LSE law 2015

I'm a first year LSE Law student and I'm trying to procrastinate, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Good luck guys - don't fret about offers, try to distract yourselves.

I'm a first year LSE Law student and I'm trying to procrastinate, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Good luck guys - don't fret about offers, try to distract yourselves.

Is it completely useless to apply with mediocre igcses?

Hi, congrats on getting into LSE, how long did it take for LSE to reply to you with an offer?

Can you give us an idea of a typical day in LSE Law? How's the schedule? Friendly environment? Fun life? Thanks!


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So, on a typical Monday - I have 2 classes, a public law class and a criminal law class and 2 lectures (also public and criminal - by coincidence). There's usually around 10-15 people in a class and it's just an opportunity to discuss that week's reading list and the previous week's lectures with a professor. There's a lot of reading, let me make that really clear and often class teachers will set questions alongside the reading for class discussion. Some teachers will use the socratic method where they pick on students and keep questioning them, others are friendlier, it's the luck of the draw, and obviously different people respond better do different styles. You'll have 1 or 2 essays per class per term, so that'll be 4 or 5 a term as a minimum and they're usually 800-1500 words depending on the teacher (yep, 800 words... they're a lot more annoying than the longer essays!)

So Monday's a pretty busy day and the readings for a single class usually take 5-6 hours (though it does depend on your teacher - they all set slightly different reading lists) if you're doing it properly. It's quite difficult to have a social life if you always do the readings in full, but teachers understand that students occasionally lapse, so it's ok to relax a little more in some weeks.

Tuesday is less intense - no classes, but 3 hours of lectures.
Wednesday is relaxing - just one lecture
Thursday - 2 hour lecture and one class
Friday - one class

So my week starts off very hectic and then winds down towards the end of the week, which is not as nice as it sounds because preparing for classes over the weekend means there's very little respite ahah.

The environment is quite mixed. It's very competitive but also very friendly. There's a huge range of people - everyone doing law works hard, but equally, you will definitely have time to play sports for the AU, go out, do drama, join the choir... In fact, I really should do more because the Student Union is pretty exciting - there's a lot going on all of the time...So many societies... And they are active...!

I haven't quite got the work/life balance yet - but I'm working on it. I spend too long on essays, so I'm working on becoming more efficient.

In short, it's a lot of work... Probably more than almost every other university and on the same level as Oxbridge (just in terms of class work and what they expect). But don't let that put you off. You learn to cope, you'll be interested in (quite a lot of) the content and you'll definitely have fun... If you can't enjoy London, then you'll find it hard to enjoy every other city

Hope this helps - let me know if you have other questions!

Best,

QuestionsQ

Wow! Thanks so much for your reply! Sorry if that distracted you from a possible essay or reading you might be doing ������

LSE life sounds dynamic and fun thought stressful! Just another question, how would you compare the LSE law Programme to let's say the Oxford Law one? Are they at par when it comes to prestige and competitiveness to get into? Like is LSE the de facto third best after Oxbridge for law? Thanks!

Good luck with your schedule! (sounds hectic )


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I'm a first year LSE Law student and I'm trying to procrastinate, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Good luck guys - don't fret about offers, try to distract yourselves.

Congrats in getting into lse!!
I just sent my application yesterday and I'm really nervous. I think in terms of IB predictions (42) and personal statement i have a chance, i'm just worried about my igcses as I had 6bs 1a and 2A*s at english. Do I still have a chance?

There's no reason to be nervous! It's out of your hands now, so take comfort in that. Your IB predictions are pretty good but honestly, your GCSEs may put you at a bit of a disadvantage compared with other candidates. LSE is very focussed on grades because there's no interview and they don't see your LNAT score.

Obviously, you have a perfectly good chance and your personal statement will carry quite a lot of weight.

Relax, take it easy and don't fret too much.

Yeah that's what I thought, thanks for the reply!

LSE is a more modern law course - there's no Roman Law and there's a greater focus on Jurisprudence at Oxford (hence the course name). You obviously have the advantage of tutorials/supervisions at Oxbridge, but some people dislike the pressure of intimate situations, so it could potentially be a disadvantage. In terms of prestige, Oxbridge is superior, I'd be lying if I said otherwise. That said, the difference isn't particularly noticeable. Both universities will get your foot in the door, beyond that point it's up to you - you'll have to impress at interview, and you'll have to get good grades (referring to Vac schemes and job interviews). In terms of competitiveness, LSE is (in pure number terms) the hardest university to get into. However, because they don't use the LNAT, lots of people throw in an application irregardless of grades and they definitely send out more offers per place than Oxford do. I do know of quite a few people who were rejected by LSE and who gained places at Oxford or Cambridge. LSE is less fair (no interview, no LNAT) and is much more of a lottery.

I'd say in prestige and reputation terms, LSE is the de facto third. UCL is not far off, but LSE's international reputation edges it ahead.

Best,

QuestionsQ

I'm a first year LSE Law student and I'm trying to procrastinate, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Good luck guys - don't fret about offers, try to distract yourselves.

How many emails would one receive before getting his/her offer at LSE? Thanks for your help guys

what's the teaching like at lse? have you had a good experience so far, in terms of classes/lecturers/work?
thanks

Hey,

Teaching has been very good overall, particularly for Public and Criminal. There are some lecturers who are quite dull or who just read off their slides but they're in the minority. Most are engaging and interesting such that I've only missed a couple of lectures in total. My class teachers have all been truly excellent, no exceptions. They explain topics really well, mark essays quickly and give detailed feedback. I can only really speak from my experience, but I think the teaching quality is really superb.

There's a lot of work, but it's generally quite interesting. It's not easy finding time to go out when you've got essays due, lots of class reading and extra curriculars but maybe I just haven't got into the swing of things yet. It's stressful and tense but fulfilling and definitely doable.

Good luck with your application if you haven't heard already!

Best,

QuestionsQ

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