Three years of LSE distilled into 27 Aphorisms.
Having finished my BSc Government at LSE and having a chance to reflect on the experience I had, it got me thinking of advice I could now pass on to 18 year old me. This is by no means a definitive or exhaustive list but a collection of thoughts/insights I wish I knew at the start. I plan to delve into some of these in more detail so please let me know your thoughts, insights, points of contention!
1. Accept that you’re not going to know everything - probably the biggest shock to me upon arriving at university was thinking that there would be a defined amount of content I could learn and I would ‘know everything’ for that topic (as was my experience during A-Levels). This might be truer for qualitative modules. Despite putting a lot of effort in my work it felt like I wasn’t doing enough because there’d always be an argument, a paper, or something someone would point to and I would think ‘why didn’t I come across that, I didn’t prepare enough’. It’s an iterative process, your understanding of particular topics will be deepened once you have covered more content in general even if they aren’t directly linked.
2. Become comfortable with feeling stupid – when something doesn’t make sense in a lecture or a class, do not panic. There’s going to be plenty of moments you feel stupid for not getting something, welcome to LSE. This part of the process will definitely make you a more resilient person. Especially coming from an environment of acing papers at A-Level, the adjustment can be a shock.
3. It is marathon not a sprint – you don’t have to have it all figured out in a month, or a term, or even an academic year – the point is you try things and learn from that.
4. Treat university like a job - an analogy I like to use is: classes, lectures, and office hours are your “meetings” and therefore in the same way you come prepared to a meeting you have to come prepared to these three aspects of your teaching experience. Define your working hours and see if your work/productivity increases. Again, try and experiment with different things and see what works for you.
5. (Especially for quant modules) look at the lecture slides beforehand.
6. Watch lectures twice - once to pick up comments by lecturer for notes, once for understanding.
7. Go to lectures in person - don’t fall into the habit of telling yourself you’ll catchup – that second time you watch will be on lecture capture.
8. Use all the resources LSE has to offer – these are just a few of the resources that provide incredible help, keep a look out for anything that might be useful
· LSE LIFE – you’ll be a master of referencing, essay writing, note-taking and so much more with LSE LIFE
· LSE Careers
· Department/society mentoring schemes
· LSE Students Union
9. Don’t buy into the finance/law/consulting career hype straight away – this isn’t a knock on those professions at all, instead it is simply wise to look at a wide variety of career options given the doors LSE can open for you and explore what is possible.
10. Treat office hours as another lecture/class i.e. mandatory every week – this is your chance to have some 1-to-1 time with some of the brightest minds on this earth. Use this opportunity to deepen your understanding of the module or even to further your interest in that area of academia in general. Either way, build a rapport with the lecturers and class teachers and use them to the fullest extent you can.
11. Build a good relationship with your academic advisors – part of my (relative) success in managing my way through the contours of LSE has been because of my academic advisor. Their function isn’t strictly defined, mine tended to help me understand university regulations and act as a source of wisdom. They are a useful point of contact for you and if you have any LSE queries they are a good place to start.
12. Don’t learn for the exam - there are some parts of the course that a lecturer will teach you for the sake of education, throughout the year adopt an attitude of wanting to learn for the sake of learning. Exam season will be the time to refine and prepare for the exam – it doesn’t hurt to learn something new.
13. Try an outside module - it’s an opportunity to learn something completely new, definitely enriched my university experience.
14. Don’t try and “game” your degree - similarly, don’t take a course based on how many firsts are given and therefore how “easy” it is. Many students fall into the trap of taking first year courses like PH101 or AC102/103 given the high proportion of firsts and end up hating it. Pick modules you like, don’t expect the grades to come easy you are at the LSE after all.
15. (For students living away from home): try to live as close to campus as you can - a walk or bus ride away if possible (finances permitting)– I went from living in Bankside house (20 mins walk away from LSE) to Zone 2 (30 minutes via underground) to Zone 4 (60 minutes via underground) and each year I hated my commute a lot more. In general it is more liberating to be less reliant on the tube and will be easier to manage your time. Two hours commute daily is two hours wasted.
16. Go to a public lecture.
17. Don’t be tricked by the seemingly sparse timetable – 4 modules with a lecture and a class for each, that is 8 – 16 hours of your time i.e. two days of a Monday to Friday 9 to 5. That leaves three whole days and a weekend of time.
18. Contribute in classes - a class can go one of two ways - excruciating silence and forced participation OR there’s lively discussion. Either way you benefit from participating as you are either chatting practically 1-to-1 and getting real time feedback or having your peers do the same.
19. Don’t think people know they have their sh*t together: they really don’t: you might be struggling with the workload for a few weeks and look around thinking ‘damn, everyone else has it together why don’t I?’ in time you will realise some students genuinely are better prepared, but in general most of us are trying to muddle our way through it while dealing with our own problems.
20. Don’t half commit to a society - go all in, it is the best way to maximise your time.
21. Don’t just stick your degree cohort, branch out – by this I mean make an effort to make friends with people on different degree programmes and at different universities, look out for inter-university society collaborations and other avenues to branch out and meet new people.
22. Find a study space you like on campus and get there early.
23. Gets to grips early on with degree regulations and how your degree is classified.
24. Understand that a lot of teachers at university aren’t full time teachers, it’s only part of their job – most of your class teachers at LSE will be PhD students (not always true) as opposed dedicated teaching professionals at your sixth-form or secondary school. Therefore what to expect from a class will be different.
25. Routine. Routine. Routine – this isn’t LSE specific but a general axiom for managing a busy life.
26. Look at intext references and bibliography for more papers on a topic – may sound obvious to some but something I only picked up in Lent Term of my first year and is now my primary way of finding literature beyond the reading list.
27. Take time for yourself and your hobbies.
Further Reading:
Patrick Dunleavy - Studying for a Degree in the Humanities and Social Sciences https://www.amazon.co.uk/Studying-Degree-Humanities-Social-Sciences/dp/0333418425 (or alternatively just borrow a copy from LSE Library which is what I did)
While you are here…