Living and studying in the very heart of London
Can you imagine living in a place that is at the same time a global hub for business and finance and a center of continuous innovation in the arts, culture and entertainment sectors? This is London, and you can really breathe the air of excitement typical of this city studying at the London School of Economics — also known as “the LSE”.
LSE — The Location
The LSE is located at the very heart of Central London, in a part of the city called Westminster Area. As you can imagine, this area is very close to the Palace of Westminster, that hosts the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey, the church that has hosted important ceremonies of the royal family since William the Conqueror.
LSE is also very close to the London Stock Exchange and the City, the area famous for collecting many company headquarters and important business buildings such as the iconic “The Shard”. Closeness to these buildings is part of the LSE identity and facilitates students staying tuned on business and political developments.
Besides these strategical political and economic locations, the LSE is also at walking distance from Covent Garden — famous for its covered market and street artists exhibitions — and the East End — where hundreds of musical and comedy theatres are located.
Moreover, if you like sports and outdoor activities, the LSE is close to sports sites such as the Wembley Stadium for football, the Lord’s and the Oval for cricket, the Twickenham for rugby, and the Wimbledon for tennis, and green spaces such as Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Hampstead Heath, Clapham Common and Kensington Gardens.
Finally, keep in mind that this central location makes the LSE easily reachable by public transport. It is served by the underground (Holborn, Temple, and Charing Cross stations), the national rail (Waterloo, Charing Cross, Blackfriars and St Pancras International) and buses (the main stop is Aldwych).
LSE — General facts
The London School of Economics was founded in 1895 as a university specialised in pure and applied social sciences. Today, the university offers 40 undergraduate programmes and 140 between taught and research postgraduate programmes, organised in 25 departments. Over the years, it has gained an excellent academic reputation, in the UK and in the world, both for its academic research output and for the quality of teaching.
40 undergraduate programs, 140 postgraduate programs, 25 departments.
In fact, according to the Research Excellence Framework, it has the highest percentage of world-leading research of any university in the UK and it has never left the top 15 UK university rankings until 2019. In terms of global rankings, it has been classified as #49 by the QS World University Ranking of 2021, with an overall score of 73.9 out of 100. This score is based on several criteria: noticeable are the “international students” and “International Faculty” criteria, for which the LSE got 100/100, “Employer reputation”, which got 99.6/100, and “Academic Reputation”, which is 73.9/100.
Moreover, to get an idea of the reputation of studying at LSE, you might just give a look to some of its alumni: you can find among them the former Director of the IMF Carlo Cottarelli, the current President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and the billionaire investor, philanthropist and activist George Soros.
LSE — Life
The life of a student at LSE can be enriched by a variety of well-structured and organised social activities. In fact, the LSE campus hosts a real community of people, which is represented and organized by the LSE Students’ Union. The Student Union is a sort of trade union for the students, that is meant to express the students’ voice through a range of institutions elected twice a year: The Students Representatives, The Academic Representatives and The Democracy Committee.
Moreover, the LSE Students’ Union hosts more than 200 societies making the best of community life. Societies are groups of students who share a common interest and provide opportunities for meeting new people. They are organised by topic into: Academic societies, Activity/interest-based societies, Creative networks, Careers services, Charity, Campaigning and Political groups, Faith societies, Media and Cultural societies. They are so many that you can definitely find your environment to express your talent and develop the skills you prioritize the most. Moreover, the LSE Student Union is very open and flexible, so if you do not find a society that really represents your interest, you will be more than supported to start your own!
And even if you are not very into societies and specific activity groups, at the LSE there are many facilities especially meant and designed to facilitate general socialization. There are communal spaces, such as the Escape social space in the library, the LSE roof terraces, the Postgraduate common room, the Undergraduate common room, the Peacock Theatre or the PhD Academy. In these places you can always find someone to start interesting conversations with and be sure to make friends.
Finally, if you are a sport lover, consider using one of the many sport facilities offered at the LSE: the Students’ Union Gym, the Old Gym and Badminton court, and multiple sportsground where you can play five-a-side football, netball, tennis, rugby and cricket.
LSE — Application info
If you also think that studying at the LSE — at the very heart of London — is exciting, don’t miss your opportunity! In order to apply, just keep in mind a few deadlines:
- if you are an undergraduate, you must send your application by the 15th of January via the UCAS system;
- if you are a graduate student, applications are on a rolling bases through the LSE Online Application System, and are divided in two panels: the first panel can also compete for funding, and the deadline is the 14th of January (or 17th December only for the Department of Economics); the second panel deadline is the 29th of April, but does not include allocation of funding.
As part of your application, you will be required to send supporting documents: your CV and statement of academic purpose, as well as a research proposal and/or GRE/GMAT results depending on the programme you are applying for. It might seem a lot to prepare, but with the right guidance you can definitely do it!
Dreamando offers specific assistance to prepare each of these documents and tailored support throughout the application process. Therefore, if you think the LSE should be your next university, don’t hesitate to reach us through our website, email and social media.