Blog & Podcasts

Why is your LSAC cumulative GPA different from your normal degree GPA?

What types of scenarios can lead to your LSAC-calculated cumulative GPA (the relevant one for law school admissions purposes) being different from your degree GPA?

Spivey Consulting Group 2025-2026 Pro Bono Program: Announcement & Application

Spivey Consulting Group fully supports equitable access and diverse representation in legal education, and in 2025, this responsibility is more important than ever. As a part of this ongoing commitment, we are excited to announce the fifth year of our annual Spivey Consulting Group Pro Bono Program.

Spivey Consulting Example Personal Statements

Eight examples of great law school personal statements.

Podcast: Dean Z of Michigan Law on Admissions Advice and AI—The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

Mike and Anna converse with Michigan Law's Dean Z on generative AI in admissions and legal education—including introducing a related new question being added to Michigan Law's application this upcoming 2025-2026 cycle—plus, a bunch of general law school admissions advice.

Podcast: Waitlist Predictions for the 2024-2025 Law School Admissions Cycle

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike discusses the various factors that are at play for this cycle's waitlist season, his predictions for how it will go, and his advice for waitlisted applicants.

Data Dive: International Applicants to Top Law Schools

International students face unique challenges in the U.S. law school admissions process. This article presents an analysis of how top law schools treat international applicants, using data from the past three cycles, and explains what's new for 2024-25!

Implications of Executive Branch Order Targeting College Accrediting Bodies, Including the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to The Bar

Podcast: Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-2025 Cycle (Part 3, Decisions & Wrap-Up)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we have our third and final interview with "John," who we've followed throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025.

Law School and Higher Education Rankings Thoughts

I've been asked too many times to count to comment on the U.S. News 2025 law school rankings release a few days ago.

2024-2025 Law School Admissions Cycle Progress

As of March 20, 2025, nearly 7,000 offers of admission remain at the top 100 law schools, including 2,500 from top 20 schools. While we don't have definitive data yet, these figures provide a snapshot of the cycle’s progress.

Know Your Law School Seat Deposit Deadlines

Updated with 2025 seat deposit deadlines for all ABA-accredited law schools.

Podcast: Five Categories of Law School Admissions Interview Questions & How to Answer Them

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco is joined by Karen Buttenbaum, one of Spivey's most experienced consultants and a former Director of Admissions at Harvard Law School, to talk about law school admissions interviews.

Statement on the February 14, 2025 “OCR Dear Colleague letter” sent by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights

Which Law Schools have Early Decision/Early Action Transfer Programs?

Here's a list of law schools that have early decision or early action transfer programs.

Podcast: Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-2025 Cycle (Part 2, Interviews & Waiting for Decisions)

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, we catch up with the applicant who we're following throughout this cycle. We talk about rejection, decisions he has (or hasn't) received, interviews he's done, typos in applications, and more. Stick around until the end for one last update on his cycle!

Start with the End in Mind: Preparing for 1L Exams from Day One

So much of your success in 1L is tethered to your performance on the final exam. It makes good sense to focus on those exams as early as possible. Here are our best tips.

10 Deceptively Tricky Law School Application Questions & How to Answer Them

There are some seemingly simple questions on law school applications that still have a tendency to confuse applicants. As former admissions officers, we hope to help you understand and feel confident answering them.

Podcast: The Law School Waitlist—Deep Dive with Former Admissions Officers

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Anna Hicks-Jaco has a discussion with two Spivey consultants all about the waitlist process.

Podcast: Mid-Cycle Pep Talk & 2024-2025 Update from Mike Spivey

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike gives a brief update and pep talk for current law school applicants during the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

Real Data on When Law School Admissions Decisions Come Out

Admissions officers are settling into a winter of reading, and the file review process is really just beginning to get into full swing for most of them. So when will decisions be coming out?