* How good is LSE's reputation in the USA?

I am going to do an MSc in global history at LSE and thinking of doing a PhD in the US.

What do they think of LSE in general (but esp the economic history dept) and what would they probably think LSE was the equivalent of in the States?

I mean Stanford, MIT a lesser Ivy?

Do Americans ever look at British league tables? I guess not unless they are thinking of studying here.

Guardian History and history of art ranking

Cambridge
Oxford
LSE

Times History ranking 2005 GUG

Cambridge
Durham
LSE
Oxford

Reply 1

drs1357

stanford and MIT are both clearly ahead of LSE in my opinion. The american unis are much much much better than everywhere else cept really oxbridge.

Reply 2

Johan C

13

That's a fallacy, originating in the USA's economic and political power and in the biased nature of world rankings (who mentioned the Chinese one ? that one is ridiculous lol).

Reply 3

candystrippa

2

it is hard to generalize what "americans" think of LSE, as even british people will have mixed opinions. however, a few americans i know including some who are attending stanford/harvard seem to think that LSE is about the same as the lesser ivies, even though some others think that LSE > lesser ivies, or simply know nothing about british universities except for oxbridge.

i personally feel that the american unis u mentioned are wayyy better than LSE though.

Reply 4

shady lane

16

I go to Stanford and have a conditional offer from LSE. Most people here think it's really good for IR/Development/Politics people like me. But for a PhD (if I do one) I'd definitely come back to the US.

A master's from LSE will look good if you're applying to a PhD program at Stanford because the minimum requirement is a bachelor's degree, so you'd be ahead of the game.

Reply 5

pendragon

OP

13

drs1357

stanford and MIT are both clearly ahead of LSE in my opinion. The american unis are much much much better than everywhere else cept really oxbridge.

I have been to Harvard Summer School twice and done postgrad and undergrad credit courses there, the level of study was nowhere near as high as at Oxford. Because Americans do not specialise for such a long time I do not believe any of their undergrad education compares with the Oxbridge tutorial system. What they do have is money, and as a result great facilities and funding. They also manage to attract good teachers, but the whole system is a bit dumbed down in my opinion, and that is at Harvard. Personally I think that LSE is definitely better than any US institutions other than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT. Anyway it does not really matter what the reality is, I just want to know what the American perspective is.

Reply 6

pendragon

OP

13

shady lane

I go to Stanford and have a conditional offer from LSE. Most people here think it's really good for IR/Development/Politics people like me. But for a PhD (if I do one) I'd definitely come back to the US.

A master's from LSE will look good if you're applying to a PhD program at Stanford because the minimum requirement is a bachelor's degree, so you'd be ahead of the game.

Thanks, that is very useful to hear. :smile:

As well as UK uni's I think I will apply to Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Princeton. But I would rather go back to Oxford or stay on at LSE than go to one of the other Ivies.

Reply 7

shanika

4

I've heard that the American Ivies are not as good as they claim to be.

Reply 8

George Bush

2

The Ivies' undergraduate programs, in general, are certainly overrated (there are exceptions, like Princeton). In my personal case, being accepted to LSE has been looked highly upon by classmates, faculty, and other adults. Yes, I currently study in the states at a very competitive high school, and people usually consider LSE to be a lot more prestigious than Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. One reason could be that so many students go there each year, and I was the 2nd person in the past decade to be accepted at LSE. However, my point is that if someone in the states recognizes LSE, he/she will most certainly consider the institution to be on par with HYP. For instance, because of me, those who are going to Cornell, MIT, and Penn Wharton from my school have been overshadowed by my "success."

After all, however, it will depend on the person you are talking to. Generally though, LSE is regarded very highly by knowledgeable Americans.

Reply 9

Nutter

16

GB, can I assume that you'll be rejecting all those American universities offers and be coming to LSE instead, going by the amount of praise you're heaping upon LSE?

Reply 10

George Bush

2

Yes, I am looking forward to attending LSE and rejecting those American schools who have accepted me. I'm really excited to experience a different education system, so LSE seems more attractive...

I hated Harvard from the very beginning... and this may sound very Asian, but I applied just to please my parents. Because I don't have an "insurance" choice (or safety, as Americans would say), I made a deposit at Columbia. If I can't end up in London, I'd at least like to stay in one of the greatest cities in the world, New York.

Reply 11

ryan2288

George Bush, is accounting and finance a really competitive course to get into at LSE? I saw in a previous post you got a conditional offer for 5,5,5,4 on your AP exams when you already had 5,5,5,5,5,4... That seems pretty tough to me. Did you take more than 4 AP exams this year?

Reply 12

pendragon

OP

13

George Bush

Yes, I am looking forward to attending LSE and rejecting those American schools who have accepted me. I'm really excited to experience a different education system, so LSE seems more attractive...

I hated Harvard from the very beginning... and this may sound very Asian, but I applied just to please my parents. Because I don't have an "insurance" choice (or safety, as Americans would say), I made a deposit at Columbia. If I can't end up in London, I'd at least like to stay in one of the greatest cities in the world, New York.

Do you mind if I give you some advice GB? If I can be like arrogant British caricature on the West Wing for a minute....

If I were you I would go to Harvard or Stanford over LSE. There are several reasons for this. I do think that UK undergraduate degrees are at a much higher level due to their specialisation than American ones, this is both good and bad if you are an American considering studying in the UK. There are merits to both systems but personally I believe the British undergraduate system is better.

The Americans believe in learning a wide range of knowledge from different subjects so that one gets a well rounded education, while the British believe it is not the knowledge itself that is important but how you train your mind to critically analyse it - therefore the subject itself is not important, what matters is the level of depth you go to within that subject. If you went to UK you could benefit from the British system if you did well. However, adjusting from one system to the other, in either direction can be very difficult - if the result is that you do not do very well it could be very damaging. I am certain you are capable of making the transition and getting a 1st or 2:1, but I do know clever Americans who simply have not been able to - a friend of mine got a 2:2 from St. Andrews, she is know in dire circumstances with little prospect of becoming a lawyer in the UK or the US. That is why I say there is a big element of risk in switching systems at this stage.

To be honest so long as you consistently do the work and are reasonably bright you have a better chance of coming out of a top American uni with a good GPA, this will allow you to walk into a masters at LSE or Oxbridge. The same cannot be said the other way around unfortunately. I do not think American's understand that my 2:1 from Oxford is a good result, I was rejected by all the Ivies for postgraduate and even the University of Virginia (which no disrespect intended, although being good for American history which I wanted to study is not as good as Oxford or LSE by a long shot). I got into LSE for my masters, but not Oxbridge who can afford to take only firsts or near-first 2:1's. I have a friend who got a 1st from Oxford in PPE, which to be honest is simply an achievement uncomparible to anything you can measure with GPA's in the American system - he got back into Oxbridge but was rejected by all the American uni's he applied to as well (Ivies, Chicago and Johns Hopkins). This seems bizarre to me. But the lesson that I draw is that its easier to go from a good American undergraduate degree to LSE and Oxbridge than it is to go the other way around for some reason. Maybe its partly because we both are not like Americans constantly building our CV's with extra-curriculars, you simply do not have time if you want to do well in a British undergraduate degree, and I couldn't have guessed that this would still matter for postgraduate applicants.

So based on my experience I would say go to Stanford or Harvard, and come to LSE for an MSc afterwards. :smile:

Reply 13

ryan2288

Competitive graduate programs in the United States can sometimes be heavily dependent upon standardized test scores. I don't know what your GRE/GMAT/LSAT was, but if it was too low, it doesnt matter where you graduate from, you will not get in.

Reply 14

drs1357

I would also say, you are mad to goto LSE over stanford/harvard! I've decided that I would actually like to goto america tbh, much better system than here. Plus the one thing that makes oxbridge great (tutorials) you don't get at the lse..

Reply 15

Knogle

16

drs1357

I would also say, you are mad to goto LSE over stanford/harvard! I've decided that I would actually like to goto america tbh, much better system than here. Plus the one thing that makes oxbridge great (tutorials) you don't get at the lse..

Common guys, give him a break. Much like many Brits would like to study in an overseas university which exposes them to a unique education system, GB would like to do just that. An undergrad education in the UK is extremely promising and does set you up well for postgrad studies throughout the world. Harvard's undergrad programme is overrated, and Standford.. well, seems to be losing its X factor if you're asking me. Princeton is one of the few Ivies (if not the only one) which I would seriously consider over even Oxbridge. Bottom line is, with the right attitude, you can't go wrong at a top university.

Reply 16

Johan C

13

@ ryan228 : A&F is not the most competitive course to get into at LSE, but it's one of them. Econs is harder and mroe prestigious, but A&F is pretty good... I myself was surprised to get in, despite my rather good results.

@ drs1357 : I hate how so many ppl are convinced that the American Ivies are just the best in the world. GB has given dozens of reasons for which this is not the case. The only one which really appeals to me is Yale, first because it is one of the only ones to actually make a real effort for undergraduate teaching apparently, and second because it's mentioned in Fitzgerald's work (lol). Sure, Harvard has so much cash/is so well ranked in biased league tables that they get rare guest speakers - the sister of a friend of mine managed to get into the Kennedy School and listen to top CIA execs... But IMO, that's not what's most important.

@ Knogle : ditto.

Reply 17

drs1357

I never said that they were the best in the world. TBH i recon undergrad at oxbridge then postgrad in america would prolly be the best route you could take! However, in terms of facilities profs etc america kills us in england 'cause they are so rich. Also, in terms of job prospects, it doesn't really matter whether the degree is overvalued or that there is huge inflation, just the rep of the uni - and harvard princeton stanford yale etc have very very good reputation world wide. LSE is not that widely known outside of people interested in econ/who know a little about the system/etc. I am not alone in saying that i did not really know about the LSE until i was about 16 or so, and i am often met with a look of bewilderment when i mention that I will be studying at the LSE.

Reply 18

Knogle

16

LSE is not that widely known outside of people interested in econ/who know a little about the system/etc.

LSE is known by people who need to know, i.e. academicians, HR departments of just about every decent company, politicians, etc. I didn't know about the LSE until I started doing my research, and some people still do ask me these days what LSE is, but ultimately these aren't really the people who want/need/should know about the university.

Reply 19

Johan C

13

Knogle

LSE is known by people who need to know, i.e. academicians, HR departments of just about every decent company, politicians, etc. I didn't know about the LSE until I started doing my research, and some people still do ask me these days what LSE is, but ultimately these aren't really the people who want/need/should know about the university.

Exactly ; all the people I know who work in business/auditing etc. know about the place.

* How good is LSE's reputation in the USA?

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