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

31 Jan 2022

Podcast: Catching Up With a Stanford 1L

In this episode, Mike and one of our Spivey consultants Karen Buttenbaum catch up with u/lightningmcboops, one of r/lawschoolsadmissions' regular posters from last cycle, who went through the most difficult cycle we have ever seen without receiving a single rejection.

29 Jan 2022

Upcoming Podcasts

We have five upcoming podcasts we are excited about, and we hope you will be too!

28 Jan 2022

We get rejected, too.

As we head into the thick of decision season, law school admissions offices are beginning to send out the inevitable rejection waves. Rejection hurts, but it is also a fundamental human experience, and we all feel its effects sometimes.

27 Jan 2022

LSAT Bandwidth % Changes 2021-2022

LSAC has recently stopped displaying percentage changes with their volume data, so we wanted to publish these figures for anyone who may find this information useful.

10 Jan 2022

When Is It Appropriate to Start Scholarship Negotiations?

Since you are all going to be lawyers soon, let me start by saying something you’ll be saying for the rest of your lives: it depends. But, that isn’t very helpful...

08 Jan 2022

Uncertainty in Admissions

On our most recent podcast with current applicant "Barb," who has yet to receive responses to any of her applications, we spoke a good deal about the uncertainty of the admissions process.

08 Jan 2022

How to Cold Email: A Template

We wanted to provide a template for how to cold email someone, especially when there is an "ask" involved. You don't see many of these online, so here is one exchange below.

08 Jan 2022

Law School Application Review Services: We're Available!

We wanted to provide a quick update on our availability for current-cycle (2021-2022) admissions consulting clients!

27 Dec 2021

Law Schools Planning to Start the Spring 2022 Semester Remotely

The following law schools are planning to start the spring 2022 semester remotely in order to combat the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

27 Dec 2021

What's the difference between a law school "waitlist" vs. "hold" vs. "hold tight email"?

Most applicants understand the basics of what it means to be waitlisted, but in this blog, we wanted to give a quick look at why and how law schools use their waitlists from an insider perspective, then outline the differences between a waitlist and a "hold" or a "hold tight email."

22 Dec 2021

Podcast: Diary of a Law School Applicant's Cycle Episode 2 (The Waiting)

In this episode, we continue our interview series with "Barb," a current applicant.

08 Dec 2021

Podcast: Cycle Volume Update & Conjecture On Where the Cycle Might Be Heading

In this episode, we talk about where this current admissions cycle (2021-2022) stands so far in terms of applicant volume, what that means, what we predict for the rest of the cycle, and some actionable admissions advice based on what we know so far.

30 Nov 2021

Could the Omicron Variant Cause Colleges and Graduate Schools to Go Fully Remote Again?

As scientists race to unravel how serious of a global health concern the Omicron variant is, a rash of media attention has us now being asked, "Could Omicron lead to colleges and graduate schools going fully remote?"

24 Nov 2021

Podcast: "Safety Schools" and Making a Law School Backup Plan

In this episode, Mike and our consultant Danielle Early talk about safety schools and backup plans.

16 Nov 2021

Podcast: What Makes for a Successful Law School Interview?

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with our consultant Karen Buttenbaum (former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School) about how to prepare for law school admissions interviews, best practices, common pitfalls, and other advice for the interviewing process.

11 Nov 2021

Podcast: Will Law Schools Be Able to Maintain Their Medians This Cycle?

In this episode, Mike predicts whether law schools will be able to maintain their high medians from last year, and how we expect that to play out across the course of the cycle. He also discusses how this will impact splitters and reverse splitters.

08 Nov 2021

How to Survive a Kira Interview

Even in the Before Times (back before COVID-19 turned the word “Zoom” from a fun thing puppies did at dog parks to the bane of my existence), there was the Kira: an online asynchronous interview platform utilized by Northwestern, Cornell, and Texas, amidst others.

02 Nov 2021

2021-2022 Application Cycle as of November 1st

We're not sure where the time has gone, but it's already November 1st, and we're a couple months into our 2021-2022 application cycle.

02 Nov 2021

Diary of a Law School Applicant's Cycle: Episode 1 (Pre-Submission)

In this episode, Mike interviews a current applicant (who we'll call "Barb") about her application process so far. Barb is a splitter with a 176 LSAT and a 3.1 GPA, and she's also a non-traditional applicant with 10+ years of full-time work experience after college.

27 Oct 2021

October 2021 LSAT Score Notes

Disclaimer: It's still early. Data is most volatile early and things can change. But I suspect, highly, this cycle won't look like last cycle in respect to number of high scorers 170+, and I also think it is likely applicants (maybe not applications though) will end up down from last year.