Summer School Experience @London School of Economics and Political Science, London (LSE) :Teaching is Beyond Excellent

About:

The London School of Economics and Political Science is one of the biggest and the best Summer Schools across the world. The Summer School offers a wide range of courses along with immense exposure that LSE as a university and London as a city offers. Through this, the author aims to share her experience with regard at the summer school in the London School of Economics.

Application Procedure:
One has to go to the LSE website, and fill an application form. The application form has to be filled along with a fee of 50 British Pounds. No such documents are required to be submitted except a mark sheet. The applicant is supposed to fill in their choice of subject that he/she would want to read at LSE which is subject to change further.

Admission Procedure:
Once the application fee is submitted, the next stage is that LSE makes an admission offer in 3-4 business days of submitting the application. The admission offer can be confirmed by paying the requisite fee for the submission. Now there are a lot of mechanisms through which LSE accepts payment, the information regarding which is available on their website. Once the payment is received by them, which might take 10-15 business working days depending upon the mode of payment, LSE confirms the applicant's seat for the course.

Courses Available:
The LSE Summer School Program basically offers three sessions. Each one of the session extends for a period of 21 days. LSE has a huge variety of subjects and courses to chose from. The courses have 3 levels. One may choose as per their demands.

Classes and Lectures:
The routine for each course may vary. I was enrolled as a student of LL135 Corporate Law and Governance Course. I had a three hour lecture from 10am to 1pm. Attendance was not compulsory for the lectures. Apart from the lectures, one had classes in the evening for a hour, the shift for which changed every day. Attendance was counted for these classes. For classes, the students were divided into a group of 10-15 depending upon the strength of the courses. The classes were basically a sort of group discussions and were enlightening, interactive and informative.

Exams:
Exams are optional. One may either choose to give the exam or not give the exam. An attendance certificate is given in case an applicant wishes not to give the exam, provided that the attendance criteria has been met by the student. The exam system varies for each course. One has a mid term exam which may be in the form of an essay, an exam or a presentation and a final exam which may take place at the end of the session.

Accommodation:
One can choose to live in private apartments or LSE Halls of residence. The information about rooms in the LSE halls of residence can be obtained from the LSE website and bookings can be made similarly. Bookings need to be made well in advance. These halls of residence are located near LSE. They provide you with good continental breakfast. All the other meals have to be arranged by oneself. Please carry a lot of food with yourself.

Expenditure:
London is an expensive city to live in. Apart from the fees and the accommodation expenses, the per day cost would be around 20-30 British Pounds depending upon how you manage expenses. Traveling is expensive. Do not sit in black cabs, the charges would be 120-150 British pound. One can prefer to travel in London Tubes, as it is reasonable. Hence, the amount incurred will be approximately 5-6 Lakhs (INR) including traveling, fees, accommodation, food, etc.

Good Parts:
The teaching mechanism is beyond excellent. Such teaching, I never experienced such teaching as a student in India. Learning becomes fun with such excellent teachers around. The LSE library is another excellent thing. The kind, variety and quality of resources it offers, is excellent. Apart from that the amount of exposure you get interacting with students from across the world is absolutely amazing. A lot of activities and workshop keeps happening at LSE as well. Moreover, London as a city is breathtaking. From the happening day to life to the best night life the city has a lot to offer.

Hence, the LSE Summer School is a great place to be at.

Shradha Arora

Chanakya National Law University