Addiction & Recovery in College with Author Mitch Leff

Status Check with Spivey

#Podcasting Education #Spivey Consulting Group

42:14

Episode Description: Jessica B. Harris may have been born and raised in New York City, but she has Tennessee roots through her father and has spent much of her life split between homes in the Northeast and the South – specifically New Orleans. For more than fifty years, she has been a college professor, a writer, and a lecturer, and her many books have earned her a reputation as an authority on food of the African Diaspora, as well as a lifetime achievement award from the James Beard Foundation. A few years back, Netflix adapted her book, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America , into a 4 part docuseries. And I’m very proud to say that she’s a longtime contributor to Southern Living with a regular column called The Welcome Table. This episode was recorded in the Southern Living Birmingham studios, and Sid and Jessica talked about her mother’s signature mac and cheese, the cast-iron skillet she’d be sure to save if ever her house were on fire, and her dear friend, the late New Orleans chef Leah Chase. For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by : Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer/Producer Jeremiah McVay - Producer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices…

about a year ago 31:20

MP3•Episode home

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey, Mike has a conversation with Mitch Leff, author of My Addiction, My Superpower, about his experiences overcoming addiction at a young age, the lessons he learned, and how others can use his insights to improve themselves. As attorneys suffer significantly higher rates of substance abuse and depression relative to the wider public, Mitch's insights are highly relevant to anyone who is a part of (or considering joining) the legal profession.

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠.

159 episodes

Addiction & Recovery in College with Author Mitch Leff

Status Check with Spivey

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠.

159 episodes

#Podcasting Education #Spivey Consulting Group

All episodes

Status Check with Spivey

1
Dean Z of Michigan Law on Admissions Advice and AI: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly 38:41

26 days ago38:41

38:41

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike Spivey and Anna Hicks-Jaco have a conversation with Sarah Zearfoss (also known as "Dean Z"), who has long led the admissions office at the University of Michigan Law School as Senior Assistant Dean and who hosts the admissions podcast A2Z with Dean Z . The group discusses using generative AI to write your essays vs. to research admissions advice (including asking ChatGPT a few admissions questions and critiquing its answers), the prospect of law schools using AI to evaluate applications, grade inflation (and how admissions officers saw it before open access to generative AI vs. now), application timing (and how early applications correlate to stronger admit rates without necessarily causing them), and more. Plus, Dean Z introduces a new question being added to Michigan Law's application this upcoming 2025-2026 cycle. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

1
Waitlist Predictions for the 2024-2025 Law School Admissions Cycle 14:08

6 weeks ago14:08

14:08

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. For more on waitlist strategy, check out our Waitlist Deep Dive podcast episode! You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-2025 Cycle (Part 3, Decisions & Wrap-Up) 40:43

9 weeks ago40:43

40:43

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , we have our third and final interview with "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), who we've followed throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025. John discusses his final decision on where to attend, his process of requesting scholarship reconsideration, his decision not to pursue waitlists, admitted students days, what he's looking forward to in law school, and his thoughts and reflections on the law school admissions process now that it's over. Prior episodes with John: Part 1, Preparing Applications and the LSAT Part 2, Interviews & Waiting for Decisions You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Five Categories of Law School Admissions Interview Questions & How to Answer Them 34:36

15 weeks ago34:36

34:36

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. They discuss a strategy for thinking about and preparing for interviews by categorizing the potential questions you could receive into five groups (plus a bonus sixth category at the end!). You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-25 Cycle (Part 2: Interviews, Decisions, Waiting) 43:38

17 weeks ago43:38

43:38

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , we catch up with "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), the applicant who we're following throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025. 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! You can listen to our first episode with John here . You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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The Law School Waitlist: Deep Dive with Former Admissions Officers 1:10:43

20 weeks ago1:10:43

1:10:43

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a discussion with two Spivey consultants—Joe Pollak, former Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Michigan Law School, and Nathan Neely, former Director and Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Law and The University of Houston Law Center—all about the waitlist process. They talk about which applicants law schools waitlist and why, how law schools use their waitlists, how many people they typically put on the waitlist, the timeline of the waitlist process, what factors law schools consider when they evaluate their waitlists, strategy for getting admitted from the waitlist, common mistakes, best practice, factors that go into your chances of admission, tips for visiting a law school while you're on their waitlist, ways that the law school waitlist process has changed over the last few years, and much more. We mentioned a few blog posts in this episode, including " How to Write a Law School Letter of Continued Interest " (outline included), " What's the difference between a law school 'waitlist' vs. 'hold' vs. 'hold tight email'? " and " Justin Ishbia — Last WL Admit to Successful Major Donor " (podcast). You can find the previous episodes in our deep dive series here: Personal Statement Deep Dive Experience/Perspective Essay Deep Dive Resume Deep Dive Addendum Deep Dive "Why X" Essay Deep Dive Nathan and Joe's full bios are here . You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode below. You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Mid-Cycle Pep Talk & 2024-2025 Update from Mike Spivey 8:38

21 weeks ago8:38

8:38

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. Mike mentions our podcast with world-renowned psychologist Dr. Guy Winch in this episode—you can listen to the full interview here: Dr. Guy Winch on Handling Rejection (& Waiting) in the Admissions and Job Search Process You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . A full transcript of this episode is here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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A Look at the New 509 Law School Data with Kyle McEntee 47:58

23 weeks ago47:58

47:58

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Kyle McEntee, LSAC's Senior Director of Prelaw Engagement and the founder of Law School Transparency, centering around the newly released 2024 ABA 509 disclosures and how applicants should consider the data therein. They discuss interpreting class size changes, the ongoing rise of GPAs and grade inflation, LSAT inflation and how the highest LSAT percentiles have changed over time, the new option for law schools to obtain variances from the ABA to go test-optional (plus an explanation of what variances are and how the variance process works), the removal of the non-residents category from 509 reports and what that means for international applicants, diversity data (and how that's impacted by the non-resident recategorization), ordinal rankings (including a discussion of U.S. News and MyRank by Spivey), rising law school tuition and how law schools function financially within universities, and more—plus, what all this means for current and future applicants. You can read our recent blog post with a breakdown of some of the new 509 data here . You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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"Why X" Essay Deep Dive: Advice from Former Law School Admissions Officers 58:16

26 weeks ago58:16

58:16

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with two Spivey consultants and former law school admissions deans—Derek Meeker, former Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid for the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Shannon Davis, former Assistant Dean for Admissions and Communications at Lewis & Clark Law School—on "Why X" essays (advice, best practices, common mistakes, misconceptions, and more). Why do law schools actually ask for these essays, and how much can they help you if done well? What are the most ideal reasons to include in a Why X essay, and what are some less-than-ideal reasons? How can you research and obtain information for a strong, differentiated Why X essay even if you don't know anyone who's attended that law school? This episode covers these topics and more. You can find the previous episodes in our deep dive series here: Law School Personal Statement Deep Dive Law School Experience/Perspective Essay Deep Dive Law School Application Resume Deep Dive Law School Application Addendum Deep Dive Derek and Shannon's full bios are here . You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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The Future of Legal Education, AI, & Admissions with Dean Megan Carpenter 36:55

27 weeks ago36:55

36:55

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike has a conversation with Megan Carpenter, Dean of the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, on the highlights and challenges of being a dean, the future of law school and innovation in legal education, generative artificial intelligence as it relates to both admissions and the practice of law, and her best law school admissions advice (plus, what res ipsa loquitur means). Dean Carpenter has a distinguished reputation and was recently named one of the 20 Most Influential People in Legal Education by National Jurist . She is a prominent expert and scholar in intellectual property and technology and is the author of the book, Evolving Economies: The Role of Law in Entrepreneurship and Innovation . She has been in legal academia for nearly 20 years, including 7 and a half years as a law school dean, and she is the founder and former director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property at Texas A&M School of Law. You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Addendum Deep Dive: Advice from Former Law School Admissions Officers on LSAT, GPA, C&F, and Other Addenda 1:00:11

32 weeks ago1:00:11

1:00:11

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco has a discussion with two Spivey consultants—Derek Meeker, former Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid for the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Danielle Early, former Harvard Law School Associate Director of Admissions—diving deep into the law school application addendum . This episode covers guidelines, best practices, common mistakes, and specific examples of tricky situations (including a discussion about mental health in addenda) related to addenda generally, LSAT addenda, GPA addenda, and a bit about C&F addenda (see our longer, more in-depth video on C&F linked below for more on that topic). You can find the previous episodes in our deep dive series here: Law School Personal Statement Deep Dive Law School Experience/Perspective Essay Deep Dive Law School Application Resume Deep Dive Additionally, you can find our 35-minute video all about Character & Fitness (evaluating the seriousness of your C&F issue(s), how to decide what to disclose and what not to disclose, and advice for writing a strong addendum) here . You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Predicting the 2024-25 Law Admissions Cycle with Northwestern Law Admissions Dean Don Rebstock 26:22

34 weeks ago26:22

26:22

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Mike Spivey has a conversation with Associate Dean Don Rebstock—who, among multiple other departments, heads both Admissions and Career Services at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law—about the first 2024-2025 law school applicant data that was released last week, what it means for applicants, and why it's not as scary as it looks. Some of the questions they discuss include, will the numbers go down? How much will they go down? Why are LSAT scores so high? How will this impact competitiveness? How will it impact the pace of the cycle? Will law schools enroll more students next fall? Plus thoughts on grade inflation, rankings, employability, and their best advice for applicants in light of the new data. You can find our recent blog on predicting this cycle here . Mike's interview with Justin Ishbia, also mentioned in this episode, is here . You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Following a Law School Applicant Through the 2024-2025 Cycle (Part 1, Preparing Applications and the LSAT) 43:45

35 weeks ago43:45

43:45

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Anna Hicks-Jaco introduces "John" (not his real name; u/Muvanji on Reddit), the applicant who we'll be following throughout his law school admissions cycle for 2024-2025 (a series back by popular demand!). We talk more about John, his background, his application materials, and his goals in the episode, but here are some basics about his profile: John got his undergraduate degree outside of the U.S. and so does not have an LSAC-calculated cumulative uGPA (his performance was evaluated as "Above Average" on his CAS report). He took the LSAT once and got a 174 (we talked about his LSAT study process and test day experience in the episode). He earned a law degree in the U.K., where law school is at the undergraduate level, and is a recent graduate. He is currently looking for work and so does not yet have any full-time post-graduate work experience. He worked part-time during undergrad, did an internship with a biglaw firm, and participated in a number of law-related extracurriculars in leadership positions. His goal after earning his J.D. is to go into corporate law, and he has a special interest in antitrust law. He is originally Canadian and has experienced parts of his education there, in England, and in Kenya, which he plans to discuss in his experience/perspective essays (or "E/P essays," the category of law school admissions essay that has largely supplanted the "diversity statement"). He is African-American and has felt some pressure to discuss his race/ethnicity in his application, but he isn't sure whether or how he would like to do so. He has one relatively minor but somewhat complicated Character & Fitness ("C&F") issue that he will need to disclose on some applications. In this first episode of the series, we discuss John's LSAT process, his personal statement, his E/P essays, his resume (and how he thought it was done before listening to our resume deep-dive podcast episode!), his school list, letters of recommendation, Reddit, and more. We'll be checking in with him throughout the cycle for updates! Relevant Links/Resources: Resume Deep Dive Podcast Personal Statement Deep Dive Podcast Experience/Perspective Essay ("E/P Essay") Deep Dive Podcast Podcast series following an applicant through the 2022-2023 law school admissions cycle featuring "Lucy": Part 1 (preparing applications and the LSAT) ; Part 2 (interviews and initial decisions) ; Part 3 (final decisions and choosing a law school) Podcast series following an applicant through the 2021-2022 law school admissions cycle featuring "Barb": Part 1 (preparing applications) ; Part 2 (the waiting, timelines) ; Part 3 (final decisions, waitlists, scholarship reconsideration, and seat deposits) You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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Making Your Law School List: Advice & Resources for Deciding Where to Apply 51:50

38 weeks ago51:50

51:50

In this episode of Status Check with Spivey , Spivey Consulting President Anna Hicks-Jaco has a conversation with three Spivey Consultants and former law school admissions officers—Sam Kwak (Stanford Law, Northwestern Law, Indiana University Law), Paula Gluzman (UCLA Law, UW Law), and Joe Pollak (Michigan Law)—a group that has collectively spent over 20 years advising law school applicants one-on-one as consultants. In that time, they have assisted hundreds of law school applicants in creating strategic school lists, the topic of today's episode. How do you estimate your chances of admission to determine reach, target, and "safety" schools? How many schools should you apply to? How many schools do most applicants apply to (and how is the oft-cited average number of applications per applicant somewhat misleading here)? Where can you find the best and most up-to-date information about law schools when doing your research? We cover all of the above and more. This episode is a companion to our recent blog post on this topic, How to Create Your Law School List . Here are a few other resources we mentioned in this episode: Law School Application Fee Waivers blog post series from Joe Pollak: Part 1 (Unsolicited Fee Waivers), Part 2 (Soliciting Fee Waivers), and Part 3 (Need-Based Fee Waivers) Podcast: "Safety Schools" and Making a Law School Backup Plan (with Danielle Early, former Harvard Law admissions officer) 2024 Medians Spreadsheet (Spivey Consulting) Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs (LSAC) ABA-Required Disclosures (including admissions and employment data for all ABA-accredited law schools) How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin (also check out our Status Check episode with Jonah here and Jonah's episode interviewing Mike Spivey here ) My Rank by Spivey (custom law school rankings according to your priorities and preferences) You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ . You can read a full transcript of this episode here .…

Status Check with Spivey

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The Differences Between College & Law School, with "How I Lawyer" Host Jonah Perlin 35:53

40 weeks ago35:53