Hi everyone, welcome to LSE’s YouTube channel!
My name is April and I’m currently a masters student studying Environmental Policy and Regulation here at LSE
If you’ve clicked on this video, you’re probably wondering what social scenes are like at LSE as postgrad students
I think this is a topic that is relevant for pretty much anyone, no matter how outgoing or social or in-between you are
I sat down with some of my friends and we’ve discussed our experiences
And hopefully some advice we have for you
The most important take-away, and you’ll hear this from everyone that I’ve interviewed
Everyone is feeling the same way, everyone is in the same boat
And you are not alone for feeling nervous about making friends or even feeling lonely at times
And there are so many opportunities, informal or formal, to make friends!
I hope you find this helpful and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave them below!
I’m in Environmental Policy and Regulation, along with April, Lauren, and Simon
Yeah, I’m Simon and I’m also in the program as Jenna said… [laughs]
My name is Jenna and I’m also from Canada
I’m Lauren and I’m from the UK
I’m Simon and I’m from Germany
I was actually a bit worried when I first met everyone because I felt that a lot of people had met before I’ve met them
I was completely wrong because everyone was super friendly, especially doing stuff outside of the course
You almost have to jump in at the beginning
It’s a bit scary, but also after a week or two weeks, you almost forgot what that feeling is like completely
When I first started meeting people at LSE
I also would have stuff going on outside as well, I was still playing sports with my old team
I was almost worried that I would miss out, kind of felt FOMO
But you don’t have to go to everything that everyone does
It’s just making sure that you put in the time to get to know people
Yeah I had the same feeling because I had my friendship group from my undergrad, which was also in London
It was always okay because there was a lot of other things that were going on
People were active in the group chat, proposing new events and stuff to do
You almost have to dive in, don’t you -- It’s like when you do your undergrad and you go freshers week
It’s like that intimation to literally say hello to anyone
With postgrad, I knew that I could go say hello to everyone
But I was like, “why am I getting nervous? I’ve done all this all before…” and I felt like I was 18 again
Jenna, Lauren and I were in the same group and
I feel like I didn’t’ actually get to know you on this level until we were working on a project together for a class
It comes in different stages like you don’t have to be friends with everyone during the first week of school
Do it at your own pace because those people aren’t going anywhere
If you’re going to become friends, then you can do it in the way you want to do it
Plus there are different places you can find new friends
There’s the course, accommodations, societies, sports…
When I went to undergrad, I went with a ton of people I already knew
So coming here, I genuinely did not know a single human being in this city
It was definitely overwhelming, but I think people are all in a really similar boat
I think it kind of unites everybody in a way
Because we’re all uncomfortable, I think we’re all more open and receptive to wanting to do things together -- That’s what’s so good about LSE
In undergrad, when you’ve got people in second or third year above you
There’s more of a linear continuity that you know people in the program
Or you might recognize them, if I’m in first year and I meet a second year I’ll see them again in third year
Whereas now, you come in and there’s a sea of people that you’ve never seen before
And there’s no one above you or anything It’s just like, this is it
One of the guys, Brandon, he hadn’t met anyone And he literally moved here, he didn’t know anyone
He just put it in the group chat like, “Does anyone want to get dinner?” And 20 of us came
If you haven’t reached out to anyone, but you’re in some kind of forum or group chat
You can literally put a message on there and let the people come to you
I did feel that there is more of a focus towards undergrads within the societies
And for prospective masters students, week 0 with all the orientation stuff, seems very geared towards undergrads
But that shouldn’t dissuade you from joining things… Don’t worry essentially
When you know what course you’re on, I remember that I was checking the Facebook page to see ways to get in touch with people
There was a post about the WhatsApp group, and I feel like that WhatsApp group opened the door for everyone 58 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:30,000 So I’d advise just checking on whether it’d be social media…
I think it’s more important for postgrads than for undergrads because our programs tend to be smaller
There tends to be more activity in these group chats
One final personal anecdote I’d like to share
I was talking to my friend at home in Vancouver, and it was a Saturday night
And I was like, “I’m so tired, I don’t want to go out, I don’t know anyone. I have no one to go hang out with…”
And my friend was like, “you know someone. I guarantee you know someone. Text them and ask them what they’re doing!”
So then I messaged April, and I was like “Hi April…” and she was like, “we’re pre-gaming for the postgrad party”
I was like, “I don’t have a ticket but I’ll come anyways” Then I don’t know… from there, it just turned into a friendship
Sometimes you do have to put yourself out there it’s not just going to come to you
It might be scary, but that one step is worth it in the end
And also, other people are looking for that step too, right? Other people are looking for other people to take that step so you might as well…
My name is Nicholas and I’m from Benin, Burkina Faso and the United States I’m studying International Migration Public Policy
I’m Delphine and I’m also in International Migration Public Policy I’m from France, but grew up in Germany
How did we meet each other?
Basically, I put a message in the group chat for the whole hall, “Does anyone want to go eat?”
A ton of people came, and April was one of them. Ever since, we got along and became friends
We’re flatmates -- we bumped into each other when I was moving and my parents were there as well
Then we found out we were in the same program so that was a really nice surprise
We met on the first night I actually stayed here There was a pre-gaming going on in the common room and we went out It was really chill
And you texted me the next day to go thrift shopping at the Camden market -- That was really nice
A piece of advice I’d give any prospective LSE students would be to just go to all the events
Because there are always parties and stuff going on
So even if you’re not a person who enjoys that, just go to a few and you’ll meet people there
We went to a postgrad party that was organized by the student union
it was held at Three Tuns, which has really cheap drinks. It was a good night
A lot of them are not even organized by the school… A lot of them are just organically within halls or your program
In our program, before Welcome Week, we went to Primrose Hill That was really fun
It was nice to meet outside of formal setting like the receptions with professors and stuff
At Lilian Knowles, every night there was something going on in the common room
Even if you didn’t know the people that well, you could just go and everyone would just become friends
I think everyone is just receptive, right? Everyone wants to make friends
There was that pizza night We got free pizza at Pizza Union
Exactly. People would just be doing stuff, right? Someone would be like, “I’m about to go to McDonald’s, does anyone want to come?”
It really helps that we have a chat for the entire residence and our programs and everything
So people are always putting ideas out there
One big thing I would say I think it’s the Facebook groups that they give you links to when you get accepted
Keep an eye out on it because they will create WhatsApp groups for new students for accommodations, for programs. That’s the best way to meet people.
Were you ever nervous about making friends at all?
I mean, of course. There’s always that fear in the back of your head that you might not get along with the people
I know LSE has a reputation for being a little bit anti-social
Yeah I don’t get that, to be honest A big thing part of that narrative is that it’s really anti-social because there’s a lot of international students
And people think they click together But I don’t think that’s true
I think they’re more open to meeting new people Also, it’s so cool to meet people that have different life experiences than you… there’s so much to learn
Compared to my previous uni, I think it’s a lot more community-oriented
Because my previous uni was a lot bigger so it just felt a little overwhelming
Here, people are a lot more inclusive when it comes to making plans
I mean, there aren’t too too many students and the campus is kind of small
So you’re always seeing people when you’re walking around or even walking to school
I also have to say, in our program at least, the seminars are where I have my closest friends in the end
Because those are people I see weekly and we always have lunch afterwards and stuff
Also in seminars, I don’t know about your program, but for mine, we had debates as a group thing and we had a group presentation
There’s a lot of opportunities to meet people in an academic setting, too
You meet so many people that at the end of the day, it’s more like finding time to hang out with all the people and maintaining that connection
I think the biggest thing is to just let people know if you have a fear about not being able to make friends
If you just put yourself out there, even a tiny bit, you’ll get way more in return. And then after, the rest (will follow)
Don’t be embarrassed because I know sometimes people don’t want to message people
But just push past that, or try to push past that fear, at least initially
Everyone’s in the same boat