Status Check with Spivey

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike interviews Bill Eddy, an award-winning mediator, attorney, author, and therapist who developed "high conflict personality theory" and is an expert in dealing with high conflict people in the practice of law. Bill is the Co-Founder and CIO of the High Conflict Institute and faculty at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. You can read a full transcript on our blog post for this episode.

You can find Part 1 of this episode here. In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike and Dave answer more questions from the Law School Admissions Reddit! Part 2 discusses personal statements topics, reapplying, letters of recommendation, the relative importance of "softs" generally, Why X essays, work experience vs. going "K-JD," how law schools look at leaves of absence during college, and undergraduate record addenda. Relevant links from this episode: 2022 LSAT/GPA Medians (spreadsheet) The Genre of Application Essay Writing (podcast with Derek Meeker, former UPenn Law Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid) Example Personal Statements** You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. You can read a full transcript of this episode on our blog. ** A note on our personal statement examples: Probably not every personal statement in this post will be your personal taste, and that is perfectly fine! However, they are all essays that contributed toward the applicant achieving great results, i.e. multiple acceptances where they were below both medians or substantially below the LSAT median. The examples come from our team of consultants with collectively over 250 years of experience reading law school applications and making decisions on files, and they were each deeply authentic and genuine for the applicants who wrote them (in addition to fitting well within the greater context of their applications). Ultimately, those are the personal statements that are the most positively differentiated—those written sincerely from the heart—so certainly don't try to write something like one of these essays if it's not your cup of tea. We hope they are helpful examples nonetheless.

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike and Dave answer questions from the Law School Admissions Reddit. This will be a series of two episodes, with Part 2 coming out next week! Part 1 covers predictions for the upcoming 2022-2023 law school admissions cycle, discussion about the LSAT and GPAs, application timing, and more. Part 2 will cover more of the "soft factors" of a law school application, including personal statements. Relevant links from this episode: 2022 LSAT/GPA Medians (spreadsheet) Bad Law School Admissions Advice (podcast) Dean Z's thoughts on the difference between applying in August vs. applying in October (from the University of Michigan's admissions podcast, "A2Z with Dean Z") Interview (+ More on Bad Admissions Advice) with Dean Z (podcast) You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. You can read a full transcript of this episode on our blog.

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike speaks with long-time Spivey consultant and former Penn Law Admissions Dean Derek Meeker about tackling the genre of law school applications. Crafting a well-written essay is just one part of the equation — necessary but not sufficient for a strong application — and in this interview, Derek takes lessons from his graduate-level writing coursework, combined with his extensive experience in admissions decision-making, to offer valuable insights into how you can connect the dots in your law school application within the full context of your experiences, background, and personality. Mike and Derek mention a few different examples and resources in this episode, including our blog post of example personal statements, Derek's video on choosing a personal statement topic, our interview with Michigan Law's Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss, an example of a Georgetown video from one of our former clients, and an essay from Mike titled Failure is a Liar. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

Content Warning: This interview includes content related to suicide and the guest's experience with a school shooting. In this episode, Mike interviews best-selling author and storyteller Mishka Shubaly about personal creative writing. Mishka holds an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University and teaches writing at the Yale Writer's Conference. You can find his new book, The Long Run & Other True Stories, here. If you're looking for writing advice specifically pertaining to law school applications and personal statements, listen to our podcast on The Genre of Application Essay Writing here. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

In this episode, Mike interviews law school strategy coach Angela Vorpahl about some of the most common mistakes that 1Ls make and how to set yourself up to get great grades. Prior to starting her own firm to assist law students, Angela graduated from law school in the top 1% of her class, clerked for a federal judge, worked in biglaw, and practiced as a human rights attorney. You can find Angela online on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and her website. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. A transcript of this episode is coming soon and will be included in our blog post for this episode. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

This is a brief podcast on being denied from law school. For more on rejection, listen to our podcast with Dr. Guy Winch, renowned psychologist, author, and speaker. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

In this episode, Mike gets together with PowerScore CEO and LSAT expert Dave Killoran to discuss the closing months of this current 2021-2022 cycle, early indicators and predictions for next cycle 2022-2023, and the development of the LSAT over time as it has shifted from a five-section, in-person, pencil-and-paper exam, to a three-section, at-home, virtual exam, then back to its current four-section format (and what to expect next). At the end of the episode, Mike and Dave share an announcement: the PowerScore/Spivey Consulting Admissions Bible is coming this fall! Sign up here for updates on the release date and ordering info. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

In this episode, Mike discusses the recently released 2023 edition (2022 release) U.S. News & World Report law school rankings. You can view the full rankings (including +/- from last year) here. As always, we want to disclaim that it is our strong opinion that rankings should not be a major factor in where you decide to attend law school. You can watch our video on how best to use rankings to decide on a law school here, and you can always visit our site My Rank to create your own custom law school rankings based on the metrics you prioritize. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Judson Brewer about proven, concrete strategies to manage anxiety, including how to apply them for LSAT-related test anxiety and the stress of waiting for admissions results. Dr. Jud Brewer is a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change. He is the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health. He is the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare and a research affiliate at MIT. Dr. Jud has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. He is the author of “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind” and “The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love, Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits”. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. You can listen to a full transcript of this episode here. Links to resources from Dr. Jud Brewer: Dr. Jud Brewer’s website Follow Dr. Jud Brewer on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook Unwinding by Sharecare (app) Unwinding Anxiety (app) Eat Right Now (app) Craving To Quit! (app) spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com