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

April 28, 2023
“Everything”

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks about the widespread notion that, even beyond whatever specific and concrete challenges we each may be facing, there is an added factor of "everything" (in today's society, in life) that can sometimes feel crushing. Then he gives some advice.

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

February 23, 2023
When Should You Reach Out to an Admissions Office, and How Should You Do It?

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses a question that tends to come up frequently this time of year—“Should I contact x law school's admissions office to ask for an update since I haven't heard back yet?”—then talks generally about when it can be advantageous to reach out to admissions, why, and how you should do it.

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

February 10, 2023
The Rules of Reddit

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks about how online law school admissions discussion can affect (or not affect) your outcomes. Are adcoms on Reddit? Will they Google you? What sorts of online conduct can turn an admit into a waitlist or deny? Mike gives his thoughts on these questions and more from 15+ years following law school message boards.

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

March 1, 2023
Why Is This Cycle So Slow—& What You Can Do About It

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the factors that have led to this historically slow-moving cycle—and how you can strategically leverage that knowledge to your advantage.

Mike references two of our other episodes in this podcast:

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

March 11, 2023
On Dream Schools

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks to Spivey Consulting's COO Anna Hicks-Jaco about a question from Reddit—one that we hear many times every year. "How do I stop being so attached to my dream school?"

This episode mentions several other interviews, including our episode with Dr. Guy Winch and our episode with Dr. Judson Brewer.

"Life teaches you how to live it, if you live long enough." –Tony Bennett

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

April 17, 2023
Interview with a Harvard Law Transfer Student

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Spivey Consulting's Derek Meeker interviews a Harvard Law 2L (and former client) who transferred from the University of Idaho. They talk about his background and story, his non-traditional path to law school, his initial 1L application, his transfer application (and what made it shine), the expectations vs. reality of transferring law schools, and more.

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

Note: Discussion of Max's transfer admissions process begins approximately at the 32-minute mark.

Derek Meeker is a nationally respected professional among law school admissions and career services deans. His more than 20 years of experience include serving as Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid for the University of Pennsylvania Law School, as Recruiting Manager for global law firm Paul Hastings, and as an admissions reader for the University of Chicago Law School.

As Dean of Admissions at Penn Law, Derek evaluated and made the final decision on every J.D. application—over 6,000 per year. During his tenure, Penn Law received a record number of applications, increased selectivity, and expanded need-based, public service, and merit scholarship programs. As a consultant, he has guided hundreds of law school applicants through 10 admission cycles and has advised law schools on their admissions and career services strategies. He also has counseled law students on the big law hiring process, interviewing skills, and etiquette. He has spoken at dozens of colleges across the country and served on committees and panels for various professional organizations, including as a research assistant and Chair of the New Admission Personnel and Faculty Members Workshop for the Law School Admission Council (LSAC).

A first-generation college student from rural Ohio and member of the LGBTQ community, Derek is most proud of his legacy of increasing racial, sexual orientation, and socio-economic diversity at Penn Law and in helping to launch diversity scholarships at Paul Hastings. He also has served as a career mentor and writing coach to first-generation college applicants in the Los Angeles area.

A former practicing attorney, Derek holds a B.S. in Journalism and takes continuing education courses in the Writers’ Program at UCLA. He is passionate about writing and loves coaching students to be better writers. Derek is based in LA and enjoys acting, yoga, meditation, biking, and camping.