Status Check with Spivey

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , we wrap up our ongoing conversation with "Lucy," a 2022-2023 law school applicant from Reddit (thank you, u/Accomplished-Body785!). We interviewed Lucy at several points throughout her cycle, and in this episode, we delve into her final decisions and her process of deciding where to attend. You can find Part 1 of this series here and Part 2 h...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike gives an insider perspective on the new 2023-2024 U.S. News law school rankings (full +/- list here ), the changes in methodology that they made, and how this year's rankings (and the surrounding controversy) may impact law school admissions and legal education moving forward. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple P...

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike talks about the widespread notion that, even beyond whatever specific and concrete challenges we each may be facing, there is an added factor of "everything" (in today's society, in life) that can sometimes feel crushing. Then he gives some advice. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts , Spo...

This week, we're re-releasing a 2021 episode of Status Check with Spivey that is more relevant to our listeners than ever—our interview with Dr. Guy Winch. In what has ended up being one of our favorite episodes ever, Dr. Winch discusses his own experiences with rejection in admissions, the research behind these feelings, and specific interventions for moving forward confidently and positively...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Spivey Consulting's Derek Meeker interviews a Harvard Law 2L (and former client) who transferred from the University of Idaho. They talk about his background and story, his non-traditional path to law school, his initial 1L application, his transfer application (and what made it shine), the expectations vs. reality of transferring law schools, and...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews Kate Reder Sheikh , a Partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, one of the top recruiting firms for legal hiring in the nation. Mike and Kate discuss the legal hiring market, how legal hiring may be impacted by the state of the economy in the coming months and years, what you can do to best position yourself for the employment opportuniti...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike offers some tips and advice for getting a job out of law school from his time as a Dean of Career Services during the great recession. Part 2 is an interview with Kate Reder Sheikh , a Partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa, one of the top recruiting firms for legal hiring in the nation. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike talks to Spivey Consulting's COO Anna Hicks-Jaco about a question from Reddit—one that we hear many times every year. "How do I stop being so attached to my dream school?" This episode mentions several other interviews, including our episode with Dr. Guy Winch and our episode with Dr. Judson Brewer . "Life teaches you how to live it, if you live l...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike discusses the factors that have led to this historically slow-moving cycle—and how you can strategically leverage that knowledge to your advantage. Mike references two of our other episodes in this podcast: When Should You Reach Out to an Admissions Office, and How Should You Do It? Dr. Guy Winch on Handling Rejection & Waiting You can listen...

In this short episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike discusses a question that tends to come up frequently this time of year— “Should I contact x law school's admissions office to ask for an update since I haven't heard back yet?” —then talks generally about when it can be advantageous to reach out to admissions, why, and how you should do it. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike talks about how online law school admissions discussion can affect (or not affect) your outcomes. Are adcoms on Reddit? Will they Google you? What sorts of online conduct can turn an admit into a waitlist or deny? Mike gives his thoughts on these questions and more from 15+ years following law school message boards. You can listen and subscribe to...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike gives an update on 2022-2023 applicant data and discusses admissions strategies for the second half of the application cycle: waitlists and letters of continued interest, tips for asking for scholarship reconsideration, and handling the waiting/anxiety. (It may surprise you how impactful that last item can be to your outcomes!) Mike recorded this...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike talks about the different factors that precipitate waves of law school admissions decisions being released, especially late in the cycle/during waitlist season. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Stitcher , YouTube , SoundCloud , and Google Podcasts . You can read a full transcript of this episod...

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 rol...

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. 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...

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 .

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...

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...

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 , Stit c her , YouTube , SoundCloud , and Google Podcasts .  You can read a full transcript of this episode here .

In this first episode of an upcoming multi-part series of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco (Spivey Consulting's COO) speaks with an applicant from the r/lawschooladmissions Reddit, "Lucy," as she prepares to submit her applications. We will be interviewing Lucy at a number of points throughout her cycle to check in about how things have been going, what she's been up to in terms of her a...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews Natalie Blazer, who currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Chief Admissions Officer at the University of Virginia School of Law. Dean Blazer talks about her path to law school and admissions, the differences and similarities between the admissions operations at the various law schools where she has worked (including C...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike interviews Bill Eddy, an award-winning mediator, attorney, author, and therapist who developed "high conflict personality theory" and is an expert in dealing with high conflict people in the practice of law. Bill is the Co-Founder and CIO of the High Conflict Institute and faculty at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. You can listen and subscribe to...

You can find Part 1 of this episode here . In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike and Dave answer more questions from the Law School Admissions Reddit ! Part 2 discusses personal statements topics, reapplying, letters of recommendation, the relative importance of "softs" generally, Why X essays, work experience vs. going " K-JD ," how law schools look at leaves of absence during colleg...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike and Dave answer questions from the Law School Admissions Reddit . This will be a series of two episodes, with Part 2 coming out next week! Part 1 covers predictions for the upcoming 2022-2023 law school admissions cycle, discussion about the LSAT and GPAs, application timing, and more. Part 2 will cover more of the "soft factors" of a law school a...

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike speaks with long-time Spivey consultant and former Penn Law Admissions Dean Derek Meeker about tackling the genre of law school applications. Crafting a well-written essay is just one part of the equation — necessary but not sufficient for a strong application — and in this interview, Derek takes lessons from his graduate-level writing coursework,...