<p>I want to study abroad my junior year and am interested in LSE and Oxford. I am an economics major- which school is better for studying economics at the undergraduate level. Also what are the significant advantages / disadvantages associated with each school. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Also I have heard that admissions for study abroad programs typically aren't that difficult because schools want the money- is this true?</p>
<p>As a parent of a daughter who attended a year abroad at Oxford and then was offered a free ride to LSE for graduate school, but chose Oxford yet again for her MPhil, I have a few opinions about Oxford. (Since she never went to LSE, I cannot comment, but she loved it and was keen on it, too.) My daughter had a high GPA and so her university encouraged her to try for Oxford, but whether she got in because they wanted the money or not, the truth is it was the most rigorous course of study she ever had. You “read” your subject at Oxford. Few seminars; mostly meeting with your tutors, reading your essays to him/her, etc. She loved everything about Oxford. Wearing her gown for finals, dinners at her college (you matriculate into a college just as if you were a regular student), the beauty of the city, the history, the pomp and circumstance (commencement was mind-blowing when she received her master’s degree), the vast and unimaginable number of things to do and see and learn and visit. Oxford is also not that far from London. I have made the trip countless times between Heathrow and Oxford by the Oxford Express. Oxford also opened many doors for her. She was recruited by several top law firms (both UK and US-based) and they put her through law school in London. She now practices with a law firm in London, putting her undergraduate and IR Oxford degree to good use. </p>
<p>LSE is also highly regarded and my son is considering it over Oxford for economics his junior year, but I cannot comment on it the way I can about Oxford.</p>
<p>It depends entirely on the program. Some study abroad programs are nothing more than staying in a house in Oxford with other US students, or staying the "dorms " (halls of residence in the UK) when the university is closed. In such programs , you pay and you’re in (I’m not saying such programs wouldn’t be enjoyable, they probably would be. but they are unlikely to be as academically rigorous as described by laplatinum, and there are few study abroad programs at oxford where you are allowed to matriculate with the regular enrolled students. The one described above is the first I’ve heard of. It is also rare for study abroad students to take Oxford exams. Probably becasue they will ruin your GPA). The same applies to LSE programs.</p>
<p>the programs are both through emory’s study abroad program and coincide with the academic year at both LSE and Oxford/ I believe both programs are integrated. The LSE program is LSE’s General Course which is the only study abroad program offered by LSE.</p>
<p>Academically they’re both incredible for economics so I wouldn’t worry so much on that front. However, it might be worth considering what else you want out of your year abroad. I do think that laplatinum does have a point and it would be silly to pass up a year at Oxford. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and frankly LSE is just in ‘the city’/London which many other universities have a claim to.</p>