Data

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Blog Posts

August 27, 2019
July 2019 LSAT Cancel Considerations [results of poll] & September LSAT Registrants

We have our first data update for the September LSAT administration.

August 14, 2019
Preliminary July LSAT Numbers

LSAC hasn't released final July numbers yet, but they did give a preliminary update and we are now starting to get some real data for this upcoming cycle.

August 1, 2019
End of July Law School Application Numbers

We're near the end of the cycle, which means we've got just about 100% of our total applicant and application volume for the 2018-2019 cycle.

July 11, 2019
Very early 2019/2020 Law School Admissions Cycle (LSAT volume) Data

We have some updates on June and July LSAT volume. For obvious reasons these numbers are incredibly important in determining how competitive a cycle will be, so we watch them closely.

June 30, 2019
Application Timing

An explanation of "rolling admissions" and a look at application timing data.

June 27, 2019
Some Post June LSAT Numbers

So we do have some post-June information now that LSAC has updated their data with the scores from that test.

June 4, 2019
June and July LSATs: Updated Data

We have some updated LSAT data for all of you! You might be wondering why we've been so focused on the June and July numbers. Well, they're our first real information we have to anticipate the 2019-2020 cycle. LSAT applicants remain the dominant factor in cycle volume. To date, the 2018-2019 cycle has about 4.25% non-LSAT applicants. While this is notable growth over past cycles, and we expect that growth to continue, LSAT takers comprise the vast bulk of the applicant pool. So, without furthe

June 1, 2019
2018-2019 Cycle Volume as of June 1st

A look at applicant data for 2018-2019 as of June 1.

June 1, 2019
July LSAT Update - some huge numbers

We have breaking and what amounts to record-setting news.

Podcasts

November 10, 2022
What It's Like Applying to Law School, Part 2 (Interviews)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Spivey Consulting COO Anna Hicks-Jaco checks in with "Lucy," u/Accomplished-Body785 on Reddit, an applicant currently in the middle of her law school application process. We are interviewing Lucy at several points throughout her cycle to check in about how things have been going, what she's been up to in terms of her application process, and how she's feeling about it all. You can find Part 1 here.

This episode is primarily focused on interviews! Lucy has had a number of law school admissions interviews at this point, including one group interview and a Kira interview, and she shares how those interviews went, what sorts of questions they asked, and how she prepared. She also shares some of her first decisions.

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

October 12, 2022
Catastrophizing in Admissions (& Why It's Going to Be Okay)

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike talks about applicants' (deeply understandable) tendency to catastrophize in law school admissions.

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

November 30, 2022
Law Schools Leaving the U.S. News Rankings—Implications for This Year & The Future

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with Justin Kane, Spivey Consulting's Director of Business Intelligence and resident rankings expert, about recent developments in the U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings.

If you haven't already heard, a number of law schools have recently announced that they will no longer be participating in the rankings. But what does that actually mean? Why are they doing it, and why now? What impacts might it have on applicants, law students, and legal education as a whole—both this current cycle and down the line?

You can find an up-to-date list of law schools that have announced they will no longer be participating in the rankings here.

Important Disclaimer: At this point, all of our forward-looking thoughts are purely speculation. We can't emphasize enough that we don't know yet what U.S. News is going to do—no one does, not even U.S. News itself. This is an actively-evolving situation in the short term, and the longer-term effects are even more difficult to predict. This episode is meant to provide an insider look into what law school administrations and other major legal education stakeholders are thinking about right now, but we can't predict the future.

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

January 13, 2023
Reducing Stress & Increasing Happiness as a Student & Applicant

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Jordana Confino, Assistant Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law School, about ways that law school applicants and students (and in fact, any applicant or student) can healthily cope with and reduce stress and increase overall happiness and well-being. Jordana is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School, and in her current role at Fordham, she develops and delivers programs designed to promote student wellness, mentorship, and professional identity formation. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Fordham, teaching courses on “Positive Lawyering” and “Peer Mentoring & Leadership.” She was voted Fordham Law Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2021.

In this interview, Jordana discusses her academic and professional history, how law school and legal practice impacted her well-being, and specific tactics applicants and students can employ to improve their own mental and emotional wellness in stressful, high-pressure environments.

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

Mike and Jordana discuss a number of psychology researchers and experts throughout their conversation, including the groundbreaking work of Dr. Kristin Neff in the field of self-compassion—you can listen to our interview with Dr. Neff here. Mike also mentions a graph near the end of the episode that we have included for your reference below:

December 23, 2022
Happy Holidays—Plenty of Admits Are Coming in 2023

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike offers some optimistic news for law school applicants who may not have yet received any admits.

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

January 3, 2023
Will Medians Stay As High This Law School Admissions Cycle?

In this episode, Mike gives his thoughts on whether law schools will be able to maintain their historically high LSAT/GPA medians after the 2022-2023 admissions cycle.

Spivey Consulting Availability Notes:

  • We have just begun accepting early reservations for admissions consulting for next cycle, 2023-2024! Email info@spiveyconsulting.com to get on the list and schedule a free initial consultation with one of our expert admissions consultants.
  • We are also currently taking transfer clients. If you are a 1L considering transferring to another law school and would like assistance with your application strategy, reach out today!
  • Interested? Get started.

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

Note: You may notice that the numbers we cite sometimes vary slightly from the volume data that LSAC publishes. This is because LSAC reports only an applicant's ultimate high LSAT score, even if they didn't achieve that score until months or even years after the date in question. For example, if someone applied in 2021-2022 with a 160, then retook the LSAT the following fall and scored a 170 to reapply for 2022-2023, LSAC's data would include them as an applicant with a 170 even in the 2021-2022 data. To avoid this effect, we record applicant volume daily in real-time so that we can later compare to the data as it actually was on that date, rather than factoring in any new LSAT scores that were achieved after that date.