Hi, everyone. It's Pavla and in this video I'll be answering some of your questions about LSE.
Alright, so let's get started. So the first question I received is "How is student life in
London and grad school compared to undergrad, including atmosphere, customs, lifestyle,
etc.?" I experienced university both in the Philippines and in Canada,
so there are obviously cultural differences across these different places, but studying
in London and at LSE was actually the very first time that I was living alone. So as for lifestyle
there was a lot of adulting and making responsible decisions, especially considering that the biggest
difference between a master's programme and doing your bachelor's or an undergrad is that there is
a lot more independent learning expected of you in the master's. In my experience in undergrad,
I feel like there are a lot more marked or graded checks in place like projects, assignments, tests,
etc. that keep you on track throughout the term. But doing my master's programme at LSE,
I would only have one marked submission to hand in at the end of the term and that would comprise
my overall mark for the entire course. So I I think in grad school it is really up to you,
it is really your responsibility to keep yourself on track so that you can get through the course
and the term and the entire programme. Another thing to add is that London is a city where
there is just so much happening. There are so many things to explore so that can be another
temptation as well. So if I had to sum up my grad school experience at LSE and in London,
I would say it was about finding a balance to be able to handle all my responsibilities and
to enjoy my time here as well. And the next question I received is, "Why did you choose
LSE and London?". Well I chose to study in London because I really wanted to study in LSE. Honestly,
LSE was my one and only choice for grad school. Also, I'm not very good in learning languages,
so I wanted to live and study in a place that predominantly communicates in English. As to
why I chose LSE and specifically my master's programme in Gender, Media, and Culture,
I actually made a separate vlog on that. It's called "How I got to LSE" and if you guys are
interested in that I will have it linked up here. Alright, so for the third question I have, "What
was your experience applying to study in LSE and was it stressful?". So was it stressful... Yes.
I would say... I would say for the most part yes it was really nerve-wracking,
especially because LSE was my only choice for applying to graduate school. And on top of that,
I was also applying during the pandemic. I was actually initially accepted to join
the 2020-2021 cohort, but I had to make the very difficult decision to not go to LSE during that
time and I decided to reinstate my application and try again for the next year. And so that's
why I'm here. I also happened to talk about my experience with the application process in the
video I just talked about, so again refer to that video, "How I Got to LSE". I also talk about how
I wrote my personal statement and how I chose my programme specifically, so check that out if
you're interested about those things. So from my experience doing the application process,
I would say read the instructions very carefully. Have enough time to work on your
application especially with getting your letters of reference, working on your personal statements,
doing all the visa requirements, and so on. And also what really helped me was to have an advisor
or someone I can talk to about my application. So I did that with my undergraduate academic mentor
and that was really, really helpful. And those are just some things you can do to take away the
stress of doing the application process. And for the next question, it is also still about applying
to LSE, "How different is the application process for a non-resident?". Someone else also asked,
"What are the requirements to apply to LSE?". I mentioned visa requirements earlier because
I am an international student and I think that's probably one of the more stressful portions of the
application. so that is the major difference if you are a non-UK resident, then you will
also have to apply for a student visa and the requirements for that differ depending on your
country of origin. Also I have to say that the requirements to apply for LSE differ depending
on what type of programme you're applying to, if you're doing an undergrad versus master's,
etc. For example, some master's programmes might require you to do like a GRE or GMAT type test, so
for these reasons it would be impossible for me to list out the different requirements in this video.
But LSE provides the information throughout your application process and it is also available on
the LSE website. So I'm going to show you where you can check the website here. For programme
requirements, please check the entry requirements section under each individual programme.
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And for non-UK residents, please see the information for international students
page which you can find under the study at LSE section of the website. Select your country for
country-specific information about your application. And finally still under the
information for international students page please see the visas and immigration section
for visa advice. From here, these pages should direct you to other relevant sections if you
are an international student looking to apply at LSE. And the last question I received here is,
"What are the best things about LSE?". I really enjoyed being in a learning environment where
everyone was just so dedicated and passionate and engaged with what we're learning and the work that
we are doing. Here, I'm not only referring to the professors and lecturers and other faculty
members. I am also talking about the peers that you will be surrounded by. And I guess my answer
for this is also related to the first question about what is the difference between grad school
and undergrad. At LSE, learning is not just a one way dialogue from teacher to student. Instead,
there are more opportunities to discuss and share and debate and ask questions, so it is really a
more engaging experience and I feel like the people who you are surrounded with are those
who really want to be there and this is something that I just really enjoyed and appreciated during
my time at LSE. So those are some of the questions that you wanted to ask about LSE. If you would
like me to do another one of these videos, please leave your questions in the comment section below.
I hope this was helpful for you guys. Thank you so much for watching. See you in the next one.