LSE Economics Student AMA

Currently, a second-year economics student at LSE and would love to help and answer some questions that people out here may have. So ask anything related to economics, LSE, London or anything really :smile:

Reply 1

Complexeraser

3

Original post by Anonymous

Currently, a second-year economics student at LSE and would love to help and answer some questions that people out here may have. So ask anything related to economics, LSE, London or anything really :smile:

Let me start the ball rolling. In your opinion, may I know how does LSE's economics degree compare to Cambridge's in terms of rigour (module difficulty) and student satisfaction? What are the key differences? Additionally, LSE is updating their economics degree structure in 2021, may I know what are your thoughts on it and how it might be different from previous batches?

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Complexeraser

Let me start the ball rolling. In your opinion, may I know how does LSE's economics degree compare to Cambridge's in terms of rigour (module difficulty) and student satisfaction? What are the key differences? Additionally, LSE is updating their economics degree structure in 2021, may I know what are your thoughts on it and how it might be different from previous batches?

Hello!
Firstly, I would like to start by saying that I can only speaking confidently about the experience at LSE, my university, whilst my insights about Cambridge's economics degree are solely based on my research and the experience of some of my friends. Okay so let me get into some of the differences. Number 1, LSE econ is designed to be very mathematical, no matter your outside optional modules. Especially the second and third-year compulsory modules I would say can be very mathematical and rigorous in nature. For example, if you choose to do Microeconomics 2 EC202 or Principles of Econometrics EC221 (which is a very prestigious and a gold standard course, which provides a great foundation for graduate studies) are a lot more mathematical than the micro and metrics courses taught at Cambridge. That said, the alternatives, so EC201 and EC220, are still very rigorous and mathematical but are not much different from those taught at Cambridge. Third-year courses, given what I've heard from older students, of course, are very very challenging and you can think of the first two years, as prep for the third year, where you put all the mathematical and somewhat basic ideas into the test, through applications to the real world of course. Secondly, something which is quite different and known, is that LSE economics is designed to be taught in a way, that fully prepares you for graduate studies, which isn't really the case at Cambridge. That means that, if you know that might be something that you're interested in, LSE provides a great opportunity to prepare for that, for example through EC221 as I said, or MA203 a real analysis course taught at LSE. I do not think opportunities such as these, so to take courses that prepare you for grad study or simply take courses that provide you with a challenging economics education at undergrad, are available as much at Cambridge. Three, at LSE you can choose to steer your degree in the way you want really, so it's a lot more flexible. Yes, some of the courses are a lot more mathematical and challenging than Cambridge's, but through your outside options, you're really given the opportunity to explore modules from other departments, such as law, politics, anthropology, international relations, and so on. I know people who do out compulsory courses and are doing those that are more on the qualitative side and have chosen to completely stay away from econ for their outside options. They still graduate with a degree in econ :smile:

Not that much flexibility at Cambridge. Although I seem to be very biased here haha, no one can argue about the standards of education and rigor at Cambridge, it's all about what you want to get out of your econ degree.

In terms of student satisfaction, it's mainly really what you make out of it. Of course, you do want to have a good think about whether the differences in the place, for example, whether you prefer the diverse, fast and busy city or not, because these will contribute greatly to your satisfaction at university. But in terms of societies and making friends, they're both places that have some of the world's best students in their chosen fields, so of course, you'll find those that are more on the introvert or anti-social side but you'll also find those that are eager to make friends and have strong relationships with people. The point is if you go to either university and decide to put yourself out there and make friends, then I guarantee you'll find the right people through societies or halls for example.

Onto the new economics degree structure. Firstly, there isn't any change to the third year, which is great because this is mainly where you bring everything you were taught at the first two years and choose where and in which field you'd like to apply that knowledge. So it's still quite flexible. Generally, I do think it's a change for the better and you guys will probably find this to be a better educational experience, especially for the first year. For one, you're all now being taught the same introductory economics courses, unlike in previous years where we had a course for those who studied A-level econ and another for those who didn't. This is great because no one really understood how two different courses are meant to take everywhere to the same start point for the first year, and it didn't. Something like game theory, which is explored in quite some depth in Micro during the second year, was covered in the economics module for those with prior econ knowledge. While the other portion of students is introduced to game theory for the first time in the second year. You now do not have to go through this. One other change that I notice is that the first term in the first year seems to be a preparation for the second term, which is again, something great. Easing into the courses is something that you'll really appreciate if you join LSE, given that you have some time to adjust with fairly simple ideas. In the first year, we were never taught econometrics, and we did micro in the first term and macro in the second. This means that you're taught stats in the first term and then taught how to apply that knowledge to an economics problem (econometrics.) This also means that, while we previously did micro first, got it over with, and kind of just forgot about it until the start of the second year, you do not go through that anymore as well. Instead, doing these two side by side, having studied an intro to econ in the first term, will help you see how these two come together to really shape society. it will definitely also set the tone for the courses in the second year because you do study these simultaneously as well :smile:

Finally for the second year, it seems they have chosen to remove the option of which micro or metrics module to study and this means that they'll probably find a better balance between sustaining the mathematical and rigorous nature of the more challenging options, while still making it a little more qualitative and less complex. I am a little doubtful about this change because it no longer allows students to, as I said challenge themselves or just simply get by. So, to accommodate for both, it could be seen as a little simple for some but a little complex for others.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 3

Tai2001

11

Original post by Anonymous

Hello!
Firstly, I would like to start by saying that I can only speaking confidently about the experience at LSE, my university, whilst my insights about Cambridge's economics degree are solely based on my research and the experience of some of my friends. Okay so let me get into some of the differences. Number 1, LSE econ is designed to be very mathematical, no matter your outside optional modules. Especially the second and third-year compulsory modules I would say can be very mathematical and rigorous in nature. For example, if you choose to do Microeconomics 2 EC202 or Principles of Econometrics EC221 (which is a very prestigious and a gold standard course, which provides a great foundation for graduate studies) are a lot more mathematical than the micro and metrics courses taught at Cambridge. That said, the alternatives, so EC201 and EC220, are still very rigorous and mathematical but are not much different from those taught at Cambridge. Third-year courses, given what I've heard from older students, of course, are very very challenging and you can think of the first two years, as prep for the third year, where you put all the mathematical and somewhat basic ideas into the test, through applications to the real world of course. Secondly, something which is quite different and known, is that LSE economics is designed to be taught in a way, that fully prepares you for graduate studies, which isn't really the case at Cambridge. That means that, if you know that might be something that you're interested in, LSE provides a great opportunity to prepare for that, for example through EC221 as I said, or MA203 a real analysis course taught at LSE. I do not think opportunities such as these, so to take courses that prepare you for grad study or simply take courses that provide you with a challenging economics education at undergrad, are available as much at Cambridge. Three, at LSE you can choose to steer your degree in the way you want really, so it's a lot more flexible. Yes, some of the courses are a lot more mathematical and challenging than Cambridge's, but through your outside options, you're really given the opportunity to explore modules from other departments, such as law, politics, anthropology, international relations, and so on. I know people who do out compulsory courses and are doing those that are more on the qualitative side and have chosen to completely stay away from econ for their outside options. They still graduate with a degree in econ :smile:

Not that much flexibility at Cambridge. Although I seem to be very biased here haha, no one can argue about the standards of education and rigor at Cambridge, it's all about what you want to get out of your econ degree.

In terms of student satisfaction, it's mainly really what you make out of it. Of course, you do want to have a good think about whether the differences in the place, for example, whether you prefer the diverse, fast and busy city or not, because these will contribute greatly to your satisfaction at university. But in terms of societies and making friends, they're both places that have some of the world's best students in their chosen fields, so of course, you'll find those that are more on the introvert or anti-social side but you'll also find those that are eager to make friends and have strong relationships with people. The point is if you go to either university and decide to put yourself out there and make friends, then I guarantee you'll find the right people through societies or halls for example.

Onto the new economics degree structure. Firstly, there isn't any change to the third year, which is great because this is mainly where you bring everything you were taught at the first two years and choose where and in which field you'd like to apply that knowledge. So it's still quite flexible. Generally, I do think it's a change for the better and you guys will probably find this to be a better educational experience, especially for the first year. For one, you're all now being taught the same introductory economics courses, unlike in previous years where we had a course for those who studied A-level econ and another for those who didn't. This is great because no one really understood how two different courses are meant to take everywhere to the same start point for the first year, and it didn't. Something like game theory, which is explored in quite some depth in Micro during the second year, was covered in the economics module for those with prior econ knowledge. While the other portion of students is introduced to game theory for the first time in the second year. You now do not have to go through this. One other change that I notice is that the first term in the first year seems to be a preparation for the second term, which is again, something great. Easing into the courses is something that you'll really appreciate if you join LSE, given that you have some time to adjust with fairly simple ideas. In the first year, we were never taught econometrics, and we did micro in the first term and macro in the second. This means that you're taught stats in the first term and then taught how to apply that knowledge to an economics problem (econometrics.) This also means that, while we previously did micro first, got it over with, and kind of just forgot about it until the start of the second year, you do not go through that anymore as well. Instead, doing these two side by side, having studied an intro to econ in the first term, will help you see how these two come together to really shape society. it will definitely also set the tone for the courses in the second year because you do study these simultaneously as well :smile:

Finally for the second year, it seems they have chosen to remove the option of which micro or metrics module to study and this means that they'll probably find a better balance between sustaining the mathematical and rigorous nature of the more challenging options, while still making it a little more qualitative and less complex. I am a little doubtful about this change because it no longer allows students to, as I said challenge themselves or just simply get by. So, to accommodate for both, it could be seen as a little simple for some but a little complex for others.

Hope this helps :smile:

Yo, Im gonna study that in 2021. Can you give me ny of the lessons etc so I can get a head start?

Reply 4

Tai2001

11

Original post by Complexeraser

Let me start the ball rolling. In yoYo, Im gonna study that in 2021. ur opinion, may I know how does LSE's economics degree compare to Cambridge's in terms of rigour (module difficulty) and student satisfaction? What are the key differences? Additionally, LSE is updating their economics degree structure in 2021, may I know what are your thoughts on it and how it might be different from previous batches?

Yo, Im gonna study that in 2021. Can you give me any of the lessons etc so I can get a head start?

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Tai2001

Yo, Im gonna study that in 2021. Can you give me any of the lessons etc so I can get a head start?

Not really sure what you mean by giving you 'any of the lessons'? Also, congrats!

Reply 6

_Jonneh_

13

Original post by Anonymous

Currently, a second-year economics student at LSE and would love to help and answer some questions that people out here may have. So ask anything related to economics, LSE, London or anything really :smile:

How did you get in? What was applications/admissions like for you? How did you do at A levels (or equivalent)?

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by _Jonneh_

How did you get in? What was applications/admissions like for you? How did you do at A levels (or equivalent)?

Okay let me provide an overview of the things I did.

For my GCSEs, I scored 8A*s and 2As. For my A-levels, I've done Mathematics (A*), Physics (A*), Further Mathematics (A) and Chemistry (A). I never studied economics at any point during school (or anything remotely close e.g business), so I really had to explore some econ ideas properly on my own, mainly to demonstrate through my personal statement 1. why it is that I'm interested in this subject, even though I never studied econ in a classroom before and 2. That although I've never studied econ before, I do get some of the more complex ideas through my own research and independent studies. Here's the thing, you don't need to read every book by every economist out there. What I did was gain some insight into the more famous books out there, and dived a little deeper into just one of them. This allowed me to discuss some of these ideas and talk about why I was so interested in these in my personal statement. Maybe keep an eye out for some of the ideas and work of famous economists out there, this has also allowed me to demonstrate my interest in the subject.

The point is: although there are many out there who go above and beyond, through reading so many books, shadowing, or doing internships, and so on, you don't need to do all that. I didn't do all that. As long as you can talk about what genuinely interests you, and show that you really dived somewhat deep into this subject i.e not just talking about how you want to end poverty, you'll have a good chance of making it through :smile:

Reply 8

DylAFC

15

What is the minimum GCSE you need to get in there?

Reply 9

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by dylgeo

What is the minimum GCSE you need to get in there?

Taken from LSE's website:

'A strong set of GCSE grades including the majority at A (or 7) and A* (or 8-9)
Your GCSE (or equivalent) English Language and Mathematics grades should be no lower than B (or 6).
We also consider your overall GCSE subject profile'

So you can see they do not need to be perfect by any means, just decent grades. What they really focus on is A-levels.

Reply 10

Anonymous #2

In your terms, what made you academically successful? Would you say a complete obsession with academics, maths? Reading material for a huge amount of time?

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

In your terms, what made you academically successful? Would you say a complete obsession with academics, maths? Reading material for a huge amount of time?

Just so I'm clear on what you mean, are you referring to how I managed to achieve good grades and become academically successful, or is it more like, what pushed me to become someone who values academics so much? Thanks for the question!

Reply 12

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

Just so I'm clear on what you mean, are you referring to how I managed to achieve good grades and become academically successful, or is it more like, what pushed me to become someone who values academics so much? Thanks for the question!

Yes how you managed to become academically successful. That's what I mean :smile:

.

Reply 13

g.ana

11

hey! thanks so much for doing this!
i was wondering how much work pressure you are under at LSE? i know the course is very rigorous and challenging at times but is it manageable? how many hours do you spend studying every night?

Reply 14

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

Yes how you managed to become academically successful. That's what I mean :smile:

.

The key to achieving good grades and becoming academically successful differs a little pre-university and post-university, and making that shift in ways of learning is what tends to be most difficult during this transition. During A-levels, it's more about, going over the material, and having a fairly good understanding of the ideas and concepts. This prepares you sufficiently enough for the most important step of doing well: past papers. Point is, you do not need to understand and dig deep into the material, instead having a good overview and then attempting as many past papers as you possibly can is certainly enough for you to score the best grades and this is certainly what I've done.

Now, post-university is different. You cannot rely on past papers, you cannot think that simply because you can do these past exam question, then you're guaranteed to do well in your exams. Most importantly, you will not get away with not REALLY understanding every concept. The key to success in university is making sure you understand every little thing mentioned in your lectures, classes, problem sets, etc. More often than not, it is these little things that we tend to skip and think 'oh, I understand the main points, I just don't really get this slide, but its okay' that do end up showing up. In short, you cannot rely on methodologies, repetitive ideas and past exam questions to get through your courses. Although practicing questions is still important of course, it's more about grasping all ideas and concepts covered, because new, unseen, and challenging questions will pop up every year.
Hope this helps! :smile:

Reply 15

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by g.ana

hey! thanks so much for doing this!
i was wondering how much work pressure you are under at LSE? i know the course is very rigorous and challenging at times but is it manageable? how many hours do you spend studying every night?

No problem, happy to help, and thanks for the question!

I would say that the work pressure and expected effort for every degree tends to vary a little at LSE. More qualitative courses, yes tend to have loads of reading material for example, but do have less work pressure relative to more quantitative courses for sure. For economics, I would say it's one of the most demanding courses at LSE, objectively because I have about 3 hours of lectures and either 1 or 2 hours of classes for my quantitative and economics courses (while its mainly 2 hours of lectures and a 1 hour class for qualitative ones) and perhaps a little more subjectively because economics at LSE like you said, is meant to be very challenging. That being said, it's definitely manageable, and while some struggle in terms of keeping up, there are those out there who are active members in like 3 societies and go out multiple times a week. It's all about how you manage your time and how fast you can grasp those ideas of course! But what I'm trying to say is, even if you struggle with that, it's not impossible to keep up :smile:

In terms of independent study, I am not the hardest working person during the term by any means, especially with online university lol, but what I do for every course every week is as follow: watch my lectures and attend my classes (not really independent work hehe), I then review the things we've covered, which I don't really do in great or any depth, but if there is something fundamental that I really don't understand then that takes a little more of my time (I'd spend some time asking friends or my class teacher etc) and finally, I attempt my weekly problem sets. This process differs in time every week of course, but I'd say maybe this takes about 5 hours of independent study (excluding lectures and classes) weekly for every course (and we do 4 courses.) I would say this is average, I know those who spend a lot less or a lot more time on each course and it's not an indication of how great you're doing in your courses. It's more about how quickly you grasp things like I said

I don't put in the most effort during term time by any means, but I do try to keep up and clear some of my biggest doubts. Instead, holidays for me are where I ease off some of the pressure of having to keep up and spend my time consolidating the ideas, making sure I get them, etc. Some people grind during term time, to only work hard again right before exams. But this doesn't really work too well for me. Overall, LSE is definitely more demanding than other universities, but it's manageable to do well in your studies while still have a good social life :smile:

Reply 16

csc2020

7

Original post by Anonymous

Currently, a second-year economics student at LSE and would love to help and answer some questions that people out here may have. So ask anything related to economics, LSE, London or anything really :smile:

Thank you very much for taking time to share your views.

I have a question about "BSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics"

From the past data, I have hardly seen people getting offers in this course. Do you know the reason?

Some one mentioned that BSc Economics students changed to this course in second year. Is it true?

Reply 17

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by csc2020

Thank you very much for taking time to share your views.

I have a question about "BSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics"

From the past data, I have hardly seen people getting offers in this course. Do you know the reason?

Some one mentioned that BSc Economics students changed to this course in second year. Is it true?

It's no problem, thanks for the question!

BSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics is a course that you can only transfer to after your second year in BSc Economics (at least this is how you would typically get into the programme, not sure if there are other routes.) This is of course conditional on having great grades (on track for a first or a 2:1). Hence, you most probably cannot just apply for the programme directly through UCAS because proving very high and strong academic abilities first is absolutely required.

What makes this programme different, and I mean more demanding and challenging, is that it allows you to choose EC331, a module that is only available to EME students in the third year. Students are assigned a supervisor who is a very dedicated and experienced researcher of course and you get to write a quantitative thesis. Hence, people who tend to get into the programme are all very keen on economics research and they really do prepare you well for - whether its research at university, government, etc.

Hope this helps!

Reply 18

anonymous3386

10

Original post by Anonymous

Currently, a second-year economics student at LSE and would love to help and answer some questions that people out here may have. So ask anything related to economics, LSE, London or anything really :smile:

Hi ive applied to LSE for economics with economic history, i was wondering if you could private message me?