Predictions

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Blog Posts

July 13, 2015
How the Increase in 2015 LSAT Test-Takers Will Affect This Cycle [and Next]

If you have not heard, the June LSAT test-taker numbers are out, and they are up.

May 18, 2015
Coming This Summer: Waitlist Movement

A question we get asked a lot these days is “will there be more waitlist activity this summer than in recent years?” It is, of course, a pertinent question for the vast majority of law school applicants because most applicants will be waitlisted at least somewhere. While there is no definitive answer yet, data from this cycle and historical trends give us at least one theory. And “the new norm” of law admissions leads to another. Let’s take a look at both. **Theory 1: The dominoes will fall. **

March 8, 2015
Predicting the 2015/2016 Law School Admissions Cycle

What will the 2015-2016 law school admissions cycle look like?

January 9, 2015
Applicant questions answered, "will high LSAT scores be MORE or LESS valuable this cycle"

“Mike and Karen, as the number of takers continues to drop, won’t it become MORE acceptable to drop a median point in favor of maintaining GPA? Won’t this make high scores LESS valuable? For example, if Harvard or Yale’s median is going to drop to 172, doesn’t a 173 become LESS valuable, not more? If the median drops a point, suddenly, the pool of at/above median expands, right? So, in theory, I should be rooting for medians to stay the same?” This is something we spend a good deal of time loo

July 21, 2014
What will the 2014/15 Law School Admissions Cycle Look Like?

After LSAC published the February 2014 LSAT test administration data, there was buzz that the long freeze of law school applications was about to thaw. For the first time in 15 LSAT administrations, test-taker numbers were up 1.1% and many speculated that applications during the 2014-2015 law school admissions cycle would either level or increase. Even more, a few media outlets were warming up to the idea that now might be a good time to get a law degree, for example: http://www.slate.com/artic

Podcasts

October 7, 2020
Hold. On.

A 3-minute motivational podcast inspired by the William Feather quote, "Success is largely a matter of holding on after others have let go."

I think there is something extra and meaningful we can take from Feather's words, particularly as it relates to law school applicants. Because even in the holding on, in the inevitable ups and downs of the law school admissions cycle, job search, career challenges in a world that can seem unforgiving and cruel at times, there is always growth and very often triumph at the end of any long and worthy cause.

November 12, 2020
Self-Care, the Fallacy of Reductionism, and Something to Be Said for an N of 1

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses one of the fundamental difficulties of applying to law school—and how to cope with it. Mike mentions two blog posts in this podcast: the first, about all the different variables that go into law school admissions, can be found here, and the second, about load management days, can be found here.

You can listen to this podcast here or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts, or read a transcript below.

Please note that our reservation list for next cycle (2021-2022) is now open.

October 12, 2020
The Three Elements of Admissions and Why the Most Important is Also the Most Overlooked

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses the three elements of admissions, particularly focusing on the one that is both the most important and the least understood.

Listen to this podcast below, or via SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

October 9, 2020
Overview of LLM Admissions

This podcast is hosted by Dr. Peter Cramer, our LLM & International Admissions Consultant. Dr. Cramer has been working in legal education for over 25 years. He started his law school career at Indiana University Maurer School of Law and later went to Georgetown University Law Center where he served as the Associate Director of the Center for Global Legal English. For nine years prior to joining Spivey Consulting Group, Dr. Cramer worked as the Assistant Dean for Graduate and International Students at Washington University School of Law, where he focused primarily on admissions, course counseling, and instruction.

In this podcast, Dr. Cramer gives an overview of the elements of a successful LLM application, as well as common pitfalls to avoid. You can listen via the YouTube video below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

November 13, 2020
Law School Admissions/LSAT Q&A with Mike Spivey and PowerScore’s Dave Killoran

In this podcast, Mike Spivey and PowerScore founder Dave Killoran ask each other questions about law school admissions (Mike's wheelhouse) and the LSAT (Dave's specialty).

You can listen to this podcast through the video below, or through SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts. You can also check out PowerScore's options for LSAT prep here.

Please note that our reservation list for next cycle (2021-2022) is now open.

November 23, 2020
Introduction to Law School Admissions for Under-Represented Minority (URM) Applicants

Today's podcast is from our consultant Sir Williams, former Director of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he led the successful implementation of UW’s first pre-law diversity pipeline summer program. In this podcast, Sir gives a broad introduction to law school admissions for under-represented minority (URM) applicants — what "counts" as URM for admissions, why it matters, and some special considerations URM applicants might want to flag.

A few links mentioned in the podcast:

You can listen below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

Please note that our reservation list for next cycle (2021-2022) is now open.