Admissions

Applicant Considerations in an "Up" Cycle

This cycle will be more competitive than the last for many law school applicants. Indeed, we thought this might be the case way back in March [http://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/predicting-the-20152016-law-school-admissions-cycle/] and the June (up 10% for first-time test takers) and October (up 7.1 %) data coupled with conversations we have had with numerous law schools (almost all up) would seem to put an exclamation point on it. More applicants ostensibly equates to more competition (a bit on

To ED or Not to ED?

Early Decision programs are not new, but they have been gaining popularity among both law schools and applicants in recent cycles. We will address the value of such programs momentarily, but first let us define what “Early Decision” really means. An Early Decision program is essentially a contract between an applicant and a school – the only hardline often being that “if admitted, you will immediately withdraw all applications to other law schools to which you have submitted an application” with

Navigating the Law School Admissions Process Freshman Year to Admission

2015/'16 Application Release Date for Top 50 Law Schools

We called the top 50 law schools and asked “when will your application be available for submissions this cycle?” This is what we got: Organized by School Yale – October 1 Harvard – September 15 Stanford – September 2 Columbia – September 1 U Chicago – August 15 NYU – September 1 U Penn – September 1 Duke – September 1 UC Berkeley – September 1 UVA – September 1 U Mich – September 1 Northwestern – September 15 Cornell – August 15 Georgetown – September 10 UT Austin – First week of September UCL

33 Things That Annoy Admissions Officers and Hiring Partners

(Updated 5/26/2017) We've reached out (three times now!) to a number of friends at law schools and at firms and companies to see what things applicants did that made them grouchy (pro tip — it isn’t in your best interest to make them grouchy!). This is what we got; not surprisingly, a good deal of the items mentioned are related to emails. Law School Admissions/Employment Pet Peeves 1. When they launch into a sales presentation about themselves the moment we meet. -CEO of Company

Q&A with Michigan Law Admissions Dean Sarah Zearfoss (ongoing series updated June 24)

June 26th update and joint answer There seems to be a perception that law school admissions are the most numbers-oriented of the professional graduate schools (i.e., law, business, and medical). Is there merit to that view? If so, why do you think that is? Mike Spivey Response: I was recently asked this from a B-School admissions consultant, sans the medical school allusion, so I am going to jump in with my response to her which I hope will address this question, albeit without reference to m

2015 Forum/Fair Recruitment Schedule and Advice

First, LSAC’s schedule of events [http://www.lsac.org/jd/choosing-a-law-school/forums-and-other-events]. Now, our advice: Admissions Forums and Admissions Fairs matter. I would argue that as attendance at these events has waned steadily in the past 12 years, they now matter more than ever for the simple reason you can make a last impression. Still, there are enough people at each law school’s table where you will have to do it the right  way. Here is how: 1. First impressions matter Research

How Law School Admissions Myths Get Started

From September through late November, most admissions officers are on the road. They crisscross the nation visiting colleges and universities (which is a pretty wonderful way to get paid). The nearly only downside is that this travel gets repetitious — not just in staying in hotel beds every night, but in hearing the same thing at every school. But it is because I lived through this repetition that I can dispel just about every bad piece of admissions advice you have heard from a fellow student.

Karen Buttenbaum Interviewed by USNWR on the "gap year"

For the record we (and many law admissions officers we know) don’t necessarily agree with the terminology “gap” — which originated to describe the space between a year off before going to undergraduate. But semantics be damned, here [http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2015/05/14/smart-ways-to-make-the-most-of-gap-years-before-law-school] is the article. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Getting ready t

The Top 5 Most Popular Spivey Consulting Blogs Of The Last 3 years

1. 103 Pages of Admissions Questions Answered [http://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/103-pages-of-free-law-school-admissions-advice/] 2. Scholarship Negotiation Advice [http://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/mistake-1-you-are-too-nice/] 3. Is an Early Decision Application Bump at t14 real? Some data. [http://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/early-decision-at-t14-is-the-bump-real/] (*note each year this advice changes slightly based on admit patterns by law schools)