Motivation

columnscolumns

Blog Posts

November 26, 2019
Choosing the Impossible

On getting to determine your fate.

November 8, 2019
Spivey's Top 20 Most Powerful and Inspirational Quotes

Mike Spivey's favorite powerful and inspirational quotes.

August 20, 2019
On Overcoming Adversity

Mike Spivey's thoughts on anxiety and failure for law school applicants, students, and lawyers.

July 19, 2019
On Elitism in College and Law School

I hope something about this sets in. It's a brief and obscure story, but all too common in college and law school.

June 30, 2019
Dare Greatly

I just finished the Brené Brown talk on Netflix, which if you haven't had the opportunity to watch, I would very much recommend.

January 28, 2019
2018/2019 Midpoint Cycle Update

An update from approximately 50% of the way through the cycle.

October 31, 2018
Failure is a Liar

I recalled a distant but not entirely forgotten memory while running the other day.

October 17, 2018
If You Didn't Get the LSAT of Your Dreams, Part II

A message from a law school 2L reflecting back on their LSAT process.

April 27, 2018
What lies before us...

Here is a statement that I suspect most people have not considered.

Podcasts

April 14, 2025
Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-2025 Cycle (Part 3, Decisions & Wrap-Up)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we have our third and final interview with "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), who we've followed throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025. John discusses his final decision on where to attend, his process of requesting scholarship reconsideration, his decision not to pursue waitlists, admitted students days, what he's looking forward to in law school, and his thoughts and reflections on the law school admissions process now that it's over.

Prior episodes with John:

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. You can read a full transcript of this episode below.

May 19, 2025
Dean Z of Michigan Law on Admissions Advice and AI—The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike Spivey and Anna Hicks-Jaco have a conversation with Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z"), who has long led the admissions office at the University of Michigan Law School as Senior Assistant Dean and who hosts the admissions podcast A2Z with Dean Z.

The group discusses using generative AI to write your essays vs. to research admissions advice (including asking ChatGPT a few admissions questions and critiquing its answers), the prospect of law schools using AI to evaluate applications, grade inflation (and how admissions officers saw it before open access to generative AI vs. now), application timing (and how early applications correlate to stronger admit rates without necessarily causing them), and more. Plus, Dean Z introduces a new question being added to Michigan Law's application this upcoming 2025-2026 cycle.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. You can read a full transcript of this episode below.

May 5, 2025
Waitlist Predictions for the 2024-2025 Law School Admissions Cycle

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the various factors that are at play for this cycle's waitlist season, his predictions for how it will go, and his advice for waitlisted applicants. For more on waitlist strategy, check out our Waitlist Deep Dive podcast episode!

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. You can read a full transcript of this episode below.