LSE advice

[Tatapie]

DC has received offers from both LSE and other unis and is struggling to choose which to firm.
LSE has an amazing reputation and London is very cool! But DC is worried they'll get lost academically as teaching time is less and I'm anxious they'll suffer socially as it's not a big campus environment. They get lonely and aren't that into studying independently
Anyone's DC been to LSE ? How did they find it? Thanks

No experience of LSE but DC may insure it. Have you heard that LSE has less contact hours for the same subject than other Unis?

I share your concerns about the social aspects of LSE plus their sports facilities are not near the campus etc. But DS picked it as it's a reputable Uni and his subject has a good course content. Will watch this thread

@Oldowl has a DC there currently; hopefully she will see this.

It's dc's first choice, above the one she got rejected from....Loves London.
Dc at another London uni joined a non uni football club last year, so they are not limited to student clubs.

Dc at another London uni joined a non uni football club last year, so they are not limited to student clubs.

I sometimes feel like a broken record on the subject of students actually also being part of the community where their university is geographically located, not just attending X university. So why not look at joining local clubs / teams / societies, if what they fancy isn't available on campus and there aren't enough fellow enthusiasts to get their particular special interest society set up? Or even if the 'outside' offer just takes their fancy?

Admittedly, I did it the other way round - I joined the Music Society when I was at LSE and carried on singing with them for well over a decade after graduating. Iirc it was the only university Society permitted to have non-student members (good thing too, otherwise it would have been a dozen or so singers accompanied by a very assorted quintet or thereabouts, some years).

That is an idea - joining non Uni clubs. There will hopefully be lots of options in central London

Good point about being part of the community too! London would have a lot to offer.

My son has firmed LSE after speaking to careers /UCAS advisor at school.He really likes the LSE course.A lot of his friends have applied to London unis.So hopefully he will meet some lovely LSE students but has option to meet school friends too.
During a pandemic,he felt it would be less isolating.
You can participate also in London university sport.They often compete against each other..

thetab.com/uk/london/2021/06/04/student-central-is-closing-down-and-removing-its-pool-41091

Anyone fond of swimming will have to find somewhere else to do it, though, if Birkbeck carries out its intentions as the new owners of the lease on what I remember as the 'ULU' building.

oh no, dc is into swimming, that's a bummer.

@Tatapie My DD is at LSE. She chose it for the course, its reputation and its location. She also had offers from UCL, Kings, Manchester and York. LSE offered an additional language option and choices of modules from the first year. It has been an unusual year so DD only had a few weeks of face to face teaching. With its international student community, LSE was well set up to offer online programmes. However, it was mainly international students who returned to halls in January with UK students being advised to study from home (accommodation fees were waived).

Most students are back for the final term, but this term is purely for exams. Teaching is done in the first two terms (11 weeks) and summer term (6 weeks) is for exams (this year all online). DD finished exams 10 days ago. She has a field trip coming up, which was postponed from November. She will meet a lot of people from her course for the first time.

There is lots of independent study and the workload is intense at times. DD's course is back loaded, so lots of reading at the start of the term and all essays tend to be at the end of term with group and individual presentations. Very different to Oxbridge with essays due every week.

If he isn't that into studying independently he is going to find any uni quite tough!

Depends @SeasonFinale . If you are doing a full on course like medicine it is pretty structured. Plus the sheer volume of work / essay writing keeps people going at Oxbridge.

However it is different way of learning which I think a lot of our DC will have to adapt to

Once again chopc here to disgaree with whatever I post. This is becoming a bit of a pattern and I notice you do the same to @Goodbyestranger

@chopc I have to agree with @SeasonFinale - students who can't study independently are going to struggle at university. My DS has an incredibly structured course (Oxford Chemistry) with a lot of 'set' hours and activities.

There may be structure but within that he has to identify what he needs to do, find the right materials and organise his time. There is no one telling him what to do or when to do it.

DSS went there. He struggled a bit the first year as it was harder to get the sort of 1:1 access to a tutor/lecturer that he was used to from A-level. He also found it difficult to settle into Halls at first and make friends as there is a large international element (not sure if that's still the case after Covid!). However, he settled well for the second and third years, made some good friends on his course and learned to manage the independent learning. Overall he had a positive experience and came out with great results which he has stood him in good stead with potential employers.

Thanks all , I agree independent learning is key to Uni he just likes company which I why I was concerned LSE might be difficult as there aren't as many shared group spaces to work in ( from what I can see online and from wandering around , sadly no in person tours this year ) as compared to some big campus unis.

Oops @SeasonFinale I didn't realise I was doing that. And did you really need to tag anyone else on this post did you?

Sorry that didn't make sense. I didn't realise I was disagreeing with whatever you say @SeasonFinale . However you didn't really need to tag anyone else on this post.

I think independent study is a skill you learn whilst at university ........

@sandybayley did your DS already know how to find the right material and know what he needed to do for his degree before he started at Oxford? Or did it evolve with time?

In my case I was disciplined and was good at managing time but the type of study skills were developed at Uni and was not something I had already

As far as this independent study "discussion" goes, I think both are right. My course was every day whole day lectures and practicals. But there were quite a few who just did not manage the first year and dropped out . Well, maybe it was not so much the independent study but the sheer load of it.
My dc who is doing a humanity subject (completely different from me) mentioned he felt doing an EPQ was the best preparation/most similar to what he is doing at the moment.

DS1 was very disciplined before he went to university and managed to balance 4 A Levels and play a lot of sport (contrary to the MN view that you should never do 4 A Levels). He was excellent at time management and very focussed - something which has been very helpful at university.

His school required him to produce an extended essay (a bit like an EPQ) and this was researched and produced with minimal supervision.

He didn't arrive at university with fully formed study skills but he was well on the way there.

This is going off in a tangent but there are some who feel that IB students are better prepared for the type of study required at Uni due to the breadth of their course demanding good time management. I think the TOK and Extended Essay would require a lot of independent study?

My DS in an IB school is in year 10 so that is still to come. My oldest DS did AL so don't have any direct experience of IB