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Spivey, Ivey or Levine Consulting?

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:36 pm
by 1Mommylawyer
Hello,
I am interested in hiring a consultant. As a splitter and non-traditional student, I believe that such a service may be of value. I am looking for feedback on one of these mentioned consultants or another that I may have overlooked in my search.

If you have utilized one of these or another that you found helpful, please comment. I'm not really looking for any other type of feedback here. I do know that these forums are helpful, and will continue to look through them for general information but I want to work with someone one-on-one.
Thank you!

Re: Spivey, Ivey or Levine Consulting?

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:18 pm
by Sackboy
I think law school admissions consultants are largely a waste of time and money, because law school is 98% driven by your GPA + LSAT + URM/non-URM Status. The other factors at work like your essay, work experience, etc. will never make you competitive for a school that your GPA/LSAT lock you out of, but they can you push you over the edge on schools where you're on the margins, so I don't think giving your money to a consultant is going to have a big payoff. You could tell me what your GPA + LSAT + URM Status is right now, and I (and many other posters here) could probably predict what schools you'll get into with 80% accuracy and your scholarship amounts within $15,000.

That being said, if you're going to use a consultant I would always go for Spivey. To me, Spivey is the gold standard and generally just a class act.

Re: Spivey, Ivey or Levine Consulting?

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:47 pm
by QContinuum
Sackboy wrote:I think law school admissions consultants are largely a waste of time and money, because law school is 98% driven by your GPA + LSAT + URM/non-URM Status.
While I generally agree that most law school applicants would not derive significant benefit from hiring a consultant, OP does say they're a "non-traditional" student - and a splitter. Depending on their background, a consultant may be of help in looking over their PS or any addenda they submit. A consultant would be especially helpful if they have any C&F-related incidents to disclose.

Re: Spivey, Ivey or Levine Consulting?

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:55 pm
by Sackboy
QContinuum wrote:
Sackboy wrote:I think law school admissions consultants are largely a waste of time and money, because law school is 98% driven by your GPA + LSAT + URM/non-URM Status.
While I generally agree that most law school applicants would not derive significant benefit from hiring a consultant, OP does say they're a "non-traditional" student - and a splitter. Depending on their background, a consultant may be of help in looking over their PS or any addenda they submit. A consultant would be especially helpful if they have any C&F-related incidents to disclose.
It's hard to tell here whether any of the concerns you've brought up exist. It would be a lot more useful if OP shared what issues they have (to the degree they feel OK doing that online), so we could see if it's even worthwhile to recommend a consultant in the first place.

OP's description could very well be a traditional splitter who worked for a few years after undergrad and considers themselves non-traditional.

OP's description could also be a super-splitter who gunned down a small family while dancing in the streets of Chinatown in his young gang years.

These two divergent scenarios are why I lead with a push back. I'd hate for OP to waste money on a service that we can provide for free as a community.

Re: Spivey, Ivey or Levine Consulting?

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:17 pm
by rk42
Sackboy wrote:I think law school admissions consultants are largely a waste of time and money, because law school is 98% driven by your GPA + LSAT + URM/non-URM Status. The other factors at work like your essay, work experience, etc. will never make you competitive for a school that your GPA/LSAT lock you out of, but they can you push you over the edge on schools where you're on the margins, so I don't think giving your money to a consultant is going to have a big payoff. You could tell me what your GPA + LSAT + URM Status is right now, and I (and many other posters here) could probably predict what schools you'll get into with 80% accuracy and your scholarship amounts within $15,000.

That being said, if you're going to use a consultant I would always go for Spivey. To me, Spivey is the gold standard and generally just a class act.
Spivey will also generally tell you if they can legitimately help you.