.6%[Northwest]()485-14.0% 2,109-20.2%[South Central]()

December 5, 2014
First Look at the 2014-2015 Application Cycle!

A breakdown of ABA 2015 applicants and applications by region and the percent change from last year.

December 5, 2014
Full 2014-2015 Applicant and Application Projections

Based on the 12/5 data release, which at this time last year accounted for 23% of the full pool, some industrious law school applicants have projected year-end totals and shared them with us.

October 30, 2014
Applicant Data and Law School Outcomes

This is, I believe, the first multivariate analysis of applicant data with law school outcomes. In other words, things law school admissions committees look at versus how well someone does in law school. I don’t believe the full paper is published yet, and disclaimer they are still running regressions (probably based on editor questions and feedback from whatever journal it will be published in). But we get the abstract with permission and I love this.

September 30, 2014
Final 2013/'14 Data. Coming soon, the first 2014/'15 Data

This is with 100% reporting, ABA Fall 2014 Applicant and Application Counts The following is a breakdown of ABA 2014 applicants and applications by region and the percent change from last year: RegionApplicantsApplications#Pct Chg#Pct Chg[Far West ]()7,177-7.0%54,433-5.5% [Great Lakes ]()6,792-10.5%50,102-13.3%[Midsouth ]()6,493-8.0%65,648-9.7% [Midwest ]()1,831-8.5%11,1231.6%[Mountain West ]()2,736-10.0%10,832-8.0%[New England ]()2,504-8.2%28,722-8.1%[Northeast ]()8,687-3.2%62,076-4.1%[Northwe

Podcasts

April 28, 2021
Cycle Recap, No Rejections in the Hardest Admissions Cycle Ever

In this episode of the Status Check podcast, Mike interviews Reddit user lightningmcboops (who for the purposes of this podcast we're calling "Megan") from the law school admissions subreddit. Megan applied with a 3.9x GPA and a 172 LSAT and received zero rejections despite applying in the most difficult law school admissions cycle we've ever seen, including straight admits from the majority of the T14, including Stanford. Mike and Megan walk through her application process and each of her application components, then discuss some takeaways and advice for future applicants.

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

June 8, 2021
Interview with Dr. Kristin Neff on How Self-Compassion Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

In this podcast, Mike Spivey has the opportunity to interview Dr. Kristin Neff, a leading researcher and advocate in the field of self-compassion, creator of the self-compassion scales, and author of two books, "Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself," and her upcoming book, "Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive," which will be released on June 15, 2021.

Mike and Dr. Neff discuss the power of self-compassion for motivation and achievement, and the research showing that, in a testing scenario, a boost to self-compassion proves a stronger motivator than a boost to self-esteem (and a far stronger motivator than self-criticism).

"There's so much pressure to achieve, to prove yourself," Dr. Neff says. "And I think people fall into the illusion of thinking, 'I need to be hard on myself, I need to drive myself so that I can get ahead in life,' where in fact, what the research shows is you're more likely to get ahead if you support yourself."

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

May 29, 2021
How Might Over-Enrollment Impact Waitlist Movement?

A very brief podcast on law schools that are over-committed on their seat deposits, and Mike's thoughts on how waitlist movement might go this summer as a result.

You can listen and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

June 18, 2021
How to Excel Academically in Law School with Harvard 3L Amanda Bello

In this podcast, Mike and Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks have a discussion with a current law student, Amanda Bello, who ended her 1L year at Cornell Law in the top 10% of her class, transferred to Harvard Law, earned exceptionally strong grades at Harvard, and is now going into her second summer with the big law firm Gibson Dunn (check out our interview with Gibson Dunn partner Jeff Chapman here).

Also referenced in this podcast are three interviews we have done with renowned psychologists and wellness advocates Dr. Guy Winch (on handling rejection and waiting), Dr. Gabor Maté (on self-esteem, doubt, anxiety and addiction), and Dr. Kristin Neff (on self-compassion and self-esteem and motivation for test-taking).

You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

August 6, 2021
Interview with Four-Time Olympian & Student Loan Expert Lauryn Williams

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):

July 17, 2021
Recapping the 2020-2021 Law School Admissions Cycle & Predicting the Upcoming Cycle

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.