Status Check with Spivey

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

In this episode, Mike speaks again with "Barb," an applicant this 2021-2022 cycle with a ~177 LSAT, a ~3.3 GPA, and ten years of work experience. The last time we spoke with Barb, which was in December, she had submitted most of her applications but hadn't yet heard back from any schools, and her anxiety was mounting. She now has six admits (in addition to one waitlist, one priority hold, and three denials), and we spend this podcast talking about her thought process for each of those schools, plus discussing and giving advice on next steps, including assessing whether to pursue the waitlist, navigating scholarship negotiation and seat deposit deadlines, and deciding where to attend. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. For a full transcript of this episode, please see our blog post for this episode.   spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

We have been asked multiple times in the last 24 hours about how the recent Russian invasion into Ukraine may impact law school, admissions, and legal employment, so we wanted to post this brief, unedited podcast addressing those questions. We want to disclaim that this is analysis discusses far from the most important and impactful effects of the invasion, and we fully recognize that relative importance. Still, we wanted to weigh in regarding the areas where we have expertise — law school, admissions, and legal employment — as these are important to many individuals as well. Mike Spivey's thoughts on the situation are in this episode. You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.

In this episode, Mike gives an update on the data for the 2021-2022 cycle as of early February. He discusses what to expect for median increases/decreases after this cycle, what's going to happen this waitlist season, what to expect for transfer admissions this year, and some early preliminary predictions for next cycle. Note: You may notice that the data Mike references in this episode is slightly different from the numbers that LSAC publishes. This is because LSAC reports only an applicant's ultimate high score, even if they didn't achieve that score until months or even years after the date in question. As a result, LSAC data overstates prior cycle high scores, whereas we keep track of the volume data as it was on the actual corresponding date last cycle. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. For a full transcript of this episode, please see our blog post. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com

In this episode, Mike speaks with an applicant from Reddit who we'll call "Ryan Reynolds" (you know, just for fun). Ryan has a 178 LSAT and a 3.8 undergraduate GPA, and while he blanketed the top 20 law schools, he has received only waitlists and denials so far this cycle (as of February) despite having applied early on. Mike and Ryan discuss the factors that have likely contributed to this, both at the larger-scale level as far as the nature and pace of this 2021-2022 cycle, and more specifically as it pertains to his application and potential points for improvement. After reading Ryan's applications, we are very confident that he will be receiving admits this cycle, and we will provide an update in a later episode when he does! You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts. For a full transcript of this episode, please see our blog post. spiveyconsulting.com | spiveyblog.com | myrankbyspivey.com