Things I wish I'd known about LSE before applying!

Or maybe because they have a very high rate of people getting jobs after graduating.

I guess. But also I like International History (what my course is about) so if they will give me independent study time then I will have a fun time reading the books for my course in their library.

Most london uni's do.


Fair enough. But you could have gone to any London university most of them share all their libraries anyways. Seems like a lot of effort to get into LSE to then not actually get taught!

But congrats on going there its a v good uni.

Great... What a wondeful thing to read a week before term starts and it's too late to change and go to UCL. Thanks OP!

I'm perfectly happy paying 13grand a year (international) just for the piece of paper I get at the end yes.
As for the OP, tl:dr. I'm sure it was a pile of bitter crap anyway, entertainment can be found at any uni, including LSE.

I reeeaaalllyyy hope Imperial is not the same...

I reeeaaalllyyy hope Imperial is not the same...

I am a current student at the LSE. Disclaimer: My view is probably biased. But I don’t doubt that many LSEians share exactly the same views.

Good points about LSE
- You have all kinds of high profile speakers coming to our school to give talks. Amartya Sen is coming this Oct, and previously we've had Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan etc. But then again these talks are open to the public, so you don't technically have to be an LSE to enjoy this advantage.
- The number of societies we have, by far beats UCL/Kings etc. There're tons of Business/finance/corporate/consultancy types for those wannabe-investment bankers. We even have a Hedge Funds society -_- So if your goal after graduation is to work for the corporate world, then these societies will definitely give you an edge in terms of internships, networking, talks, workshops etc. That said, we have a million other societies for people with any kind of interest or career interest.
- You get to share a classroom with brilliant minds - everyone in the LSE had excellent academic records (well duh), and this environment will force you to push yourself to strive for the best (or feel stupid alot of the time)
- You will have the chance to meet people from all areas of the globe. I took up the Arabic language in my first year, and I distinctly remember that on my first lesson, we were told to introduce ourselves. Everyone in my class, all 20 of us, were from a different country.


The not so good points:
- People studying humanities only have 8 hours a week of lectures. EIGHT. 99% of the learning is done through reading the materials from the library or moodle. Most people agree that you wouldn't miss out on anything if you skip all lectures/classes. I had Friday off last year, and I've had friends who only had classes/lectures on Mondays and Tuesdays, meaning they had a 2-day week. This was a huge culture shock for me, as I was used to spending all day in school at Sixth Form, and having teachers tell me exactly what to study. So you've got to be really self-motivated and LOVE independent study to like LSE. I personally feel lost and alone most of the time. The lack of contact also leads to the next problem. sorry but man up. do you want a job where your boss constantly tells you what to do?
- You only see your classmates once a week for one hour. Unless you're extremely sociable (which I'm not, explaining why all my friends are from halls), it's likely your friendships formed through classes won't run deeper than the coffee-after-class. I can't forsee any of my friends and I remaining in contact after we graduate.
- A typical day of school for most of us: Go for an hour of class, then head to the library to do readings, go for another hour of lectures, attend home to our separate lives and separate friends. It's definitely NOT a loving studenty community. I guess the only word to describe the atmosphere is corporate. i do not agree with this.
- Of course, you can join societies. But unless you're in the executive committee, the only 'participation' you have in the societies are the spam emails and newsletters they send you about attending event X. If you participate in a society half-heartedly, it's not easy to break into the clics already formed by the committee members. If you want to be really popular and have a great social life with LSEians, join a sports clubs to get into the Athletics Union.
- Some teachers really suck. I've had teachers coming to class without any material prepared and just sat there half-listening to our debates.
- It's not a myth that people stick to their own nationalities. You hear so many other languages spoken in school other than English. Even the Chinese don't mix with the Hong Kongers. I guess it's just a natural tendency to seek refuge with people you are familiar with when one is in a foreign country.
- 100% of assessment comes from our end-of-year final exams (this varies from dept to dept, but in general we're assessed largely by the final exams). This leads to a slacked off term 1 and term 2, then a crazy rush to catch up during Easter. why is this bad?
- Everything in LSE is competitive. Not just the classes, but even societies and sports clubs. I signed up for recreational activities (which I was told would just be 'for fun') like Kickboxing and Ultimate Frisbee, and if you're not good at it, you might as well not join. Everyone is vying for spots in the Executive Committee, with the sole reason to boost their CV.
- Instead of meeting inspiring minds and interesting people, I've only met Investment bankers. Everyone seems to have a one-track mind: get a first class >> internships in christmas >> internships in summer >> attend career networking sessions >> work in an Goldman Sachs upon graduation. Be prepared to suffer under immense pressure over the dreaded internships, because ‘everyone else is doing one’ and you’d feel like you’re left at the bottom of the waiting list for jobs if you don’t secure one. true. but not everyone is like this
- Too many postgrads. More postgrads than undergrads. Sure, you can learn a lot from having postgrad friends, but they’re here to boost their career prospects, and no one will assert that they’re the most interesting people in the world. My kickboxing class, Arabic class, volleyball, development society, were 90% postgrads.
- the student union is highly politicized and most people don’t give a f about them.wahay
- we recently dropped to 80th in the world, while UCL is 4thwow. i only read this now. get lost, tool. league tables, seriously?

All in all, LSE is NOT a fun place to be. It's a place for people who want a degree from a prestigious university and be able to plunge into the world of work with an excellent CV. Don’t get me wrong, I am having the time of my life in London, but LSE is not at all the source of it. Our student feedback review has traditionally been much worse than other universities. Let’s just say that there’s a reason why LSE’s having problems getting funds from their alumni. People who’ve graduated don’t really look back and reminisce about the time they spent at the LSE. student satisfaction is 10% lower than at other unis - its still above 70%. it's not like it's low you moron. stop reading league tables. next, what do you want from your degree? party or prospects? i think people know what they are getting into beforehand. no one goes to LSE with the sole purpose of partying 3 years.

Freshers, apply at your own risk. The only reason why I'm still here and not at SOAS is the prestige of the LSE (I have NO idea where the prestige stems from by the way, I personally don't see any merit in my education here)

Sorry for the length, I had no idea I had so much to say (rant)

in denial evidently

Nah, you'll just be living in a mini Chinatown/

Depends what sort of person you are...

We have plenty of sociable people, But we also have the sit in room playing WOW variety.

this makes me glad i rejected them
although, i wouldn't say you have to be too academic, considering i somehow managed to get a low offer from them

Isnt it like 40% overseas students? (Not saying its bad or anything btw...)



Well, tbh I am a complete country boy, I've lived in Wiltshire in a tiny village for the last 14years but when I went to london I did get a bit excited by the idea of living and studying there.

But on the other hand I would be completely terrified of the change because I dont know how I will react towards the new city life. I will probably like it, its just I dont want find that in the end of my first year, Im sick of it and want to go home...

I can just about afford it as well, the £3500 bursary means I can afford the accomodation and everything but I am worried about moving out in 2nd year when you have to pay more (Because of 12month contracts mean paying for the whole year).

Overall though:

PROs:

-Living in London!
-Tonnes of stuff to do.
-Imperials in a nice bit of London.
-Imperial has great reputation.
-Good graduate employment.
-Right next to Hyde Park.

CONs:

-Money (Around £8000 in loans a year so £32000 debt at the end)
-No humanities students and very specialised.
-I've heard you dont get a real uni experience.
-Big, busy city (Lack of green space etc)


Hmmmm....

Oh wow, what was your offer?