Hey guys,
I've just spent two terms in LSE as a first-year student and I thought it would be good to share some of the things I wish someone told me when I first began this journey.
Back then, LSE was not my first choice. I was, however, rejected by my first choice (you can make a guess which university this is). I took it in my stride regardless (weighing my other offers in UCL, Warwick and Durham), and chose to see the advantages of being in a very international, career-oriented, extremely driven university right in the heart of London. On hindsight, it was a decision I have not regretted.
Don’t be afraid of befriending others
You would have heard “International students are cliquey”, “Brits stick to each other” etc. It is perfectly normal for communities of the same nationality to prefer each other – there are much more common topics and shared experiences. Bear in mind though, that you would be in one of the most international universities in one of the most international cities. Take the chance to meet and form friendships with a diverse group of people, you would learn a lot from sharing each other’s experiences and cultures, and these are the connections that would put you in good stead in a globalised workplace. Learning to work with a diverse group of people across nationalities and cultures is a very valuable skill, one that is very difficult to pick up on the job in the workplace, learn it now.
It is daunting at first, but you would grow to enjoy it.
Be involved, in halls, societies and campus activities
Activities outside of your academics are the spice of your university life. Actively participate in societies and in halls, it’s where you get to meet and befriend people outside of your own circles, some of the best friends I have now are ones I met through my societies. Try something you have not done, if you’re not an athlete try a sport.
Be yourself, do what you love
You would have heard that many LSE graduates go on to investment banking and consulting careers. That is true, but that doesn’t have to be true for you. If you’re genuinely passionate about those career paths or really crave the high-paying remuneration, go for it. If you’re undecided, don’t let yourself be sucked into the whole finance/consulting craze, there are many more good jobs out there if you only you start looking for them.
On a related note, don’t spend all your time on career societies. It is tempting, to boost your CV and boast to your peers, but it will drain you out if it is not something you are passionate about or truly enjoy. Most of my peers who are heavily involved in just career societies find the environment stifling, it is difficult to find true friendship when most tasks are transactional and someone always seems to be hoping to get the better of it.
This is one decision I had strong doubts about at the start, but not anymore – not putting all my time into career societies. Don’t get me wrong, I am an active member of the Consulting Society and the Investment Society, they do teach very valuable technical skills and provide platforms for networking with industry professionals. But I also had a good mix of non-career ones, ones I did not join solely for the sake of enhancing my CV.
I joined AIESEC. For the uninitiated, it is the world’s largest youth-led organisation present in over 120+ countries, striving to achieve peace and fulfilment of humankind’s potential by facilitating cross-cultural exchanges worldwide through volunteering or internship opportunities.
One of the perks of being in an international organisation is the platform to meet people across the UK and around the globe – if you’re looking to build connections outside of LSE, this is an immensely valuable opportunity. It is also in AIESEC where I made some of the strongest and purest friendships, most people are not in it for just enhancing their CV or making very transactional relationships.
I also picked up plenty of both hard and soft skills. I had the opportunity to personally meet and talk to CEOs of firms, organise campus events such as Global Village, pick up leadership and organisational development skills, learn marketing skills and manage multi-national multi-cultural teams. You could also go on to organise national conferences, manage the national network, opportunities are aplenty for going beyond just a society in LSE. AIESEC also has a strong network of partners, including PwC and IE who amongst them offer career opportunities and scholarships exclusively for AIESEC members. I would highly recommend this experience.
Learn to learn independently
This is perhaps something I have read most often about but have far underestimated it before starting my year. Gone are the back-to-back classes – contact hours for each module is extremely short, very precious, and quite often not as productive (note: I have not experienced teaching in other universities, but I would say LSE’s low student satisfaction with teaching has *some* truth to it). It is therefore very important to have the discipline to take charge of your own studies, to be consistent and keep up with weekly classes. It is perfectly fine, in my opinion, to not attend lectures especially if they are recorded, but once you fall back on the content for each week, it becomes increasingly difficult to catch up.
This has been a long post but I hope it was useful to some extent. There are many others points I would have liked to write about but I guess these are the ones that I could best relate to. If you have further questions on LSE life, reply to this thread and I’ll try my best to answer them!