Data

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Blog Posts

April 14, 2020
Mean Salaries Of First Year Law School Graduates

For the first time ever, the Department of Education has released these figures.

April 1, 2020
LSAT score restoration (“zombie scores”) numbers

This is a first ever, and we are grateful to LSAC for sharing this data with us.

March 1, 2020
Cycle Data as of March 1st

Hi everyone, we're back with another data update. February is over, and it's been an interesting month for applicant and application volume. At this point last cycle, we had about 75% of our final applicant volume.

January 30, 2020
Cycle Data as of January 29th

Going forward we'll resume posting these after the 1st of each new month, but we'll be a bit too busy watching the Super Bowl to write this up on Sunday, so you get it now!

January 10, 2020
Brief LSAT Volume Update

LSAC has published the final counts for the November 2019 LSAT.

January 2, 2020
2019-2020 Cycle Volume as of January 1st

Happy New Year everyone! This marks the start of the "2020" part in the "2019-2020" application cycle.

December 28, 2019
Analyzing and Understanding Conditional Scholarships

One of the most important factors when deciding where to attend law school is your scholarship. What does it mean if that scholarship is conditional?

December 19, 2019
Mid-December Data Update

November 2019 LSAT scores are being released today. Congratulations to all those who took that test!

December 13, 2019
An in-depth analysis of the 2019 law school admissions & entering class data

The ABA has released the 2019 509 reports, so it's time for us to dive in and see what kind of information and trends can be gleaned from the data.

Podcasts

March 21, 2022
Dr. Jud Brewer on the Highly Effective Way to Overcome Anxiety

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Judson Brewer about proven, concrete strategies to manage anxiety, including how to apply them for LSAT-related test anxiety and the stress of waiting for admissions results. Dr. Jud Brewer is a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change. He is the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health. He is the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare and a research affiliate at MIT. Dr. Jud has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. He is the author of “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind” and “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits”.

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

Links to resources from Dr. Jud Brewer:

March 8, 2022
No Admits to Six Admits (Law School Applicant Diaries #3)

In this episode, Mike speaks again with "Barb," an applicant this 2021-2022 cycle with a ~177 LSAT, a ~3.3 GPA, and ten years of work experience. The last time we spoke with Barb, which was in December, she had submitted most of her applications but hadn't yet heard back from any schools, and her anxiety was mounting. She now has six admits (in addition to one waitlist, one priority hold, and three denials), and we spend this podcast talking about her thought process for each of those schools, plus discussing and giving advice on next steps, including assessing whether to pursue the waitlist, navigating scholarship negotiation and seat deposit deadlines, and deciding where to attend.

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

May 21, 2022
Top 5 Mistakes New Law Students Make

In this episode, Mike interviews law school strategy coach Angela Vorpahl about some of the most common mistakes that 1Ls make and how to set yourself up to get great grades. Prior to starting her own firm to assist law students, Angela graduated from law school in the top 1% of her class, clerked for a federal judge, worked in biglaw, and practiced as a human rights attorney.

You can find Angela online on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and her website.

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

March 29, 2022
Thoughts on the 2023 (2022) USNWR Law School Rankings

In this episode, Mike discusses the recently released 2023 edition (2022 release) U.S. News & World Report law school rankings. You can view the full rankings (including +/- from last year) here.

As always, we want to disclaim that it is our strong opinion that rankings should not be a major factor in where you decide to attend law school. You can watch our video on how best to use rankings to decide on a law school here, and you can always visit our site My Rank to create your own custom law school rankings based on the metrics you prioritize.

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

April 19, 2022
Predicting the Rest of This Cycle & Next Cycle with PowerScore's Dave Killoran

In this episode, Mike gets together with PowerScore CEO and LSAT expert Dave Killoran to discuss the closing months of this current 2021-2022 cycle, early indicators and predictions for next cycle 2022-2023, and the development of the LSAT over time as it has shifted from a five-section, in-person, pencil-and-paper exam, to a three-section, at-home, virtual exam, then back to its current four-section format (and what to expect next).

At the end of the episode, Mike and Dave share an announcement: the PowerScore/Spivey Consulting Admissions Bible is coming this fall! Sign up here for updates on the release date and ordering info.

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

May 12, 2022
On Rejection in Admissions

This is a brief podcast on being denied from law school. For more on rejection, listen to our podcast with Dr. Guy Winch, renowned psychologist, author, and speaker.

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