Law School Information

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Blog Posts

June 4, 2018
Which Law Schools Accept the GRE

A list as of June 2018.

April 11, 2018
Video of Law School Class: Law and Leadership

youtube embed code [https://youtubeembedcode.com/en]Find Out More [https://promocode.com.ph/althea/]This is a wonderful hour and a half on what it is like to run a firm, shape a culture for collegues, build a business, and practice law in a meaningful way discussed by Co-Chair Paul Singerman of Berger Singerman. It builds and builds to highlight: -Leadership -Core Values that matter for an effective and efficient firm. -What does "delivering" mean to a firm? -How competetive lawyers can collabo

March 19, 2018
In Photos: Law School Accepted Students Weekends

These are just a few photos that we received of this year's 2018 Accepted Students Weekends.

June 24, 2017
Ten of the Best Law School Websites

Harvard [http://hls.harvard.edu/] Harvard’s site is a great example of a well-executed, traditional design that works. Thoughtful details abound on the site without making it feel busy (for instance, the prominently displayed “overview” links in each dropdown from the main menu), and the color scheme and typeface choices are consistent and visually appealing. Let’s be honest: Harvard probably could have slacked on their website design without losing any applicants — but they didn’t. Liberty Un

March 15, 2017
Which schools had the highest percentage of their classes transfer out?

The following lists the law schools ranked 7-30 for the most recent USNWR rankings) in order of the percentage of students that transferred out of their first-year classes. We will do a future post on schools 31-50. We didn't use the schools in the top 6 because it has been our experience that very few students elect to transfer "up the ladder" from those schools and thus the data isn't as comparable.

April 21, 2016
Viewbooks of 165 Law Schools

Updated 6/3/17 Yale University (CT) [https://law.yale.edu/system/files/area/department/admissions/document/yls-viewbook-2016-17-web3.pdf] Harvard University (MA) [http://law.harvard.edu/multimedia/admissions/profiles/] Stanford University (CA) [https://issuu.com/stanfordlawschool/docs/appguide-v08eb2012-08-03] University of Chicago [http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/file/2016_2017_viewbook.pdf] Columbia University (NY) [http://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/jd/learn/viewbook] New York Uni

July 17, 2015
The Single Biggest Administrative Mistake Law Schools Are Making

Much has been said about the training of law students.

February 5, 2015
Three Deans for the Seven Themes: 7 Common Traits of Successful Deans

Thoughts on the qualities of great law school leadership.

Podcasts

October 19, 2021
Justin Ishbia: Last WL Admit to Successful Major Donor

In 2001, Justin Ishbia was the last person Vanderbilt Law admitted off of their waitlist. He had been practice testing in the 170s and aiming for a top three law school, but when he ended up with a mid-150s LSAT score instead, he had to adjust his expectations. After visiting, Vanderbilt became his top choice, and he ended up being admitted off the waitlist in August (with his furniture already on a truck on the way to the law school he'd been planning to attend!). He worked extremely hard in law school, graduated near the top of his class, and went on to a hugely successful career in law and investing. Twenty years later, Justin Isbhia just gifted $10 million to the law school that took a chance on him. In this episode, we break down how Justin earned himself that last-minute waitlist admit, how he excelled in law school, why a disappointing LSAT score doesn't mean you have to give up your dreams, and much more.

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

October 5, 2021
Should You Do a Law School Admissions Interview?

In this podcast, Mike discusses the factors to consider when you receive an invitation to interview for a law school you've applied to.

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

December 8, 2021
Cycle Volume Update & Conjecture On Where the Cycle Might Be Heading

In this episode, Mike has a conversation with Spivey Consulting's Business Intelligence Director Justin Kane (current 2L and data genius) about where this current admissions cycle (2021-2022) stands so far in terms of applicant volume, what that means, what we predict for the rest of the cycle, and some actionable admissions advice based on what we know so far. They also touch on why our numbers are slightly different from LSAC's (and why we believe ours capture a more accurate picture for current applicants), as well as how to interpret differences between applicant numbers and application numbers, plus a few other wonky topics throughout. We hope it's helpful!

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

November 11, 2021
Will Law Schools Be Able to Maintain Their Medians This Cycle?

In this episode, Mike predicts whether law schools will be able to maintain their high medians from last year, and how we expect that to play out across the course of the cycle. He also discusses how this will impact splitters and reverse splitters.

You can find the spreadsheet Mike mentions in this podcast with schools' medians from the 2020-2021 cycle here.

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

November 16, 2021
What Makes for a Successful Law School Interview?

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with our consultant Karen Buttenbaum (former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School) about how to prepare for law school admissions interviews, best practices, common pitfalls, and other advice for the interviewing process.

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

We have space for one client for our new lower-cost application coaching pilot program. Under this program, you would work one-on-one with our Application & Editing Coach Lauren Brown on crafting the written components of your application. If you feel comfortable with your overall strategy and knowledge of the application process, but want help with your personal statement and other essays from start to finish at a lower price point, this may be the program for you! If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at info@spiveyconsulting.com with the subject line “Application Coaching.”

November 24, 2021
“Safety Schools” and Making a Law School Backup Plan

In this episode, Mike and our consultant Danielle Early (former Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School) talk about safety schools and backup plans. How do you choose the right range of schools where your worst-case scenario is an outcome you can live with? For some that might be a law school where they're well above both medians; for others that might be taking a year off to continue their job or gain new work experience. If you take a year off, how will you strengthen your application? Should you plan to matriculate to a safety school but then transfer out? When is too late in the cycle to add a safety school to your list? Mike and Danielle discuss these possibilities and the factors to consider when you make your backup plan — which everyone applying to law school should consider, especially in a competitive cycle.

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