<ul>
<li>How competitive is this school? </li>
<li>What is its international (domestic) reputation?</li>
<li>What are some of its comparable U.S. schools? </li>
<li>Are the LSE graduates favored by job recruiters?</li>
</ul>
<p>Please tell me anything you know about this school. Thank you!</p>
<p>I hate that school they rejected me as****es :))</p>
<p>I hope you don't mind my asking, but why do you think you were unable to obtain an admissions offer from the LSE? I am trying to figure out whether or not I should expect any good (bad) news from them. </p>
<p>Also, when did they contact you about the decision? Is it rolling admissions?</p>
<p>I think it was due to my predicted grades (I'm in the IB btw.) I am predicted like 31 but I suppose they probably did not realize one of my grades is missing (Czech i dont have a predicted grade for that as i didn't have a teacher) + the bonus points which would give me some + 2 + 6 pts. so 39 in total that would be fine for them I guess. Personally i think most UK universities put too much emphasis on academics, LSE being one of them</p>
<p>oh yeah and the school has one of the best reputations among European schools, admission is one of the most competitive but personally I think as long as you have excellent grades you should be OK</p>
<p>how does it compare to top american schools?</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your thoughts, honzan. I really appreciate it. </p>
<p>Along with Andrassy, I'd like to ask the same question. Is attending LSE comparable to attending schools like HYPSM?</p>
<p>The school is quite good, however I'd say that it is not quite at the level of the Ivy League ones....obviously, their programmes in economics and politics (esp. international relations) are excellent but overall I'd say it's one level below the best ones (you could compare the Ivy League to Oxbridge, then comes the second best level like Imperial, University College London and LSE)</p>
<p>id love to go to school overseas but im sure id get homesick after a while and im afraid it wouldnt look as good to an american company</p>
<p>I'm a yank living in England so I'm pretty familiar w/ both systems</p>
<p>Basically, LSE is right below Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) in the prestige levels, making it comparable to a Williams or a Dartmouth in the US if you are comparing the systems directly, its just below the uber-prestige HPYS levels. However, if you got accepted into a school like Williams as well as LSE, I would STRONGLY recommend going to Williams. </p>
<p>The reason? The standards of English university-level education are far below American standards, mostly due to a lack of funding. Places like LSE are very run down and quite understaffed, as American schools can afford to pay the bright English professors more money and give them more research grants. Even Oxbrige is really just getting by on reputation nowadays, and I would rank it about equal to USC or maybe even NYU in real terms on all levels except student intelligence - there can be no denial that all top level English schools do really attract some very smart kids. </p>
<p>The hardest thing you are going to have to get your head around if you want to go to LSE (or any English school) is that your major is essentially the only class you can do. If you are truly passionate about economics or international relations (and only one of them, there is VERY limited interaction between them and you can not attend classes for both) then you might thrive there. This one-area focus does mean that it is one of the best places for studying that specific course in the world - but not for the broader college experience. </p>
<p>As for job opportunities - I am not sure that it would help overly much with your average US employer as it is largely unrecognised in the US. However, it does provide great opportunities into getting into the financial field in England, which ain't nothing. Large global firms do recognise LSE as well (but again, I wouldn't say an LSE degree would outweigh a USC degree). </p>
<p>As for competition, I think you have a real shot if you are a competitive student in the US as long as you are willing to pay the heavily increased foreign fees, as that is how English schools make a lot of their money (domestic fees are legally required to be very small and do not cover costs). You must show real talent and interest in the field you are going to study though (e.g. economics or IR). </p>
<p>So basically, I would only go to LSE if I were you if I:</p>
<p>Loved London (it is a really, really cool city)
Wanted to get into English/European finance
Really want to learn a specific course (Only worth doing it at LSE for economics, IR, select other social sciences)
Couldn't afford elite American schools (Even with foreign fees, I think LSE is a bit cheaper than elite US schools and of course it is only a 3 year program)</p>
<p>Hope I've helped... best of luck</p>
<p>Be prepared for an insane increase in your cost of living. It is just about twice as expensive to live in the UK, and London is the worst.</p>
<p>Thanks Madd Stressed for your response ... I guess I'll have to think hard if/when an admissions offer comes.</p>
<p>By the way, does anyone know when they send out admissions offers?</p>
<p>They try to make all decisions by the end of March.</p>
<p>This stuffs all on their website - just check out <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk%5B/url%5D">www.lse.ac.uk</a> (if u haven't already done so extensively). Its under the undergrad admissions section.</p>
<p>lse and especially oxbridge are miles ahead of a comparatively terrible school like usc. I have never met anyone who has come to oxbridge and called it run down and understaffed. look at the research rankings and spending (cambridge > most of hypsm) and youll see how wrong you are. many people on this forum seem to be posting british-bashing nonsense. comparing oxbridge to usc is like comparing harvard (oxbridge) or uchicago(lse) to usc.</p>
<p>Ok sargon, i dont understand you statement saying usc is comparatively terrible.</p>
<p>Going to an english school is great if you want a job in America. Most banks are international, london has more money going through making it number one for finance over NYC, less stressful work in environments if you worked for a period in london, etc etc.</p>