LSE vs Edinburgh

[Sleepy432]

Thoughts and experiences much appreciated (social sciences). Based in south. Thanks a lot.

Actually, social anthropology is my field. Both LSE and Edinburgh have really excellent departments with excellent faculty. As an undergraduate, they will be much of a muchness, probably. And, really, (and I say this as someone with a PhD in the field) how much does the institution matter for a degree in social anthropology, when both institutions are reputable and strong? If she wants to go on to a PhD or MA in the field, neither will disqualify her. But most students go on to do other things - in a vast number of interesting fields - and, again, neither institution would disqualify here.
So, if she likes Edinburgh most, choose it.

DS2 was at KCL, opposite LSE, so knew a lot of people from there. He said they were really pissed off with how bad it was. Way after Covid restrictions ended, all their courses were still online. They had minimal interaction with tutors face to face.

It may have changed now, but he said his friends felt it seemed to rest on its reputation rather than deserving it.

It's reverted to full in person for everything

That's good to know. Ignore my comments then, OP

Thanks everyone. I took @Piggywaspushed ’s suggestion from another thread and downloaded the NSS student survey data at a course level as a comparison. It all has to be taken with a pinch of salt of course but interesting none the less.

@Sleepy432 are you in commutable distance of LSE?

DD trying to figure out similar dilemma for anthropology but between LSE and Durham. Bumping thread to read about LSE views. Albeit in our DD's case, the additional difference is that the Durham is small and the course is not focused just on social anthropology. It really is about the difference in experience vs reputation and distance from home (we're in South too).
@Sleepy432 Looking forward to see what your DD decides.

@Blurryeyed123 Dd also has a Durham offer for CHSS to include anthropology. She has however decided against it but some of that is to do with not really gelling with Durham as a place. She also said she wasn’t that enthused by the anthropology modules but obviously that is again about individual preference.

You DD should go to the LSE offer holder day.

@LSEMum DD was considering this but has already gone on the offer holders day and not sure what additional benefit the offer holders day will yield. It seems a similar format. That being said, it might be worth going to see the accommodation to get a feel for the student hall vibe.

@Sleepy432 Edinburgh has a good course. DD hadnt applied based on distance albeit Durham is not that much nearer so not sure why that made the cut. I think DD will need to go over the course details again to get a better feel of one course against the other. There might be a preference of the LSE course but not sure if she likes it much more over Durham's to give that a miss. At the moment, the focus seems to be on getting revision done. Can't believe exams are already on the horizon next month! If anything, the offers have seem to have spurred DD and get her more focused.