[Deus_Ex_Machina]

Hi Guys, I have a question.

I have been accepted into the Msc in Regulation at the London School of Economics. I am wondering whether it is honestly worth me going. LSE is an amazing place and a world class university, but there seems to be a hierarchy among the degrees. Economics and Finance seems to be the most prestigious master's degree.

Is it worth me going there, getting in debt, to study what I am going to do?

[poohat]

It depends on what you want to do afterwards, your other options, your undergraduate background, and so on.

[Deus_Ex_Machina]

I have a first in Politics and International Relations from Sussex University. I want to get into public policy, either working for government or a think-tank.

[wamwig]

The order of hierarchy differs between sectors - to get on to MSc Finance & Economics you have have an economics/business/STEM background, you have to like finance A LOT, and you have to be very quanty. The acceptance rate is below 10% and tuition is over £20,000. This degree will really impress a CV screener for a banking or corporate finance role but it probably wouldn't get you very far in creative industries or in an NGO because of concerns about cultural fit and because you'd probably leave for a better paying job after a few years. It's an extreme example though; in general, because the uni is known as have robust application procedures, having the LSE name on your CV will get you first-round interviews where ever you apply. After that it's up to you to explain yourself!

LSE design their courses so they don't get in the way of you doing interesting things while you're there. Mainly you'll be assessed by unseen exams or timed essays at the end of the year; this allows you to spend the first term applying for jobs without being distracted by course work. I wouldn't overstate the importance of title of your degree - just get some impressive sounding modules on your resume (public microeconomics, advance quant etc) and be prepared to apply to the IFS, Bank of England, IPPR, Treasury etc at the on campus recruitment in October. You'll know by January if you have an offer, and in the extremely unlikely event that you don't, get a relevant summer internship to keep you busy in the writing up-period (assuming your course has a dissertation) and the Careers dept will help you find something that isn't a grad scheme.

Summary: LSE grads have amazing employability, the title of your degree is less important, if you want to do it then... do it

Source: A friend of mine's on IPE there at the moment, and another did MSc Management a few years ago, another did MA IR at the same time. I did a lot of research when I was applying for my masters (got into LSE but my interests shifted so I went somewhere else). There's a blog here by someone who took the course you're looking at. http://www.bluestocking-blog.co.uk/?paged=2

[Ghost6]

I agree with the above. You are doing the LSE master's to leverage the placement opportunities of the school. When you attend a great school, what you do there does not matter that much, you are banking (no pun intended) on the reputation of the school first and foremost.

(That being said, I was completely unimpressed by the LSE facilities during my visit. It is essentially a few buildings in central London. It is far from having the atmosphere of a campus university or the charm of "traditional" universities such as Cambridge.)

[frilini]

my experience: crap.
however, lse gives you a great advantage when you apply for a job or a phd. workwise its great. phd wise...well, if youre thinking of going for a phd afterwards you better go for oxbridge

[0404343m]

Rightly or wrongly, a lot of LSE's masters courses are garnering a reputation for being cash cows that overcharge students and aren't particularly selective. I had a PhD offer there and didn't go (but I did go for an interview/open day and scouted around) and I've more than a few friends who are MSc grads. Those who were also undergraduates there say their experience of PG stuff there was poor, and they weren't exactly complimentary about the UG system either. The place undoubtedly has great academics, but when your £10k a year masters students are left being taught by people who finished the same masters the year before, and you get very little contact with the people you're there to work with, it leaves a bad taste. My friends at non-LSE universities for UG (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, TCD, UCD, Sheffield) also ALL said they had better access to staff at undergraduate. One of them freely admits it was a good networking opportunity for business, but he didn't gain a thing academically from it. I should probably also mention that at least a couple of those people mentioned above went there with middling 2:1s because other PG programs rejected them, but they ended up paying £10,000 rather than £5,000 for it.

In my own field, I've never come away with a sparkling impression of the place. Even in areas where I have a ton of respect for the academics themselves, I still don't think the place is run with students in mind. I wonder if it can continue this way indefinitely, but unless you think the cost is worth it to network with business-minded international students, I'd look elsewhere.

[PSxxx]

(Original post by 0404343m)
Rightly or wrongly, a lot of LSE's masters courses are garnering a reputation for being cash cows that overcharge students and aren't particularly selective. I had a PhD offer there and didn't go (but I did go for an interview/open day and scouted around) and I've more than a few friends who are MSc grads. Those who were also undergraduates there say their experience of PG stuff there was poor, and they weren't exactly complimentary about the UG system either. The place undoubtedly has great academics, but when your £10k a year masters students are left being taught by people who finished the same masters the year before, and you get very little contact with the people you're there to work with, it leaves a bad taste. My friends at non-LSE universities for UG (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, TCD, UCD, Sheffield) also ALL said they had better access to staff at undergraduate. One of them freely admits it was a good networking opportunity for business, but he didn't gain a thing academically from it. I should probably also mention that at least a couple of those people mentioned above went there with middling 2:1s because other PG programs rejected them, but they ended up paying £10,000 rather than £5,000 for it.

In my own field, I've never come away with a sparkling impression of the place. Even in areas where I have a ton of respect for the academics themselves, I still don't think the place is run with students in mind. I wonder if it can continue this way indefinitely, but unless you think the cost is worth it to network with business-minded international students, I'd look elsewhere.

One man's meat another man's rubbish, if you don't like it , nobody's pointing gun to your head are they ?

Even in areas where I have a ton of respect for the academics themselves, I still don't think the place is run with students in mind.



So you value a good course except when someone else is advocating it ?

And before you say who or what ? You'd be well advised to read all the conversation before jumping in. It might look desperate you know

So you say one thing but contradict yourself by negligence in another place where no one is looking.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show...701&p=38038338

Yes, wonderful, what's the word ? starts with an H ?

So thanks for all your contribution but I don't trust you integrity in conversation, thus please don't not reply me as this will be my last post to you.

Thank you.

Good Bye.

[0404343m]

(Original post by PSxxx)
One man's meat another man's rubbish, if you don't like it , nobody's pointing gun to your head are they ?

Even in areas where I have a ton of respect for the academics themselves, I still don't think the place is run with students in mind.



So you value a good course except when someone else is advocating it ?

And before you say who or what ? You'd be well advised to read all the conversation before jumping in. It might look desperate you know

So you say one thing but contradict yourself by negligence in another place where no one is looking.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show...701&p=38038338

Yes, wonderful, what's the word ? starts with an H ?

So thanks for all your contribution but I don't trust you integrity in conversation, thus please don't not reply me as this will be my last post to you.

Thank you.

Good Bye.

Well, since you're not going to respond (and this was both your first and last response to me), this is for everyone else in this conversation then, but...umm... how have I contradicted myself in the other post? I can only conclude you have even less of an idea about a) what you're talking about and b) what I'm saying, than I have given you credit for (admittedly, I wasn't giving your views very much credit in the first place, but even still).

There is absolutely no contradiction in terms or meaning in either of the posts you have listed. The other post is tearing apart your stance on league tables. My only mention of LSE is that there's no point in comparing on the same scale with Imperial, since as institutions they have very little crossover, and that's akin to asking whether this apple is a better apple than that orange is at being an orange. This post is my opinion and the opinions of others on some of LSE's MSc degrees.

I am overjoyed that you don't trust my integrity, but anyone that reads my posts and your own will probably have no hesitation in judging which one of us is talking tripe- and I'm more than just probably sure it's not me. Unfortunately for you, I've been educated in a world where making a logical error and then saying 'I don't want to continue this argument' and hoping to get the last word in, as if we're eight years old, doesn't mean you get out of the door without looking like a fool.

I have opinions on LSE's governance and lack of access to senior academics. I have informed opinions on how league tables are compiled, and, through first hand experience, have opinions on good and bad departments in certain areas in the UK. Nothing I have said in any way makes me contradict myself- I'm sure others can read for themselves though- but it does make you seem like quite the intellectual pygmy.

[0404343m]

Oh, and he's been banned. Well, that settles that then.