LSE-a good place to go to?

I assume you have not visited the place. If you are considering the place, I strongly advise that you visit it. If you have not yet arranged an open day, then contact the department for a visit - a private one if needs be. You are going to spend some of the most important years of your life at university, and in the end only you can make up your mind.

J.

I am well aware that i should visit it first, i'm not that stupid. In fact, i have gone there (on Friday) and I liked what i saw (i did an LSE Explorer thing). However, i was asking these questions because one open day does not constitute an informed opinion. I am well aware that on open days, universities put their best face on, so to speak, to make you want to go there. I thought some opinions of current/past students would be useful, though not instrumental, in making my decision. The open day i have been given is probably going to be too late for my UCAS decision deadline, it's the 21st April,ages away. So, if there are any past/current students that can help me, please help :-)

theres no need to be like that! hornblower was helping n u give what i think is quite a cocky reply! tut at u! at the end of the day other people's opinions on the uni shouldnt influence ur decision...what suits them may not u. just do whatevers gonna make u happy.

n ps u can arrange to visit them on a day which isnt an official open day.

I don’t see that LSE is much different from any other unis in most respects. There are some Tories (though you’ll find they are a minority in pretty much every uni); people who “integrate”, people who don’t; people who go clubbing; people who work all the time. It’s a mix like anywhere else.

The only thing that does truly mark it out from other unis is just how international it is. So if you (plural you, not specifically directed at claire)care about how many white English people there are at lse, then don’t come here. If you care that there are some people who hang out with people of their own race, then don’t come here. If you are not “liberal”, then you wouldn’t enjoy it here.

I don’t see that LSE is much different from any other unis in most respects. There are some Tories (though you’ll find they are a minority in pretty much every uni); people who “integrate”, people who don’t; people who go clubbing; people who work all the time. It’s a mix like anywhere else.

The only thing that does truly mark it out from other unis is just how international it is. So if you (plural you, not specifically directed at claire)care about how many white English people there are at lse, then don’t come here. If you care that there are some people who hang out with people of their own race, then don’t come here. If you are not “liberal”, then you wouldn’t enjoy it here.

I was replying to claire’s queries about the social side of LSE, its student body, whether she will fit in with the other kids etc.

But in any case, to paint lse as you did is a bit of an exaggeration. I was a law student and most of the people I met were either fellow law students, econ or acc and finance students, most of whom didn’t bother to engage in the “critical, polemical atmosphere” of the lse. they just aim to work in the City (i.e. like most of the students in other top unis). That was my experience. A history, sociology or philo student might have an entirely different experience within their department, but they are outnumbered by the politically-apathetic. the lse student body as a whole is certainly not the activist body it perhaps once was in the 70s.

This is your personal experience of LSE, I've given mine, based on experience of several unis (I'm an LSE postgrad). Do you really think thata leading campus university will provide the same kind of elite experience that LSE does?-Oxbridge for instance does 24 weeks a year, not 30, and is focused on tiny colleges in two quiet towns that frankly do very little real social science. Their students are much less international and postgraduate than LSE, also, like most universities. I respect your own experience, but I really cannot see how LSE is typical, on the basis of my own undergraduate and post-grad experiences.

Hi,
I am seriously considering taking my place at LSE for BA History. I know i have asked several of you already about this kind of thing but can i ask a few questions in general to anyone who might know the answers?
What is the price of alcohol there?
What kind of internationals are there? Americans, Asians etc.. regarding this, what is the integration like between nationalities?
A lot of people have told me the social life within college is poo, is this true or is the union etc actually any good?
Any views on the International History dept would be welcomed
The gym: is it a good one or a bit run down?
Thank you
xxx

The course looks fantastic and studying history in an international enviroment is very intellectually stimulating. Bit of a pricey place though.

A bit pricey yes, but it's going to work out no more than Durham. Durham's halls are more expensive and the living out price would only be a bit more in London because i'd be sharing with my bf. The course does look good no they've updated it a bit,i think they must have got another lecturer.

Very little 'real' social science? I'm curious about this, I take you know of Nuffield College, Oxf? There's Ox, Politics and its Philosophy dept. At Cam, there's the Econ department as well as the Judge Institute. Now, this is based only on my very limited knoweldge, but I think it's very fair to say that Oxbridge (at least combined) have some of the best socialsci faculties in Europe, at the VERY least. It's certainly up there alongside the LSE.

Also, Camb. has 40% grad students, Oxford will aprroach that figure very soon under the direction of its new Vice Chancellor-thereafter I'd anticipate a further increase.