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Carr Saunders Halls, LSE
London School of Economics
London

I'm going to apply for IR in LSE, anyone can give me some advice about safe result?:)

As mentioned on the title, I am a South Korean student willing to apply for International relationships in LSE.

Currently I'm studying AS in international school in Vietnam, and looking for helpful advice from experienced pupils of LSE :smile:

There are 4 questions I mainly want to ask about

Firstly, I've received 6A* 3A (Sending remark for geography for 88%...) and 1C (First language English.. I know, I'm taking I-ELTs to cover this) in last IGCSE results. I have been feeling that these grades are not sufficient to guarantee my successful application in LSE. So do I need more A*? - In other words, does IGCSE matters a lot for LSE application? Because I'm planning to take IGCSE Environmental studies and second language Japanese in next year may/june exam to add some more A* in my IGCSE results.

Secondly, I'm studying AS Biology, History, Geography, Economics and Thinking Skills. Is it going to be hugely disadvantageous if I do not take AS maths? - Unlike other Korean dudes, I'm not really good at maths. How sad.

Next, guess I will be applying LSE through UCAS after AS exam. How many As will be required to ensure my succession of application? Is 5A in AS including Thinking skill going to be their satisfactory level?

Finally, we are almost there! How competitive is the International Relationship department in LSE? Like how many vacancy are there in normal, and how many applicants apply for space in normal?


Thanks for answering in advance, and looking forward for really helpful advice from you guys :smile:
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 1
Hi

First of all i think u mean International Relations is the subject you plan to apply for and not International Relationships

1) Your GCSEs are important yes, and from what u have now, I would say is very very good, I received much much lower GCSE grades. so to answer your question you can still get in do not worry, GCSE grades only matter in terms of how you follow up your grades at Alevel, they are not a key determinant.

2) u dont have to study maths since u plan to apply for International Relations, the AS levels u have are very good and wide as they are. Maths is only compulsory for a Maths or Statistics degree, so u wont be at any disadvantage

3) There is no magic number of A grades that will ensure a good application, what u need to demonstrate is consistency so just try ur best to not get any Bs or Cs, and specifically regarding an IR course u must look at the grade requirements for it when applying

4) I cannot tell u how competitive the IR course is right now as i dont study it, perhaps 30-50 places I would guess (consult the LSE website), but in general LSE is hugely competitive for any subject- approximately 1/20 people get their place.

This is not to daunt you, but the best advice I can give u right now which i give to all prospective students is not to get so caught up on grades. They are hugely important yes, but with so many people with same or even better grades, what will separate u from the crowd is your personal statement. I received very average grades at GCSE and Alevels, but I made sure to make my personal statement PERSONAL. It has to be PASSIONATE and GENUINE and is the only thing that separates you from another person. It is this pitfall that most students fall down on and do not give enough attention to.

Good luck with your studies :smile:
Carr Saunders Halls, LSE
London School of Economics
London
Original post by yws0212
As mentioned on the title, I am a South Korean student willing to apply for International relationships in LSE.

Currently I'm studying AS in international school in Vietnam, and looking for helpful advice from experienced pupils of LSE :smile:

There are 4 questions I mainly want to ask about

Firstly, I've received 6A* 3A (Sending remark for geography for 88%...) and 1C (First language English.. I know, I'm taking I-ELTs to cover this) in last IGCSE results. I have been feeling that these grades are not sufficient to guarantee my successful application in LSE. So do I need more A*? - In other words, does IGCSE matters a lot for LSE application? Because I'm planning to take IGCSE Environmental studies and second language Japanese in next year may/june exam to add some more A* in my IGCSE results.

Secondly, I'm studying AS Biology, History, Geography, Economics and Thinking Skills. Is it going to be hugely disadvantageous if I do not take AS maths? - Unlike other Korean dudes, I'm not really good at maths. How sad.

Next, guess I will be applying LSE through UCAS after AS exam. How many As will be required to ensure my succession of application? Is 5A in AS including Thinking skill going to be their satisfactory level?

Finally, we are almost there! How competitive is the International Relationship department in LSE? Like how many vacancy are there in normal, and how many applicants apply for space in normal?


Thanks for answering in advance, and looking forward for really helpful advice from you guys :smile:


Hi there,

Thought I'd chime in too. On your first question, like Mallcop said A-level grades are not the key determinant for admissions. Secondly, Maths is not pertinent to International Relations, so you don't have to worry about not taking Maths as a subject and again like Mallcop said there is no set number of As you need to get in, the key is consistency. And finally, LSE IR is quite competitive, from the website you can see that in 2010, 94 out of 1319 students were admitted,which comes out to be 7%.

If I may also add, the personal statement and your references are very important, I know a lot of people who haven't gotten great grades but have been admitted, most likely because of their personal statement and references. Another thing that I'd like to stress is to apply early, at the latest I'd say before the Christmas break.

Good luck.

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