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LSE vs Oxbridge

Hi
Im in a major state over what to do on results day i have an offer for geography with economics at the lse BBB but Im really getting cold feet about the whole london lifestyle lack of community, poor sports facillities, cost, general congestion .I will almost certainly get AAA despite missing 2 months of term with illness this year.
I did apply to Cambridge for geography this year i was pooled and then rejected; according to the feedback on the basis of my GCSE's and AS levels. 1A* 7A's 2B's 2C's and ABBB respectively, which is fair enough, however i also missed a term during my gcses due to glandular fever which obviously affected my results and had a knockon effect on on my AS year.
I have been told by teachers that i am good enough and i really enjoyed the interviews so im seriously considering reapplying to Oxford this year as the course is similar to the one at cambridge. I know people will probably berate me for considering rejecting the LSE which is a good uni but i just don't know if i would be happy there.
Opinions Please: should i reapply. I realise i could be rejected a second time but with AAA i would not really loose out on other offers.

SORRY for the long post!

Reply 1

J-bob

1

if you took the year out, anf you get AAA then surely LSE would make you another offer. so if you want to give oxford a shot..why not? try, if you dont get in you should at least have LSE as a back up again. and if you manage to do something productive with your year, you wont have lost out. perhaps people would see that as risky, but with three AAAs the chances of LSE not giving you another offer are low. so go for it.

Reply 2

gooseymcgoose

11

I think you're underestimating LSE, LSE is right up there with Oxford, Durham is not, you don't want to lose that offer, and LSE are known for their unpredictability in admissions.

Unless you think you'd be unhappy living in London, then don't throw away an offer for such a great course for nothing when your chances of making it to Oxford are inevitably slim.

Reply 3

shady lane

16

j_nathwani

if you took the year out, anf you get AAA then surely LSE would make you another offer. so if you want to give oxford a shot..why not? try, if you dont get in you should at least have LSE as a back up again. and if you manage to do something productive with your year, you wont have lost out. perhaps people would see that as risky, but with three AAAs the chances of LSE not giving you another offer are low. so go for it.

Actually LSE has a tendency to reject people who turned down an offer and reapply.

Also, many would say Geography and Economics at LSE is more employable than straight Geography from either Oxford or Cambridge.

Reply 4

J-bob

1

oh fair enough, i didnt know that. in that case i guess its a bit more risky, but you do still have way above the requirements for entry if you get AAA. i wouldnt doubt that employability is pretty much equal between the unis/ one of them may edge it. Im only saying that based on your desire to really go to oxford i dont see why taking the year out would be so bad. i would agree with gooseymcgoose in saying that LSE is right up there but then perhaps its not worth going to LSE thinking "what if id given oxford a shot". is BBB the usual requirement for the course or was it a lowered offer that you got?

Reply 5

Fossi2

OP

Thanks for the responses.
I am aware LSE don't like reapplicants who turn down an firm offer but people on tsr have done it.
BBB was the standard offer last year but this year it says it will be AAB or ABB in th 2008 prospectus.

Reply 6

J-bob

1

if the grade requirements have done up, particularly to AAB it would seem somewhat risky. if it was BBB and you had AAA then (and this is just my opinion) perhaps they would overlook you rejecting them. but on that basis i would take the LSE route..(however im just a novice lol)

Reply 7

shady lane

16

Obviously you want people to say you should reapply, as you've posted this in the Oxbridge forum.

LSE has a great geography department; it's a focus on human geography and the undergrads I know studying it seem to have a really good grasp on many social sciences and how they can apply to geography. The course that you've accepted is also part economics, and it's no secret that LSE is considered by most academics to have the best economics faculty in the UK.

If you think you will be totally miserable in London, then I guess you should reapply. But I get the sense you really want the prestige of Oxbridge, given that you're planning to apply to Oxford this time instead of Cambridge. Given how difficult Oxford and LSE are to get into, there's a good chance that if you reapply next year, you'll get rejected by both. If you're 100% sure that going to LSE this year would be worse than getting rejected next year, then do it.

Reply 8

Turdburger

16

Theres no point being somewhere if you arent going to enjoy it. Definatley reapply.

Would you be reapplying to LSE, or making a London free application this time round?

I think if you do reapply, you shouldnt reapply to LSE, to make sure in your own mind it is not a prestige think, more a lifestyle/location choice.

Reply 9

Franc Vouloir

11

If I were you, I certainly wouldn't reject LSE. There's absolutely no guarantee that you'll get into either if you reapply and LSE is a great university with a brilliant reputation, both in Britain and internationally.

Also, this is obviously only my opinion, but London looks like a really good place to study. You'd be right in the centre of the biggest city in Europe, with all the opportunities that that confers.

Additionally, if you really like Oxford, why not consider postgrad there? You definitely wouldn't be disadvantaged with a degree from LSE.

In summary: make absolutely sure that you'd hate London before rejecting LSE. If you really wouldn't be happy there, then consider reapplying, but be aware that you'd be risking a great opportunity.

Reply 10

Fossi2

OP

shady lane

Obviously you want people to say you should reapply, as you've posted this in the Oxbridge forum.

If you think you will be totally miserable in London, then I guess you should reapply. But I get the sense you really want the prestige of Oxbridge, given that you're planning to apply to Oxford this time instead of Cambridge. Given how difficult Oxford and LSE are to get into, there's a good chance that if you reapply next year, you'll get rejected by both. If you're 100% sure that going to LSE this year would be worse than getting rejected next year, then do it.

You make some very valid points about implicit comparisons which i had not fully considered. However if i had posted this in the LSE forum what kind of responses do you think i would have got? "LSE is the greatest social science institute in the world" etc.

Reply 11

tenjon

8

Fossi2

However if i had posted this in the LSE forum what kind of responses do you think i would have got? "LSE is the greatest social science institute in the world" etc.

Indeed.

If you are getting cold feet about being a student in London (all the concerns you cite are legitimate flip-sides to the London experience), then would you even bother re-applying to LSE anyway? In which case whether or not you'd get another LSE offer is irrelevant. And anyway, rejecting an LSE offer by no means guarantees getting rejected by them the second time around - plenty of people reject an LSE offer in order to reapply, and secure a second offer from them. It's only one choice, and if you're not that keen on going to London anyway, it doesn't seem to matter that much.

As far as Oxford is concerned; having AAA will cancel out your AS results, and your (slightly) substandard GCSE scores are more than excused by missing a whole term due to glandular fever - make sure this is prominent in your UCAS form. It's a perfectly legitimate extenuating circumstance, but with 1A* you might risk not being interviewed at all, unless it's made clear in your reference that you were disadvantaged due to illness.

Reply 12

Consie

15

i knew shady would be here sticking up for LSE lol

Reply 13

shady lane

16

I just don't get how people can have an offer from somewhere like LSE and still be so obsessed with Oxbridge that they will reapply. Just go to LSE, it's not Thames Valley. If it were somewhere with a significantly different standard of students and education, then I'd understand it more.

PS I know "league tables are crap" but: http://www.thegooduniversityguide.org.uk/subject_tables_2006.php?selected_table=geog

Reply 14

Franc Vouloir

11

shady lane

PS I know "league tables are crap" but: http://www.thegooduniversityguide.org.uk/subject_tables_2006.php?selected_table=geog

"Oxford, RAE: 4"

Oh, snap!

Reply 15

Consie

15

I just don't get how people can have an offer from somewhere like LSE and still be so obsessed with Oxbridge that they will reapply. Just go to LSE, it's not Thames Valley. If it were somewhere with a significantly different standard of students and education, then I'd understand it more.

Oh I definately agree with that. Its just not worth the risk given there is such a minority chance of getting into OXbridge, you could easily waste 2 years of your life getting knockedback twice. You've got to have balls of steel to totally beleive you'll get in the second tiem round, but i dont think its worth the risk given there's places like LSE, Durham, Warwick ect who Oxbridge applicants usually apply to aswell and get offers from.

Ha, Bristol is forth on that table, makes me feel better about my picking it as insureance (why o why o why didnt i pick LSE....)

Reply 16

$Avatar for sTe\/o$

sTe\/o

16

shady lane

I just don't get how people can have an offer from somewhere like LSE and still be so obsessed with Oxbridge that they will reapply. Just go to LSE, it's not Thames Valley. If it were somewhere with a significantly different standard of students and education, then I'd understand it more.

PS I know "league tables are crap" but: http://www.thegooduniversityguide.org.uk/subject_tables_2006.php?selected_table=geog

I suppose the interesting thing about that table is how the Cambridge and Oxford students have better grades than those from LSE, particularly when you consider that LSE relies purely on grades and PS to discriminate between applicants (no interviews).

Reply 17

wazzup

go to LSE. Their degree is 'arguably' more employable than oxfords geo considering that you are in the centre of London and it has economics bits in it.
on a social side it will be great. there will be also student nights in london with cheap drinks.

Reply 18

Consie

15

The reputation ive been told LSE has is that its full of asian economists who are up themselves and think they're the next Lakshmi Mittal. Its also full of Europeans. they're the stereotypes i got told.

Reply 19

coldfish

12

Ah, so full of Asians and Europeans. How awful. All other universites are, or course, almost entirely populated by South Americans.

LSE vs Oxbridge

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