Status Check with Spivey

In this episode of the Status Check podcast, Mike interviews Reddit user lightningmcboops (who for the purposes of this podcast we're calling "Megan") from the law school admissions subreddit. Megan applied with a 3.9x GPA and a 172 LSAT and received zero rejections despite applying in the most difficult law school admissions cycle we've ever seen, including straight admits from the majority of the T14, including Stanford. Mike and Megan walk through her application process and each of her application components, then discuss some takeaways and advice for future applicants. You can listen and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and RadioPublic — just search for "Status Check with Spivey."  spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

In this podcast, Mike Spivey explains how the scholarship negotiation process works from the law school's perspective and gives some advice and tips for how to strategically approach increasing your merit aid offers. You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and RadioPublic — just search for "Status Check with Spivey." spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/x5Zh0E_-AIc or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses perspectives and considerations as we head into the 2021 law school waitlist season. You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/F_hbOg8wnDA and Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223

In this podcast, Mike interviews Jeff Chapman: Partner, Co-Chair of Global Mergers and Acquisitions, and Executive Committee Member at Gibson Dunn. You can read Jeff's bio here: https://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyer/chapman-jeffrey-a/ Mike and Jeff met when Mike was a law school Dean of Career Services, and they became good friends — in this interview, Jeff shares his story, some thoughts and advice about law school, and a bit of biglaw hiring advice. You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/gst2Qt3bKDc or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223

In this podcast, Spivey Consulting Group's Mike Spivey and PowerScore founder Dave Killoran discuss the state of the current 2020-2021 law school admissions cycle, things to consider for applicants who may be on waitlists, and predictions about next cycle (2021-2022). You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/hGDsIfKmjDQ or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223

Dr. Guy Winch is one of the world's leading psychologists and speakers. He has delivered three TED Talks with over 25 million views combined, all three of which can be seen here https://www.guywinch.com/ He has published three books and along with best-selling author Lori Gottlieb co-hosts a relatively new but already incredibly popular podcast Dear Therapists https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-dear-therapists-68853191/ In this 40-minute podcast, we speak about rejection at the macro level — "Do we aggregate rejection, and why does it sting so bad?" — and then in the admissions and first job search process specifically. Dr. Winch speaks toward research and numerous helpful interventions in both the perceived feelings of rejection and the problem issues involved in waiting on decisions. Perhaps most notably, Dr. Winch tells a story about the first time he applied to graduate school, when he applied to 10 different programs, was denied by 9, and was "ghosted" (he literally never heard from them) by the 10th. Which makes his conversation with us not just incredibly helpful, but also relatable. We've all been rejected at something, many things — including those at the very pinnacle of their professional careers. In this podcast, we mention an episode of Dr. Peter Attia's The Drive in which Dr. Winch is interviewed — you can listen to that episode here https://peterattiamd.com/guywinch/ You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/E68R_99PQ0k or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223

For today's podcast, a little something different — some advice on resiliency in the face of watching others succeed in the ways you'd like to be succeeding. You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/ME6OnVTebFE or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses factors that lead to some applicants "underperforming" their numbers. You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/uC_pC-T2OsI or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223 Introduction - 0:46 - Will more people underperform this cycle? (2020-2021) - 1:41 - Defining "Underperform" Factors that can lead to underperforming your numbers - 4:44 - Character & Fitness Issues (but maybe not in the way you think) - 6:44 - Yield Protection - 8:17 - Overcommunicating - 10:40 - Sloppiness Answering Questions from Reddit - 13:05 - "Is it the essay or lack of an added essay (DS) that throws off an entire application?" - 14:44 - "Is having a non legal job in Biglaw going in a boost as schools will see you connections that may help boost the schools standing?"15:26 - "How disadvantaged are KJDs in the admissions process?" - 16:59 - "Do GRE applicants more often underperform their numbers? With the high LSAT saturation, will this negatively affect GRE applicants?" - 17:54 - "Considering how some services quantify the 'URM Boost' in applications (7Sage predictor and LSData URM LSAT/GPA differential, for example), what specifically causes URMs to underperform their stats?" - 19:41 - "I’ve been rejected by UMich with a 3.mid and 17high, does this count as underperforming my numbers? If so, is this indicative of how the rest of my cycle with the T14 will go?" - 20:02 - "Any data / longitudinal studies on engineers?" - 20:42 - "I’m sure this will vary by schools, but in your experience as someone who made decisions on files, if a candidate is at/above both of a school’s target medians AND has demonstrated genuine interest, how much can those two factors carry them if the rest of the app is average? Will the answer to this question be different this year because of the availability of good stats?" - 21:28 - "Would you say if there are multiple LSAT scores without a consistent increase in score (i.e. there was a score drop before the ultimate high score) then that person is likely to underperform? Especially asking for T6/T14? Would your answer change if the final score was a 175+?" Conclusion - 23:48 - Takeaways & Predictions for the Rest of the Cycle

In this podcast, Mike Spivey answers more questions from Reddit. First up, he discusses differences international JD applicants might see in their admissions processes with the special considerations of this application cycle. Then, he talks about how to figure out whether a law school is the right fit for you when you can't visit in person — and, for those who haven't been admitted yet, how to write a strong letter of continued interest (LOCI) without visiting. - International JD admissions considerations this cycle: 0:52 - Getting to know a school's culture when you can't visit: 4:32 - How to write a LOCI when you can't visit: 7:32 You can also listen to this podcast on YouTube https://youtu.be/HaPjcbGSy30 or Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spivey-consulting-law-school-admissions-podcast/id1477090223