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Things I wish I'd known about LSE before applying!

I am a current student at the LSE. Disclaimer: My view is probably biased. But I don’t doubt that many LSEians share exactly the same views.

Good points about LSE
- You have all kinds of high profile speakers coming to our school to give talks. Amartya Sen is coming this Oct, and previously we've had Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan etc. But then again these talks are open to the public, so you don't technically have to be an LSE to enjoy this advantage.
- The number of societies we have, by far beats UCL/Kings etc. There're tons of Business/finance/corporate/consultancy types for those wannabe-investment bankers. We even have a Hedge Funds society -_- So if your goal after graduation is to work for the corporate world, then these societies will definitely give you an edge in terms of internships, networking, talks, workshops etc. That said, we have a million other societies for people with any kind of interest or career interest.
- You get to share a classroom with brilliant minds - everyone in the LSE had excellent academic records (well duh), and this environment will force you to push yourself to strive for the best (or feel stupid alot of the time)
- You will have the chance to meet people from all areas of the globe. I took up the Arabic language in my first year, and I distinctly remember that on my first lesson, we were told to introduce ourselves. Everyone in my class, all 20 of us, were from a different country.

The not so good points:
- People studying humanities only have 8 hours a week of lectures. EIGHT. 99% of the learning is done through reading the materials from the library or moodle. Most people agree that you wouldn't miss out on anything if you skip all lectures/classes. I had Friday off last year, and I've had friends who only had classes/lectures on Mondays and Tuesdays, meaning they had a 2-day week. This was a huge culture shock for me, as I was used to spending all day in school at Sixth Form, and having teachers tell me exactly what to study. So you've got to be really self-motivated and LOVE independent study to like LSE. I personally feel lost and alone most of the time. The lack of contact also leads to the next problem.
- You only see your classmates once a week for one hour. Unless you're extremely sociable (which I'm not, explaining why all my friends are from halls), it's likely your friendships formed through classes won't run deeper than the coffee-after-class. I can't forsee any of my friends and I remaining in contact after we graduate.
- A typical day of school for most of us: Go for an hour of class, then head to the library to do readings, go for another hour of lectures, attend home to our separate lives and separate friends. It's definitely NOT a loving studenty community. I guess the only word to describe the atmosphere is corporate.
- Of course, you can join societies. But unless you're in the executive committee, the only 'participation' you have in the societies are the spam emails and newsletters they send you about attending event X. If you participate in a society half-heartedly, it's not easy to break into the clics already formed by the committee members. If you want to be really popular and have a great social life with LSEians, join a sports clubs to get into the Athletics Union.
- Some teachers really suck. I've had teachers coming to class without any material prepared and just sat there half-listening to our debates.
- It's not a myth that people stick to their own nationalities. You hear so many other languages spoken in school other than English. Even the Chinese don't mix with the Hong Kongers. I guess it's just a natural tendency to seek refuge with people you are familiar with when one is in a foreign country.
- 100% of assessment comes from our end-of-year final exams (this varies from dept to dept, but in general we're assessed largely by the final exams). This leads to a slacked off term 1 and term 2, then a crazy rush to catch up during Easter.
- Everything in LSE is competitive. Not just the classes, but even societies and sports clubs. I signed up for recreational activities (which I was told would just be 'for fun') like Kickboxing and Ultimate Frisbee, and if you're not good at it, you might as well not join. Everyone is vying for spots in the Executive Committee, with the sole reason to boost their CV.
- Instead of meeting inspiring minds and interesting people, I've only met Investment bankers. Everyone seems to have a one-track mind: get a first class >> internships in christmas >> internships in summer >> attend career networking sessions >> work in an Goldman Sachs upon graduation. Be prepared to suffer under immense pressure over the dreaded internships, because ‘everyone else is doing one’ and you’d feel like you’re left at the bottom of the waiting list for jobs if you don’t secure one.
- Too many postgrads. More postgrads than undergrads. Sure, you can learn a lot from having postgrad friends, but they’re here to boost their career prospects, and no one will assert that they’re the most interesting people in the world. My kickboxing class, Arabic class, volleyball, development society, were 90% postgrads.
- the student union is highly politicized and most people don’t give a f about them.
- we recently dropped to 80th in the world, while UCL is 4th

All in all, LSE is NOT a fun place to be. It's a place for people who want a degree from a prestigious university and be able to plunge into the world of work with an excellent CV. Don’t get me wrong, I am having the time of my life in London, but LSE is not at all the source of it. Our student feedback review has traditionally been much worse than other universities. Let’s just say that there’s a reason why LSE’s having problems getting funds from their alumni. People who’ve graduated don’t really look back and reminisce about the time they spent at the LSE.

Freshers, apply at your own risk. The only reason why I'm still here and not at SOAS is the prestige of the LSE (I have NO idea where the prestige stems from by the way, I personally don't see any merit in my education here)

Sorry for the length, I had no idea I had so much to say (rant) :eek3:

(edited 15 years ago)

Reply 140

running_with_scissors

1

I'm 2nd year LSE, an have to say, I agree with a lot of what the OP said. It can be so ****, but almost so **** it's good sometimes, hehe. I wouldn't change my uni experience; it's just different to what others experience. I'd add that all London unis suffer from the impersonal problem, it's just because they are so massive and spaced out. Personally, I love the low contact hours but it's not for everyone.

Most people I know love and hate the LSE.

Reply 141

goldsilvy

17

MJlover

Hey do you know which day is registration day?

Depends which course you are going to study:

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/intranet/students/studentServicesCentre/RegistrationUg/registrationug2010.aspx

Reply 142

Philosopher-of-sorts

3

Most of this sounds awesome to me, to be honest...

Personally, I'd prefer the Oxford tutoring style which would seem to me to improve intellectual rigour, but I'm very happy with a competitive atmosphere--it would encourage me to keep pushing myself, whereas a less competitive university there's always the temptation to slack a bit. I would be going for journalism internships most likely, so very different from most.

Obviously the impersonal aspect isn't ideal, but that's London for you.

Reply 143

grenneh

goldsilvy

Did you read something you didn't know beforehand?

Nope, I was already aware of the high percentage of international students (which really doesn't bother me), the 'bad' teaching (I always assumed uni would mean very little teaching, more research and independent study anyway), and I hope the atmosphere won't be too dead (it seemed nice enough on the open days and offer holders day) etc, but it's still a list of negatives about somewhere I'm already nervous about moving to :smile:

Reply 144

goldsilvy

17

grenneh

Nope, I was already aware of the high percentage of international students (which really doesn't bother me), the 'bad' teaching (I always assumed uni would mean very little teaching, more research and independent study anyway), and I hope the atmosphere won't be too dead (it seemed nice enough on the open days and offer holders day) etc, but it's still a list of negatives about somewhere I'm already nervous about moving to :smile:

No worries, people always tend to exaggerate, I bet LSE doesn't differ much from other universities, will be just fine :smile:

Reply 145

celebretty

Tbh I'm a strong believer in the phrase "The only people who get bored are boring people"...If people REALLY can't develop a social life while they're in Central London, I'd say that's more a reflection on them rather than LSE or other people...

Although I can see why a lot of people would be put off by the competitive nature, but some stuff like the lack of interaction is all a matter of personal preference. 8 hours teaching will be one person's worst nightmare, while it'll be someone else's ultimate fantasy...so I don't think people can conclusively say this or that makes LSE good/bad

Reply 146

DeanWinchester

Haha! That sounds like LSE students are SWOT!!
But anyway, suits me :smile:

i enjoy studying alone in library and less hours of classes.
I would sleep if lecture is more than an hour.
But I do like mixing with friends and hangout... Yeah! Pub&Bistro

Reply 147

DeanWinchester

Original post

by Zürich

only a fool believes in those rankings.

Respect you :wink:

In fact, I emphasis employee reputation ranking than academic ranking.
My uncle works in Ernst&Young, he said LSE has a very respected value in world of employment. Far better than many other top universities that rank higher than LSE. But academically for further study, you'll find many university is better than LSE.

So it really depends... academic OR employment? It's yr call.

Reply 148

milkytea

16

Original post

by Oldboy5745

I'm perfectly happy paying 13grand a year (international) just for the piece of paper I get at the end yes.
As for the OP, tl:dr. I'm sure it was a pile of bitter crap anyway, entertainment can be found at any uni, including LSE.

You're not exactly doing much to sway the "unfriendly" impression of the place are you?

Reply 149

HistoryRepeating

13

The problems described also apply to the other good London unis.

And they have for years. My mother talked me out of London Unis for literally exactly the reasons described even though she attended KCL 40 years ago.

Reply 150

darrold

All this negativity! I'm having the time of my life and I'm not stuck in my room doing work 24/7 that's for sure!

Reply 151

perrytheplatypus

14

Original post

by DeanWinchester

Respect you :wink:

In fact, I emphasis employee reputation ranking than academic ranking.
My uncle works in Ernst&Young, he said LSE has a very respected value in world of employment. Far better than many other top universities that rank higher than LSE. But academically for further study, you'll find many university is better than LSE.

So it really depends... academic OR employment? It's yr call.

I'm probably one of the few who would choose academics over employment...

Reply 152

ArcadiaHouse

17

Good post. I was at the LSE the day of the student march/riots, and there seemed to be a great atmosphere outside the Union. Maybe it was to do with students being there from all different unis as opposed to just the LSE itself. :s-smilie:

Reply 153

Anita B. Studin

So living at home while studying at LSE would be a baaad idea?

Reply 154

ForFreedom

5

Original post

by Anita B. Studin

So living at home while studying at LSE would be a baaad idea?

I'd be interested in the answer to this too :colondollar:

Also, I'm hoping to study geography there - will it be as competitive still?

Reply 155

unknown demon

15

Original post

by Anita B. Studin

So living at home while studying at LSE would be a baaad idea?

Did this, had a blast, was out at least 3-4 nights per week, met loads of people, had the best time and still ended up with solid academics. It can be done.

Reply 156

Lou_Ferrigno

Original post

by darrold

All this negativity! I'm having the time of my life and I'm not stuck in my room doing work 24/7 that's for sure!

i don't what program you're on but as a third year history student i can tell you i'm on the verge of collapse from stress and overwork. i have been buried in my room for the past 3 or so weeks - haven't gone out at all, been getting by on average 4-5 hours of sleep a night for this entire period - and it's not even enough to keep up with all my assignments, NONE OF WHICH COUNT TOWARDS MY FINAL GRADE. a legendary ****show. thank god there's only 2 weeks of term left.

Reply 157

amandacalifornia

7

LSE is entirely what you make of it. And it has some pretty incredible opportunities. Period.

I had a great social life and did just fine academically. Although it wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, it's possible.

(edited 14 years ago)

Reply 158

schroeder's dog

Original post

by grenneh

Nope, I was already aware of the high percentage of international students (which really doesn't bother me), the 'bad' teaching (I always assumed uni would mean very little teaching, more research and independent study anyway), and I hope the atmosphere won't be too dead (it seemed nice enough on the open days and offer holders day) etc, but it's still a list of negatives about somewhere I'm already nervous about moving to :smile:

caveat emptor...especially at 9000/year for <8 hours a week

Reply 159

therealOG

2

Original post

by soutioirsim

I reeeaaalllyyy hope Imperial is not the same... :s-smilie:

The only difference is that Imperial is a sausage fest :wink:

Things I wish I'd known about LSE before applying!

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