Data

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Blog Posts

July 29, 2014
Law Schools That Have Increased Their Applications From 2008 to 2013

Which law schools have received an increase in applications during the downturn?

July 9, 2014
ABA Application 2013/'14 data versus previous year

The following is a breakdown of ABA 2014 applicants and applications by region (based on data received through 7/04/14) and the percent change from last year: RegionApplicantsApplications#Pct Chg#Pct Chg[Far West ]()7,011-7.8%53,942-5.7% [Great Lakes ]()6,539-11.7%49,329-13.8%[Midsouth ]()6,320-9.0%65,039-10.0% [Midwest ]()1,786-9.2%10,9040.7%[Mountain West ]()2,686-10.5%10,656-8.4%[New England ]()2,437-9.8%28,513-8.5%[Northeast ]()8,490-3.6%61,473-4.3%[Northwest ]()1,340-5.9%8,368-8.9%[South Ce

May 19, 2014
LSAT Bandwidth Change vs. Last Year as of 5/9/14

2013-2014 applicant LSAT score data vs. 2012-2013.

March 20, 2014
A Look at the 2013-2014 Law School Admissions Cycle

The 2013-2014 law school admissions cycle isn’t over yet, but we can already discern a few prominent characteristics that separate this year from years past.

February 27, 2014
High LSAT Score of 2014 ABA Law School Applicants as Percent Change from Last Year

High LSAT score of 2014 ABA applicants with the percent change from last year, as of 2/21/14

January 12, 2014
Change in Law School Applicant Volume (c/o 2015 vs. c/o 2016 applications for T50)

Hat tip and appreciation to”KennyP” for allowing us to post and share his research.

December 11, 2013
How down are applications? Consider this data...

As of 12/06/13 only 25 schools show an increase in applications, while 170 show a decline (5 show no change) Here is the breakdown: Increase of 100% or more: - Increase of 50% to 99%: 3 Increase of 40% to 49%: 1 Increase of 30% to 39%: 3 Increase of 20% to 29%: 2 Increase of 10% to 19%: 3 Increase of 1% to 9%: 13 No change: 5 Decrease of 1% to 9%: 23 Decrease of 10% to 19%: 52 Decrease of 20% to 29%: 48 Decrease of 30% or greater: 47

Podcasts

June 27, 2020
University, College, and Law School COVID-19 Update & An Alternative Model

COVID-19 isn't going anywhere in the near future, yet only 3 law schools and only 8% of universities and colleges have announced they will be entirely remote for fall 2020.

What is the most recent update, and is there a middle ground that can be reached to decrease on-campus density so that the likelihood of cluster outbreaks is significantly reduced?

Watch below, or listen on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

June 4, 2019
What makes for successful law school admission?

Spivey Consulting Partner Mike Spivey talks about the two primary things at the highest order that make applications stand out and elevate in the admissions process.

September 8, 2016
“When is it early/When is it late?” in the admissions cycle

Danielle Early and Mike Spivey speak for 30 minutes on application submission timing. And a bit more below from Michigan Law Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss.

Here is Dean Z.:

"Totally agree that before Thanksgiving is “early” in any school’s universe. All law school admissions officers are hitting the bricks from mid-September to mid-November; some offices are structured in a way that allows them to make some decisions despite the travel schedule, but the number of offers are a mere pittance compared to the overall number that will be made. People who don’t have their applications in when they start hearing about early September acceptances might feel dismayed, and worry that by the time they apply, nothing will be left—but that’s not even close to true. In general, I would advise people to try to get their applications in before the 1st of the year, simply because most people apply after that, creating a bottleneck. That means your outcome might be slowed down, which will be anxiety producing, but it doesn’t mean you’ll not get admitted because your application is somehow fatally “late.”

Remember, too, that some schools take a lot of care with their applications. If you want to be judged on factors apart from/in addition to your LSAT and UGPA, then try to have some patience with the fact that those holistic processes are necessarily time intensive.

It’s all good practice for being a lawyer. Judges take a lot of time about issuing their opinions, and seem not to take into account that the lawyer submitted a kick-ass brief and did a stellar oral argument."

And the podcast:

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.