The Student Room Group
School of Oriental and African Studies
London

A Week in the Life: SOAS edition

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Reply 40
hey, we should do a meet at SOAS for all the TSR peeps :biggrin:
School of Oriental and African Studies
London
Reply 41
OooO good idea...and then we can have a mahoosive photo of all of us. Plan sorted.
Reply 42
Has anyone taken BA Global Media & Film???
Reply 43
teukiechul
Has anyone taken BA Global Media & Film???



Isn't that a brand new course? Sounds great though :biggrin:

J
Reply 44
JoeJBB
Isn't that a brand new course? Sounds great though :biggrin:

J

ahaa, yes. i now realise that :biggrin:

it seems like the best frikken course in the world if you ask me!
Reply 45
teukiechul
ahaa, yes. i now realise that :biggrin:

it seems like the best frikken course in the world if you ask me!


Good job you'll be applying for it then :p:
Reply 46
Also something worth noting - Kashiwagi sensei NEVER SLEEPS - I sent her an essay at Midnight sunday and got it back marked Monday morning. Somebody else I know sent an email at 3am and received a reply five minutes later telling him to go to sleep and come to the next lesson on time :p:
Reply 47
Eien
Also something worth noting - Kashiwagi sensei NEVER SLEEPS - I sent her an essay at Midnight sunday and got it back marked Monday morning. Somebody else I know sent an email at 3am and received a reply five minutes later telling him to go to sleep and come to the next lesson on time :p:


Just like Pizziconi - if you ever send her an e-mail, you generally get a reply in five minutes. It feels like MSN, which of course makes me want to add 'Lol' at the end of the message instead of my name.

Kashiwagi is absolutely amazing though, so this really doesn't surprise me at all.
Reply 48
Yeah, plenty do. Just not the people on here I guess?
Reply 49
I do Law & Politics, most of my mates do straight law...wadya wanna know?
Reply 50
Flavity
Whats the typical week like for a law student? (Straight law without anything else)

No. of lectures/seminars/tutorials

Generally are the lecturers any good?

Whats the oversea to national student ratio?

On average how many mature students do law?

What are class sizes like?

So basically just the general stuff... Anyone willing to answer..? Would be very grateful if you could, would make my decision easier. I have an offer from SOAS and City atm and just deciding between them. Those questions answered will make my choice easier .. thanks!


ok i'm going to reply in the 'law at soas thread' as it may be helpful to others and will get lost in here otherwise...
City does not have a good reputation.

Cass Business School, City is great for a masters programme. However, City University as a whole is not well regarded in terms of undergraduate. This is actually the truth. If you want to go into law, a degree at somewhere like City will probably be suffice for a High Street law firm or maybe a small regional firm.

I haven't seen the City campus but I'm sure its probably much nicer than the SOAS one. SOAS is situated in Russell Square though so it is much more central. However, the SOAS buildings are disgusting and so is the JCR.

Essentially though this is irrelevant. The truth is you should take Law at a University that will put you in the best position to get a job after. SOAS has a much better reputation. You can get a job in the top law firms and banks with a SOAS Law degree. I don't think the same can be said about City.
Reply 52
Flavity
Thats all well and good, but what annoyed me about SOAS is that it focusses specfically on the laws of Africa and Asia. Now, I'm in the UK - I will most probably be getting a career in the UK.. I will never need to know about the laws in Africa and Asia... never - ever - in my life unless I plan to go live and work in those continents which to be honest, I don't plan to.

Therefore I think the SOAS Law degree is actually a bit of a waste seeing as I don't plan to have a career abroad. If I'm wrong, please say.

The SOAS law degree has all the modules you would study at any other university, since otherwise they would not be able to award LLBs, which are essentially in English law. There is the option on the side to take extra modules in Asian and African laws in your second and third year.

http://www.soas.ac.uk/programmes/prog14042.php
Reply 53
Flavity
I went to the open day on the 4th of Feb and the professor who was giving a talk said if you are not interested in the laws of Africa and Asia, don't come here. She also said the whole degree was focussed entirely on the laws of Asia and Africa, with very little emphasis of the british laws. Basically the bare minimum necessary for the degree.

Well yes, I suppose if you are not interested in Asia and Africa at all then SOAS is not the best place for you. But a SOAS law degree is an LLB, and it does cover the aspects of English law which are necessary for that to be the case. This is what I was pointing out.
Ok. Well if you go to City University you will probably be able to get a job as a legal secretary in the UK. I don't quite think you understand how big business and the City of London works. I am graduating from SOAS this year and have a job with one of the world's best law firms (IN THE UK).

I choose SOAS because I was rejected from LSE. I went to awful schools and choose the most appalling A-levels...hence the reason why I was rejected. The whole Asia/Africa thing did not appeal to me in the slightest. However, if you want to avoid such modules completely then you are only forced to take one in your first year. After that you can just do straight UK law. That's what I planned to do.

I am only giving you this advice because this is your future. You need to think very carefully about this. If you go to City University then your chance of employment in top law firms or banks is highly unlikely. But it all depends on individual ambition I guess.

If you want to stay in London and have offers from the likes of UCL, LSE and maybe even possibly KCL (although its not a bit blah), the you should certainly reject SOAS.

BUT to choose City over SOAS is a BIG mistake.
Flavity
Thats all well and good, but what annoyed me about SOAS is that it focusses specfically on the laws of Africa and Asia. Now, I'm in the UK - I will most probably be getting a career in the UK.. I will never need to know about the laws in Africa and Asia... never - ever - in my life unless I plan to go live and work in those continents which to be honest, I don't plan to.

Therefore I think the SOAS Law degree is actually a bit of a waste seeing as I don't plan to have a career abroad. If I'm wrong, please say.

To be honest, I don't think you'll like it.

Most people at SOAS probably can't give you a straight answer because most of them actually have at least some degree of interest in Asia/Africa related subjects (it is in the name of the school afterall). Almost everyone I know don't like it if they come here solely (and I mean soley) to increase their job prospects in the city. Maybe except for the chap that wrote in this thread.

That said, even if you only want a city career in the UK, SOAS is still better than your other unis.

Click here for the modules.
http://www.soas.ac.uk/programmes/prog14042.php

Edit: Someone else already put the link up whoops
Flavity
I really appreciate that you've given my life such a big thought.

Currently, I am holding offers from City, SOAS and Kingston Uni. Kingston is the back up, and its between City and SOAS atm. However, I'm waiting for LSE to reply, Kings rejected me :frown:. If all goes well, hopefully, I may go to LSE.. I really want to go to a good uni, get a good degree.. I'm quite an ambitious person and definitely would not settle for anything short of a top law firm job at the end of it.

Ok, it's beginning to look like SOAS would be the more sensible choice. Are the other modules associated with Africa and Asia as well? Or is it just the one module that your forced to do in the first year?

Thanks for all the lovely advice, it is much appreciated :smile:


No problem. Ok well to be honest Kingston is an awful awful awful university! Seriously it is dire. If you don't get the grades you want this year, you might as well take a gap year and redo your A levels!

I really hope you get into LSE. It is by far the best university out of your selection. However if you don't get in, like I said before, your best choice is SOAS. The other modules that you have to take are strictly UK law. (Eg) Criminal law, tort law, property law, contract law = all UK law. There is no African or Asian elements to it.

So the answer to your question is yes, it is only that one module in the first year. Also to be fair, that module is EASY. It's not even the law of countries in Africa or Asia. It is jurisprudence. You just spend the year studying the meaning of law.

drive like june
To be honest, I don't think you'll like it.

Most people at SOAS probably can't give you a straight answer because most of them actually have at least some degree of interest in Asia/Africa related subjects (it is in the name of the school afterall). Almost everyone I know don't like it if they come here solely (and I mean soley) to increase their job prospects in the city. Maybe except for the chap that wrote in this thread.


SOAS law students are known for being LSE rejects. True, some choose SOAS because they are into the Asia/Africa vibe, but the majority of the law students could not care less. Hence why the law students are known for keeping themselves separate from the rest of the student body (or as I prefer to say, riff-raff).
equitiesdarlinginthesack
SOAS law students are known for being LSE rejects. True, some choose SOAS because they are into the Asia/Africa vibe, but the majority of the law students could not care less. Hence why the law students are known for keeping themselves separate from the rest of the student body (or as I prefer to say, riff-raff).

Most students in the Law and Social Sciences Faculty are known to be LSE rejects as well, not just law students. It almost seems as if you are implicitly saying law students deserve special recognition for this fact.

If the majority couldn't care less about Asia or Africa, then it's pretty stupid of them to have applied to SOAS in the first place. I mean come on, what did you expect?

Law students just like to think they are keeping themselves away from the riff-raff, as you prefer. In case you haven't noticed, it's no different with how students are in any other discipline.
equitiesdarlinginthesack
City....is a bad university.

:ditto:

In terms of aesthetics anyway thats how I felt.
Ok since this thread has digressed slightly...here's mine.

Monday 9AM-11AM - Arabic Lecture at Russell Square. Mainly grammar and practice excercises.

11AM-12PM - History Lecture at Vernon Square. This term we've covered Qajar Iran and the Ottomans.

1PM-2PM - Arabic tutorial at Russell Square. This used to be handwriting practise but they discontinued that for some reason and now it's just grammar and excercise practice.

After lessons finish on a Monday I usually meet up with my friend and get a drink in the bar then head back to Dinwiddy. I sometimes go out on Monday nights because I'm in slightly later on a Tuesday, so I've been to Mahiki or Heaven/Soho.

Tuesday 11AM-1PM - Arabic tutorial at Russell. I really like this one, for once we're in a nice classroom with PROPER desks, not those annoying chairs with the fold out slab...jeez they are irritating. And it's usually quite informal, and I don't feel too rough from the night before.

Grab lunch, usually from the canteen in the basement.
2-3pm Optional special seminar with the senior lecturer if we have any questions. I don't oftne go to this to be honest, I really should though.
3-4pm CALL - That stands for computer assisted language learning...it's really cool actually, the tutor is awesome and helpful and it's quite laid back and a different approach to learning.

Finish for the day. Tuesday nights there are comedy evenings in Angel, that my flat mate and my friend are big fans of, I really enjoyed it, I should go more.

Wednesday 9AM-11AM - Arabic lecture at Vernon
12pm-1pm - Arabic tutorial at Vernon
1pm-2pm - History tutorial at Vernon - we usually prepare a topic and do a presentation for it.

Thursday 9AM-11AM - Arabic tutorial at Vernon - argh I hate this one, I'm always so tired.
11AM-12PM - Arabic conversational tutorial at Vernon. This is okay, as long as you know what you are saying as the tutor, although nice, can be quite patronising and facetious. If you don't understand a word or phrase she has said, she tends to just repeat it at you, rather than help you. I do find these lessons quite awful actually, it always feels as though you're under pressure, and people often get embarrassed and feel uneasy, especially as the Arab students have a huge pronunciation advantage over us.
2PM-3PM - Arabic conversational Lecture at Russell Square.
I usually head back to Dinwiddy then work there or stay in the library for a bit.

Friday 9AM-11AM - Arabic Lecture at Vernon.
11AM-12PM - Arabic tutorial at Vernon

I quite like Fridays as I get a long weekend since my weekend starts at midday.

The Weekend My weekends are quite varied. I often go out on Fridays and Saturdays, but then some weekend I might be working, if I haven't been able to book any shifts for during the week. I usually head out to Soho, Vauxhall or Camden with different people.
Sundays I just relax and catch up on work and sleep then sometimes go out with my friend for dinner.

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