LSE, UCL or KCL

Hi everyone,

I know there were many threads about this topic here and i've read many of them, however I couldn't find answers that were specific to my dilemma and so I'd like to hear your advice and thoughts.

I was accepted to LSE, UCL and KCL to a postgraduate degree, I am an international student. Following my studies I want to work as a data analyst in a tech company with some kind of focus on society and social impact. The programs I accepted to are:

LSE - MSc in Media and Communications - Data and Society
UCL - MSc in Business Analytics
KCL - MA in Big Data in Culture and Society

So in know that the programs in LSE and KCL are less technical and "practical" and more theoretical than UCL, but from researching and talking with people I understood that LSE is considered to have the "highest" reputation between the 3 and to have a stronger brand name worldwide. On the other hand I've read really bad things on the atmosphere in LSE and the treatment from the university to the students, and that UCL and KCL are much better in the sense.

In terms of the programs themselves I find the one at KCL most interesting but I feel like all programs will be interesting and valuable. So I'm really not sure what to choose, from what I heard most people told me that the brand name is most important in these kind of postgraduate studies and therefore I should go to LSE, even if the course is more theoretical than the others. But I don't know how true that is and if LSE's reputation is in fact so much bigger than the other universities.

Would really appreciate your help and advice! Thanks

Reply 1

Legiterspams

11

Original post by Alongin

Hi everyone,

I know there were many threads about this topic here and i've read many of them, however I couldn't find answers that were specific to my dilemma and so I'd like to hear your advice and thoughts.

I was accepted to LSE, UCL and KCL to a postgraduate degree, I am an international student. Following my studies I want to work as a data analyst in a tech company with some kind of focus on society and social impact. The programs I accepted to are:

LSE - MSc in Media and Communications - Data and Society
UCL - MSc in Business Analytics
KCL - MA in Big Data in Culture and Society

So in know that the programs in LSE and KCL are less technical and "practical" and more theoretical than UCL, but from researching and talking with people I understood that LSE is considered to have the "highest" reputation between the 3 and to have a stronger brand name worldwide. On the other hand I've read really bad things on the atmosphere in LSE and the treatment from the university to the students, and that UCL and KCL are much better in the sense.

In terms of the programs themselves I find the one at KCL most interesting but I feel like all programs will be interesting and valuable. So I'm really not sure what to choose, from what I heard most people told me that the brand name is most important in these kind of postgraduate studies and therefore I should go to LSE, even if the course is more theoretical than the others. But I don't know how true that is and if LSE's reputation is in fact so much bigger than the other universities.

Would really appreciate your help and advice! Thanks

it would've been hands down LSE but since you wanna work its data analyst in tech, UCL degree seems like the best fit. Yes LSE brand has no comparison, but media and communication degree will not make you competitive to land a job like you want. At the end of the day, one who studied Computer engineering from UCLA will have much better prospects than one with Fine Arts from Stanford/MIT. And since both of the unis are top tier, I dont think it will make a significant difference, and it will depend on you if you study well at whatever uni, because Google is more likely to recruit a topper with great profile from say, University of Michigan vs a one with no extra curricular, poor GPA, no attendance from Princeton/Yale.
So in conclusion, UCL>>>LSE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>KCL.

Reply 2

Diplomatic

17

Based on your career ambitions, you should have applied to LSE's Applied Social Data Science programme instead. Fortunately you can still take some courses in the Dept of Methodology like Computer Programming (Python), Data for Data Scientists (R) or Applied ML for Social Science (R) which will be useful for job applications.

The Business Analytics course at UCL is great (and your dissertation requires you to be basically a data analyst at a company). You'll develop the transferable skills to make your applications more competitive but you won't be focusing on social issues during the degree itself, unlike LSE's course.

So there's a trade-off between interesting theory and applications (LSE) vs practical skills (UCL) that you need to make.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 3

Alongin

OP

1

Thank you for your answers!
Legiterspams I totally understand your point, though as Diplomatic mentioned the program in LSE isn't completely theoretical and i will be able to take courses such as Social Computing, Data Analytics, and Information Services; Social Network Analysis and Data for Data Scientists.

I have some basic knowledge (though nowhere near advanced) in data analysis so i'm thinking if I could combine it with this program (plus the fact that LSE's brand name will also add to it) and find a job in the field i'm aiming for. But then again i'm not sure if the tradeoff is worth it or if the gap will be too big and in that case I should go to UCL.