Fox Fact: Foxes can retract their claws as cats do, have vertical pupils (like cats) which allow them to see better in the dark, and have cat-like sensitive whiskers.
Photo by Federico Di Dio photography on Unsplash

Blog & Podcasts

11 Nov 2023

Podcast: The Slowest Cycle Ever

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the reasons that this law school admissions cycle will be the slowest one ever (or at least within our admissions careers)—and, perhaps more importantly, what you should do about it if you're a current applicant.

20 Oct 2023

Law School Deans Who Became College/University Presidents

For a very long time, the typical path to becoming a college/university president was serving as a provost. In recent years, however, appointing law school deans to college/university president roles has become more and more common.

17 Oct 2023

Podcast: Mike Spivey's Top 5 All-Time Admissions Advice

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike gives his top 5 pieces of advice from his 25+ years working in law school admissions.

11 Oct 2023

Podcast: What's Wrong with the LSAT? + What is JD-Next? with Craig Boise & Dan Rodriguez

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, two experienced and respected law school Deans discuss the history, the present, and the future of law school admissions and legal education.

05 Oct 2023

Top 15 Law School Websites

We have spent a great deal of time browsing and evaluating the websites of every ABA-approved law school, and we identified the following 15 as the strongest examples.

27 Sep 2023

Which law schools interview applicants, and what are their interview formats?

If you're planning to apply to law school, you may be wondering, which law schools employ interviews as a part of their admissions process? Info here.

18 Sep 2023

U.S. News Best College Rankings (+/- 2024 vs. 2023)

The 2024 (published 2023) U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings were released today—here are the top 50 national universities with plus/minuses.

11 Sep 2023

Podcast: How Important is Work Experience in Law School Admissions?

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses a question we receive often—just how important is work experience in the law school application process?

29 Aug 2023

Podcast: What to Expect in the 2023-24 Law School Admissions Cycle (+ Q&A) with Mike Spivey & Anna Hicks-Jaco

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with Spivey Consulting's COO Anna Hicks-Jaco about what to expect during the upcoming cycle, her perspective as both a recent Dean of Admissions and relatively recent applicant, and advice for applicants getting ready to apply.

21 Aug 2023

Three Tips for Brand New 1Ls (+ 1L Success Coaching)

Congrats to those of you launching your law school careers this month! As you navigate orientation and the heady first few days of classes, we thought it’d be a good time to share some advice—and an opportunity—from our Pre-L/1L Success team.

21 Aug 2023

Podcast: Critiquing AI-Generated Law School Personal Statements

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Spivey Consulting's COO Anna Hicks-Jaco gives the insider perspective on AI-generated personal statements—currently a hot topic of discussion in law school admissions offices—and critiques two personal statements written with ChatGPT.

17 Aug 2023

2023 Law School Application Changes Compiled

We have seen more law schools making changes to their application components and instructions this cycle than in any other we can recall. For your reference, we will be compiling these changes below, adding new schools as their applications and instructions are posted.

07 Aug 2023

Podcast: The Biggest Non-Negotiable Rule in Law School Admissions

As much as we deign to use absolutes, there is at least one principle we can think of that is absolutely non-negotiable in law school admissions. Regardless of your qualifications, breaking this rule can tank the chances of any applicant—this episode of Status Check with Spivey discusses that rule.

03 Aug 2023

Predicting the 2023-2024 Law School Admissions Cycle

The 2022-2023 application cycle is coming to a close, and overall, it will finish with about 2% fewer applicants than the prior cycle—the lowest total number of applicants since the 2017-2018 cycle. In this blog, we look at 2023-2024.

01 Aug 2023

Law School Application Opening Dates for the 2023-2024 Cycle

This post includes a full list of all ABA-approved law schools' application opening dates for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

01 Aug 2023

Podcast: The Myth of the Early Application “Bump” & Law School Rolling Admissions

In this brief episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses what has grown in recent years to be the biggest myth in law school admissions today.

11 Jul 2023

Podcast: Dean Z on the Future of Law School Admissions + Other Admissions Questions (Part 2)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike continues his conversation with Dean Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z").

06 Jul 2023

Why We Dedicate One In Every Four Podcasts To Mental Health

I mentioned something on a recent admissions podcast with Dean Z from Michigan Law School that I thought, even while saying it, was important enough to follow up on.

01 Jul 2023

Podcast: What the SCOTUS Admissions Decision Means for Law School Applicants

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the recent Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard Supreme Court decision—which ruled against the legality of race-conscious admissions or "affirmative action"—and what it means for law school applicants, particularly applicants of color.

29 Jun 2023

Spivey Consulting Group Statement on Supreme Court Race-Conscious Admissions Decision

At Spivey Consulting Group, we believe that diversity, in all of its forms, provides an inherent value in both the individual and collective experiences of who we are, where we come from, how we got here, and how this has affected our places in the world—this will always be relevant.