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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

LSE for a state educated Yorkshire girl?

44 replies

EhUp · 25/07/2020 14:46

DD17 is currently exploring options ready for university applications later this year

Her current favourite is LSE to study History & Economics (she is also considering Edinburgh, Manchester, York & Liverpool amongst others)

Putting aside the finances which would definitely be a challenge, I am worried that LSE will have a high number of students from very wealthy backgrounds and DD may find it harder to find 'her people'. Ultimately, she will choose (plus there is the small matter of being given an offer and getting the required grades!) but I would be interested in hearing experiences from non public school Mumsnetters (or their DC) who are currently or have been to LSE

DH & I are both graduate healthcare professionals so we are more MC than WC but we live in a very down to earth and semi-rural area of Yorkshire and are the opposite of protentious!

OP posts:
netflixismysidehustle · 25/07/2020 22:18

LSE is no posher than other RG unis. There are wealthy people in all universities and she will meet people from wealthier and less wealthy backgrounds.

netflixismysidehustle · 25/07/2020 22:22

Apart from the expense, one of the issues with London unis is that students tend to be spread out in terms of where they live (even when in halls) so it’s different to other cities which often have one area that students gravitate to. So it’s a different experience (but not necessarily in a negative way).

This was my experience when I went there.

My dd is after a city experience but less loan owed at the end so is planning to apply to Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle.

chitchattery · 25/07/2020 22:34

I agree with @bouledeneige. I am a Londoner and think it is an incredible place to live and work but maybe not for all students. I used to feel so sorry for the students travelling on the tube in the rush hour to get to lectures. It seemed that their halls were often so far from where they studied. London is going to be absolutely right for a student looking to discover themselves and to be free from any constraints that they may have felt. There is a tribe here for every person under the sun. If you want to reinvent yourself it’s easy. But is there a feeling of community? Yes, but it’s not going to be a comfortable ride. LSE will give a world class education and encourage self reliance and independence but I think there might be places that are a more fun and maybe less demanding. You know your DD - it could be great.

Definitelyrandom · 26/07/2020 08:44

DS (comp educated not too far from Yorkshire) went for KCL over LSE because of the course but there are overlaps in the demographics. He’s made good friends across the board, from comp educated Brits, through posh public school Brits to various categories of students from overseas (of whom there are many). He rightly takes the view that there are people you’ll get on with (or detest!) whatever their background.

Though both DSs joke that they wouldn’t have fancied Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle or Bristol as they’re full of drug taking, party going public school types.......(Just repeating what they say......)

EhUp · 26/07/2020 08:56

Thanks all for sharing your experiences of London universities

There is still a long way to go with mock A-levels, applications, interviews, offers and exams next summer so there is no guarantee that LSE will remain on the table as an option anyway!

I'm sure DD will embrace the experience wherever she ends up going to study

OP posts:
Decorhate · 26/07/2020 09:13

@Definitelyrandom Dd is at Leeds & I’ve never got that impression of it! I agree with others who have said that most unis will have a fair amount of wealthy students. Dd found they often hide this to fit in & she only realised later once she got invited to their homes for parties. They all have to rub along together. As an example, in her group there are kids who never have to get holiday jobs, go on endless holidays instead & those who have to work all summer to supplement their loan.

Definitelyrandom · 26/07/2020 09:59

@Decorhate I dare say it could have been better expressed as those universities are rumoured amongst the young to have an attraction for drug taking etc etc!

Xenia · 26/07/2020 13:17

LSE is not "posh" and is academically very good. We live in London so my 5 children didn't pick a London one (3 went to Bristol). However the 5 had lots of friends at LSE. They tended to find there were lots of people from abroad, more than elsewhere and peopel were a bit more spread out. As we live in a London borough where most people are not white quite a few of their friends who aren't white liked LSE because of the racial mix. It is definitely not "posh" in any conventional sense although some people will be well off and some international students have a lot of money.

It is a good place to go.

Her other choices are good. I would add Durham (I am from the NE) unless she thinks she won't get the grades for it. I went to Manchester so obviously support that choice!

I am not so keen on Scotland as you have to pay for 4 not 3 years and I cannot see the point of that although son had his back up as Edinburgh.

I am not a great fan of doing 2 subjects as may be you don't have so much time to do one as thoroughly and it just seems like extra work to me.

SeasonFinale · 26/07/2020 14:08

Edinburgh is the "poshest" of the choices you have mentioned there. LSE does have the reputation of being left wing if that puts your mind at rest (or maybe not).

sendsummer · 26/07/2020 15:41

Agree with PPs, university is a chance to try different environments and mix with all sorts of people. London from that point of view sounds perfect for your DD.

Disadvantages
as you rightly say, expensive,
distances for travelling especially to sports facilities,
initial isolation if she ends up in a residence without sociable students and she finds it difficult to make the effort herself.

Anyway, definitely worth including as a choice. She will decide nearer the time whether the expense is worth having to work to afford it.
I know lots of students who are thrilled to have been in London but it is different from a traditional university experience. However that is nothing to do with the socioeconomic gaps between students.
LSE is full of excellent academics but they will not hand hold and students have to cope with that and work independently to solve their difficulties in tackling course material.

seondseti · 26/07/2020 16:10

I have a state educated ds at LSE who says it is absolutely the place for her. You will find the full spectrum of people there. There is an elite group but the halls are a mix of massively different people so she will find her people, whoever they may be. Last year Ds lived in one of the cheaper halls and had loads of friends from UK state schools. He also points out that some of the international students are sponsored to be there so not necessarily monied at all. Obviously there are very wealthy international people there too and it can be cliquey but that can be said of any uni. Don’t forget it can be interesting, fun and enriching to be friends with rich international kids with different backgrounds. Ds says his classes are massively improved by having students in them from all over the world with varied experiences. Lots of state school kids at LSE do live in London so may live at home (ds is moving back next year) but if you join societies etc you meet people. If she likes the course and wants an academic uni in London she should go for it. Ds loves it and is very happy with his choice.

Needmoresleep · 26/07/2020 18:10

Smelly blue cheese

but I think there are better places for the undergrad experience

That is disappointing, especially from a member of staff. It depends on what you mean by the ‘undergraduate experience’. DS was very happy at LSE. A really good diverse group of friends, mainly bonded by a strong interest in their subject, some very supportive staff, and some amazing opportunities.

DD went to Bristol. She found the ‘undergraduate experience’ quite challenging and isolating in her first year. Either you were a clubber or you were weird, and if you were female and played a sport other than netball, you were even weirder and clearly a lesbian. Easier when she could move out of hall and in with (sporty) friends. DS would have hated it. I think the basic question is whether you are choosing university for the course or the social life. Of course all universities offer both. But LSE is slanted towards work more than play. Especially the less well off international students whose (extended) family are stretching themselves to send their able child to the UK. Of his British friends most, indeed all of the half dozen I knew, seemed to be from state schools.

A lot depends on subject. If you are studying finance you can expect most to want to head into the a City. I don’t think any on DS’ coursemates went into the City. Instead a mix of further study (most in the US - the LSE opens doors), consultancy, or public sector.

Needmoresleep · 26/07/2020 18:21

I agree with secondseti.

Students at LSE tend not to be left wing. They tend to be focussed. Staff are more of a mix, but it is one of the few Universities where lecturers have chosen not to strike.

I don’t know why MN people keep claiming that halls are far flung. Does everyone really have DC there. Most halls, if not all, are within 20 minutes walk. Better than, say, Bristol. DS then rented a former council flat near Great Ormond street hospital, only 10 minutes walk from the school. The big advantage LSE has is that because people are far flung a lot of stuff, ie societies, happens on campus. And the campus really is 24 hour. (One of the best student discos in London.) Better than places like Warwick where second and third years live miles out. Public transport in London is also very good compared with other cities.

Parker231 · 26/07/2020 20:44

I went to LSE many years ago. Brilliant place to get your degree. The mix of people from different countries and cultures was the best of any university I know of. Unfortunately it never made it onto the short list for either of my DC’s.

sendsummer · 27/07/2020 08:14

Most halls, if not all, are within 20 minutes walk
That would be unusual for a London university so I checked.
Some are and can be relatively cheap for twin bedrooms, otherwise over £200 per week.

www.lse.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/search-accommodation?collection=lse-accommodation&sort=metaavailability

Needmoresleep · 27/07/2020 09:43

Sendsummer, in practice the more expensive halls tend to attract overseas students. The older, cheaper and often closer halls (Passfield - which was quite run down when I was there - though I assume they have done something since, Roseberry, and Carr Saunders) are more popular with home students. The issue, in London, is that you have to make do with less. Just as highly paid bankers live in ordinary terraced houses in Fulham, London students don't expect to have an ensuite, or a living room in their shared flat. Several of the intercollegiate halls are also within walking distance.

LSE guarantees accommodation to ALL first year students. From memory you get five choices. So easy. You pick the three LSE halls mentioned and then a couple of others, perhaps including a couple of nearby Intercollegiate Halls. My guess, on the basis that DS did not hear until August, is that non London students are given priority.

The really rich students live in Mayfair, or in the expensive halls and commute in by taxi!

DS was in International Hall, which has a fantastic location but is huge. And in fairness he made little to no effort. However, as I said, plenty of social life happens on campus and he was active in three or four, and made friends with a group of second years who lived in a nearby flat, who will be his University friends for life, as will be the course friends he got close to in his third and Masters years, several of whom, like him, are now pursuing PhDs in the US.

Outside of lockdown there is so much happening in London, lots of which is cheap or free. So no reason why you should not go with friends from the music society to concerts, or hear speakers at different colleges. In his first year DS joined a school friend at Imperial in one of their non competitive sports societies. He was a member of a casual 7 a side football league which involved students from several central London University, and as part of an LSE computer gaming team that was regularly trounced by Imperial and UCL. I've met London students working in high end restaurants, John Lewis, and, a self-confessed foodie, in Borough Market.

London has layers, and student London is a very different place, to the London workers and commuters know. It offers some very real advantages, and some obvious disadvantages. It depends on what you are looking for. I suspect also you need to be a self starter and engage: on your course, with your fellow students from a diversity of backgrounds, in the University, and with London generally.

Needmoresleep · 27/07/2020 09:58

Also if anyone is considering the LSE but is concerned about money, the major London Universities are keen to increase the number of non-London working class British students, and offer some quite generous bursaries. Imperial is the richest, but LSE and UCL do their best. (I went to a donor event once and met a impressive third year law student who had just received some exceptional offers for training contracts and funding, who had initially thought she would have to reject her LSE offer as she could not afford to go.)

Those within striking distance of London should also look at LSE's public lecture series, or now on Zoom. All sorts of big names passing through London with give a lecture. It gives a sense of the different, but not necessarily lesser, experience studying in London can give.

sendsummer · 27/07/2020 11:47

different, but not necessarily lesser, experience studying in London can give.

This says it very nicely IMO. It is important for students from outside the SE to not be put off for the wrong reasons.

Bouledeneige · 28/07/2020 08:39

I personally think London is a great city to live in - one if the best in the world. But not as a student. The majority of central London halls of residence are given to foreign students since they are paying the most. Friends with kids at UCL and Kings got offered accommodation in Stratford and Archway. One was in a flat with mature students and they never socialised together once. All her friends are foreign students. The other left after a year.

I still believe the London experience is not as good as say Manchester, Nottingham or Leeds or Newcastle.

And my XH and my best friend who are both Profs in London both agree.

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