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April 8, 2020
Law School/Law School Admissions COVID-19 Update, April 8, 2020

Please keep in mind that because so much is fluid right now, no one can say for certain where things will be in a few months.

April 3, 2020
Will Universities, Colleges, and Law School Campuses Be Open in Fall 2020?

The short answer is that there is no definitive answer yet.

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 18, 2020
Memorandum from ABA

Directly from the American Bar Association.

March 13, 2020
Why Colleges and Graduate Schools are Closing Their Doors So Quickly for the Coronavirus / COVID-19, and Why That's a Good Thing for You (or Your Children)

I had a conversation with a college freshman the other day who was on his way home from school – on account of his school cancelling all classes and asking all students to be out by a certain day. Understandably, he was irate.

March 10, 2020
Admitted Students Weekends are being cancelled for COVID-19. How should you choose a law school without them?

Over the weekend, we learned of several law schools that have changed their plans for Admitted Students Days/Weekends due to concerns over Coronavirus/COVID-19.

March 10, 2020
List of Colleges and Universities who have cancelled classes (or moved online) due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 ) is at 150+ please see link

> It is likely that the vast majority of #colleges [https://twitter.com/hashtag/colleges?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] & #universities [https://twitter.com/hashtag/universities?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] in the U.S. will move courses online/ cancel classes in the U.S due to #COVID19 [https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] As of yesterday this has happened fully in 22 nations and rising. It is occurring now too rapidly to track each school. — Spivey Consulting (@Sp

Podcasts

December 15, 2023
Dopamine & Success with Dr. Daniel Lieberman

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, a psychiatrist and best-selling author of The Molecule of More. Mike and Dr. Lieberman discuss tenacity, goal-setting, and both achieving and finding contentment in success—all as they relate to not just law school admissions (Dr. Lieberman gives some excellent personal statement advice), but a variety of topics, from "doomscrolling" to extinction-level asteroids to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Dr. Lieberman's new book along with his coauthor Michael Long, Taming the Molecule of More, comes out in 2024.

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

December 11, 2023
An Insider Look at Admissions with UVA Law Dean Natalie Blazer (Reddit Q&A + Artificial Intelligence in Admissions)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews UVA Law Admissions Dean Natalie Blazer on differences between this year and past years in admissions, special factors influencing this cycle, AI in admissions, and an insider look into UVA Law's application review process (including why some applicants hear back sooner than others).

For more law school admissions advice from Dean Blazer, check out the UVA Law podcast she hosts, Admissible.

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

January 2, 2024
How to Make Your Resolution Stick, with ‘Master of Change’ Author Brad Stulberg

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews best-selling author Brad Stulberg (whose books include Master of Change, The Practice of Groundedness, Peak Performance, and The Passion Paradox) on how to make real and lasting change in your life. Brad and Mike discuss why we resist change, elective vs. forced change, identity, and how to actually make your New Year's Resolution stick.

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

January 30, 2024
The Growing Epidemic of Addiction in High Achievers, with Dr. Peter Grinspoon

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Dr. Peter Grinspoon—physician, Harvard Medical School instructor, and author of Free Refills: A Doctor Confronts His Addiction, in which he writes about his struggles with and recovery from opiate addiction. Mike and Dr. Grinspoon discuss mental health and wellness for high performers, why lawyers have such high rates of addiction and depression, antidotes for the factors that lead to these high rates, the story of Dr. Grinspoon's 2019 debate on medical marijuana at Yale Law School, and more.

Listeners of this podcast are welcome to contact Dr. Grinspoon via his website, www.petergrinspoon.com—he loves talking to students, is able to discuss sensitive and confidential questions, and responds to all communications personally.

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

January 10, 2024
8 Ways to MESS UP the Second Half of Your Law School Admissions Cycle

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco, Spivey Consulting's new President, discusses common mistakes that applicants make in the second part of their admissions cycle—after they've submitted their applications.

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

February 12, 2024
Law School Admissions Now vs. 10 Years Ago

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna has a conversation with Joe Pollak—one of Spivey's consultants and a former admissions officer at the University of Michigan Law School—about differences and similarities in law school admissions today vs. ten years ago. Anna brings the perspective of someone who was applying to law school a decade ago, while Joe brings his perspective as a Michigan Law admissions officer at the time. They talk about changes in the competitiveness of admissions, the LSAT, the availability of standardized data and good information, what applicants are doing differently, what admissions offices are doing differently, and more.

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