Advice

24 Sep 2016

Choosing a Personal Statement Topic

“But I don’t have a WOW factor.” It is that time of year when applicants realize the LSAT may not be the hardest part of the law school admissions process after all. For many, it will be writing the personal statement. This difficulty often stems from one of two sentiments: the perceived lack of a “wow factor” altogether or the perceived lack of a “wow factor” that is unique. Two of the most common questions we hear from law school applicants are: “But there’s nothing unique about me; I grew up

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08 Sep 2016

Podcast: "When is it early/When is it late?" in the admissions cycle

Danielle Early and Mike Spivey speak for 30 minutes on application submission timing. And a bit more below from Michigan Law Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss. Here is Dean Z.: "Totally agree that before Thanksgiving is “early” in any school’s universe. All law school admissions officers are hitting the bricks from mid-September to mid-November; some offices are structured in a way that allows them to make some decisions despite the travel schedule, but the number of offers are a mere pittance

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15 Jul 2016

Danielle Early's Top 5 Blog Posts

I’m going to share a secret with you all… while I was the working in the Harvard Law School Admissions Office, I read this blog. I thought it was great – Mike was providing good advice to applicants, and it often reminded me to think more about what the application process is like for you as applicants. When Mike asked me what my favorite blog posts were, I found it hard to narrow down because there are many. Today, I am sharing with you the top 5 posts that resonated most with me. I encourage

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29 Jun 2016

Welcome to My World: Panel Discussion with Law School Admission Deans

Join us for this informative discussion featuring comments from highly experienced current and former law school admission deans who will reveal the human side of admissions, how and why some applicants "come alive" in the review process, and the inner dynamics of how law school admission decisions are made. Following panelists' remarks will be a Q&A segment during time webinar participants will be able to ask questions of the admission professionals. Panelists and bios: Mike Spivey is the fou

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01 Jun 2016

Urbach-Wiethe Disease [and the LSAT]

A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN known as SM blithely reaches for poisonous snakes, giggles in haunted houses and once, upon escaping the clutches of a knife-wielding man, didn’t run but calmly walked away. A rare kind of brain damage precludes her from experiencing fear of any sort. (Source: Wired [http://www.wired.com/2010/12/fear-brain-amygdala/].) Urbach-Wiethe disease is the name for the rare disorder, so rare that there have only been about 400 reported cases in history. I learned about this disease t

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04 May 2016

Want to Nth Degree your LSAT studying? Do this...

On Memorial Day this year, both Karen Buttenbaum and I will run a 10k race -- The BolderBoulder. It's a wonderful event with about 55,000 people, mostly in costumes eating bacon, drinking beer, and launching themselves down slip and slides as they run. But that isn't for me because I am absurdly competitive. So I will be running it to beat my time last year, and hopefully some people much more fit and runner-y than me. Fortunately, I have an advantage. I live 45 seconds from the start of the B

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27 Apr 2016

Applicant Questions Answered: "Is there an increasing premium on work experience in admissions? "

The full questions reads Is there an increasing premium on work experience in admissions? It seems seems like people going straight in from college have had rough admissions cycles, even with great numbers Yes, for many schools, and not surprising at all. For starters, deans of law schools have increasingly been asking their admissions offices to look at employability and maturity in admission decision-making. And this is an "up" cycle -- the first in a good while. So there are some schools who

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25 Apr 2016

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST EMAIL BACK?!"

Because I have been there (we all have) and because I spend hours a week discussing this singular topic -- I'd like to breakdown what if means when you email an admissions office (or hiring partner for that matter) and they do not respond. Before I do, let's set the backdrop. If you were to email me and I were not to respond, you likely wouldn't notice or care. Or, you would assume I am on vacation (if only), or very busy (bingo!). What you wouldn't do is re-read your sent email 100 times, and

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15 Apr 2016

An hour of waitlist advice with 2 Admissions Deans (and one us)

The webinar panelist: Sarah Zearfoss, Dean of Admissions, Univeristy of Michigan School of Law Maria Rivera, Assistant Dean of Admissions, University of Texas School of Law Mike Spivey, The Spivey Consulting Group Moderator Don Macaulay, Esq., President of BARBRI Law Preview Here is the link: https://lawpreview.barbri.com/webinar-waitlist-placement/

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11 Apr 2016

TURN A WAITLIST PLACEMENT INTO A TOP-CHOICE LAW SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE - Free Live Webinar

This webinar will be hosted by BARBRI and attended by: * Sarah Zearfoss, Dean of Admissions, University of Michigan School of Law * Maria Rivera, Assistant Dean of Admissions, University of Texas School of Law * Mike Spivey, The Spivey Consulting Group Join us by signing up, here. It's FREE! https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&referrer=&eventid=1162511&sessionid=1&key=AF23D009FACE49E91EAAE1CEC3568E3A®Tag=&sourcepage=register [

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