<p>Hey, I am an American at a top US college. Through my university, I am going to do a year abroad in England. The following schools have an established exhange program with my school, so I am wondering what are the reputations for:</p>
<p>-Kings College, University of London</p>
<p>-London School of Economics, University of London</p>
<p>-Queen Mary, University of London</p>
<p>-School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London </p>
<p>-University College, University of London</p>
<p>-University of York</p>
<p>At my college, I am a double major in history and economics. My inclination at this point is to go to LSE. Is that the best fit for my course of study?</p>
<p>I am a bit biased as I am at LSE but from the list it is the best uni. Although the others are all very good. If I had to rank them:
1 - LSE
2 - UCL
3 - King's College
4 - Queen Mary (joint)
4 - York (joint)</p>
<p>SOAS is hard to rank as it is very subject specific. But if you want to learn about Asia or Africa that is the place to be. </p>
<p>For Economics LSE is the best outside the USA. For History not that sure. Probably Oxbridge but they are not on your list.</p>
<p>York would be a lot cheaper as it is not in London. And if you want a campus school in London UCL is the best option although I would not expect rolling hills.</p>
<p>If you have any more questions I would be happy to answer them.</p>
<p>You can look up the courses on each website. Pick the school based on the courses or tutorial you want to do. Communicate between the two schools to make sure that you can take the courses you like best. Ideally, you will be thrown in with the UK/EU/Commonwealth students. Make sure you avoid the American-only classes.</p>
<p>London is a great choice--and any of the schools will be a fantastic challenge.</p>
<p>I have friends that go there (and I've gone for lectures there) and there's no way any school in London can be aptly described as a quintessential campus school in the likes of Nottingham.</p>
<p>LSE is excellent for economics and probably your best bet though UCL is equally good (minus that LSE brand). Not so sure about history though.</p>
<p>Cost is not an issue, my university is going to cover all tuition costs.</p>
<p>I think I'm going to go for LSE and emphasize on my econ courses. The history department at my college is probably better than our econ, so I think I'll emphasize on history while at home.</p>
<p>The LSE is associated with as many as 10 Nobel laureates in Economics (including alumni and former staff) making it arguably the best economics school in the world outside North America. Moreover, it is also a top school for the study of Law, Sociology, Political Science, and International Relations. I suggest you check out the Wikipedia article on the LSE for further information.</p>
<p>I did a masters at York and I can tell you about it, but also I didn't like it.</p>
<p>The university is nearly all contained on a small concrete 1960s campus on the edge of the city. It has a big lake in the centre and lots of geese. i found the graduate courses at least were just a money making exercise for the university. All populated with full fee paying foreign students, many of whom could barely speak English. But it was almost impossible for them to fail because they were all magically given 50% for every piece of work, even when it was unintelligible.</p>
<p>The city of York itself is rather lovely. It's got an ancient cathedral and medieval shops inside a huge city wall. It was around in Roman times but was also the capital of viking England so there is a huge Viking experience place which is a big tourist attraction (the Jorvik Centre). Unfortunately as a student you will live on the camous and not in the city (but you can walk there or get the bus). It is MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper than London. Like half the cost. If cost is an issue, go to York. The accommodation varies widely from brand new ensuite (own bathroom that is) to cold and ugly concrete blocks. of course you always get a single room in the UK. It takes about 1.5-2 hours to get from London to York on the train.</p>
<p>I am a scientist so I don't know anything about the teaching of History or Economics at York.</p>
<p>"UCL is FAR from a campus school!" That is why I said don't expect rolling hills. But at least it has a campus. LSE, King's and Soas don't even have that. Although SOAS is in a far quieter location than the other 2.</p>
<p>Congratulations Inshallah. It is a very good school in one of the nicest areas of Central London. One note of caution. If you are goping for dorms try not to get the ones on Oxford Street becuase they are very noisy
.</p>
<p>LSE has the strongest name out of all of them. But you aren't getting a qualification from them so go someplace you'll like! Your year abroad is supposed to be a lot of fun; certainly not the time to get caught up in the ****ing contest that is university prestige comparisons.</p>
<p>Go to SOAS only if your interests lie very specifically in the Orient or Africa. Otherwise, the LSE's history and economics programmes are the top in the UK.</p>