LSE Summer school - Opinions?
I guess my other thread was too long winded...
What is everyone's opinion on the LSE Summer school? Will it help me get a job or is it pretty pointless?
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Pointless. You need to be here during the school year when companies are presenting to students.
Remember, you will always be a salesman, no matter how fancy your title is. - My ex girlfriend
It depends. If you are coming from North America, some bankers screening your resume might be impressed with the LSE brand. It also depends on the course you take.
I took two LSE summer school courses in finance and when I was interviewing for FT positions in Canada it was always a topic of conversation, although I don't think that it actually helped me get any interviews.
To be honest, I think work experience is more valuable and will get your foot in the door faster than any summer school course ever will.
I agree with ab123. Summer after sophomore year I worked in pwm at a bb and was allowed to take 3 weeks off to do summer school at LSE. I took the business valuation & analysis course which I thought would be the most applicable to a career in banking. Although it has been a topic of conversation occasionally I don't think it has ever really helped me much. It's just padding for the resume.
The summer school isn't pointless.
MY experience... (summer of 2005)
1- Took a course called AF215: Business Analyis and Valuation... got an A.
2- The course was taught by real LSE professors, who were very approachable to questions, office hours, chatting about their past careers
3- Got to experience London for 3 weeks, only 1000 pounds, and they have essentially subsidized housing for a few hundred a week, cheap.
4- Get to avoid spending a whole semester abroad,while still getting the name recognition
5- Definately brought up in interview...
6- Should Any study abroad GET you an interview, it's probably hard to point out any ONE credential or experience that GETS you the interview. It's the overall package.
Have a good time in London if you go, I got an A and did it by merely attending the classes, tutorials, and studying the night before the 2 easy exams.
If you want to get a job or something in the UK, do what disjoint did and study at the LSE for a masters program. That sounds like a smart way to do it if you want to use the LSE as a career fair opportunity rather than merely a talking point.
LSE summer school is a joke. On the first day of lecture my professor said, "Now I know you are all here for different reasons. Some of you are taking this class to learn accounting, while others are taking it to learn English." If you have a pulse and you are American you will get an A.
That being said, it is a great experience. Grab some friends, live in High Holborn together, and go out every night. London is an incredible city.
Don't work your sophomore summer. Do LSE instead. Although it certainly won't get you an interview, it will be a good topic of conversation during interviews.
Silly fool. This guy obviously didn't take a look at his transcript which breaks down that only 15% of the class gets A's or A-'s...
D-U-M-B-A-R-S-E
LSE Summer Program (Originally Posted: 04/19/2007)
If I attended the LSE summer program and took finance classes, how would that look to potential recruiters as oppose to having an internship?
if youre not a junior it would look great
if youre a junior why dont you have a fucking internship
I'm a soph. going into my junior year
relevant internship experience is always better than lse, but lse is a good program nonetheless
I've heard it will look good. I'm a sophomore and have been accepted to LSE summer school too. What class are you taking? I'm interning at Bear Stearns pwm, unable to find any ib offers yet
I did a summer at LSE. Lots of fun...recruiters liked it.
really? it's a cash cow for us. Are there even entrance requirements? I think it'd help if you're in the US, but UK banks would call bullshit.
there are NO entrance requirements. Saying you were accepted is hilarious, although no one would really know (unless they looked on the website).
I did the program, take AF 215: Business aNalysis and Valuation... good class taught by 2 good professors (dr Horton Dr Franz)
You should be able to do both a pwm internship with this little 3 week course sandwiched in the middle if you're lucky.
I remember a number of really average john doe's in my class though, definately an American friendly place to be. The class had only like 5 of 110 who went to the LSE which diluted the experience. At places like harvard or stanford, I would imagine you'd actually be around harvard kids.
Be aware that it is just a 'cash cow' as ratul indicated, not a genuine student experience. Although the girls weren't bad.
so, no entrance requirements, the LSE name and cute girls? THat's not half bad actually.
and it doesn't cost the nearly $20k that Harvard or Stanford summer school costs. Its also better for American kids because its a bit of an overseas experience.
It's like the General Course (aka study abroad) at LSE. They let in a ton of dumb kids for that £££. But certainly taking finance classes at a top university (even if it's watered down) is better than doing nothing your sophomore summer.
Agreed,
I could tell my teacher was top notch, and the 'tutorial teacher' was a former NYC analyst doing a stint there for a Msc Accy.Finc. , Cool guy.
LSE Summer Session (Originally Posted: 06/18/2007)
Has anyone done this before? I'll be taking AF101 in a few weeks over there, and wanted to know if anyone could talk about what their experience was like.
I took AF 215: Business Analysis and Valuation taught by Dr Franz and Horton. Great class. My tutor was a former analyst in NYC (from Canada originally) and was a badass.
For the money, it's a great deal. I spent about 5K all in, including 2 weekend trips on the continent.
Tip 1- They will ask if you want to take the class for a grade or just want the attendance certificate, I would DEFINATELY get the grade. I ended up with a B+ but like I said in my above post traveled BOTH weekends and didn't put in the amount of work.
Tip 2- Go to the tutorial in as much as the tutor knows you are taking the class. My tutor basically wanted to cover his bases and make sure he didn't look stupid by checking a guy's name for being there who wasn't even in the class. If you need to travel, or just want to miss a class, talk to your tutor. (I realized at the end that really I could have skipped every tutorial and just taken the lectures and 2 exams...I don't recommend this if you want an A as all questions covered in the tutorials were examined).
Enjoy the hot Spanish babes from places like Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.
Best of luck.
hey, how old were the people in your course AF 215? I am currently 19 years old and i have taken accounting and financial analysis before but no finance. Do you recommend taking this course? Or is it too much?
LSE Summer School - Where do you recommend living (Originally Posted: 03/08/2011)
Has anyone gone to LSE Summer School in the past? Where do you recommend living? I'm a freshman in college, going this summer and taking business valuation and financial markets.
did the general course, would recommend high holborn by a mile.
Can't offer any advice on living there as I haven't been there myself but I've had a bunch of friends do LSE during the summer and they loved it. They were able to go out a lot, so I would live somewhere conducive to going out if possible.
GRIFFINDOR
Grosvenor, without a doubt. It's the closest to campus (literally two blocks) and the nicest from what I heard from the other students when I went.
Thanks for your responses guys.
From what I've seen online, Grosvenor seems to be the nicest and closest to campus, though also the most expensive, by far.
I've also heard High Holborn is where all the partiers stay.
PIE, Griffindor isn't an option this year.
Any other comments/suggestions?
I studied at LSE last year. Though I had accommodations elsewhere, I would echo the sentiment that High Holborn had a fun social environment. If that's what you're looking for, it's probably the best choice. Also, walking around the city (or using the Tube and buses) is quite convenient, so I wouldn't worry too much about proximity to campus.
LSE Summer Program? (Originally Posted: 07/19/2011)
So I'm starting as a transfer to UCLA doing Math/Econ. I decided to change my major last minute so I will most likely be there for three years as opposed to two, so I am 'technically' a sophomore.
I am highly interested in doing a study abroad at LSE next summer, then the plan is to have an ibanking internship the summer prior to graduating.
Does anyone have any thoughts about LSE's summer program?
LSE is a solid school and having it on your resume will definitely not hurt you. I say for it and enjoy London too!
if you dont have any internships go for it. otherwise work experience would be better imho.
Does anyone know how difficult the admissions process is relative to normal school year admissions?
Very easy. If you transferred to UCLA I'm sure you won't have a problem getting into their summer program.
Like previous people said, I would recommend it if you need the credits to graduate or don't have a summer internship. But work experience probably trumps LSE in terms of getting an IBD internship.
I know work experience probably trumps it, but I really want to study abroad at some point merely just for the experience...and if it's also at the school that's one of the most prestigious in the world for economics and finance than that's just a cherry on top. How come it's so much easier, I was led to believe that the same professors teach courses?
I have an extra summer to intern anyways, so it's no big deal right?
I went to LSE last summer. Hands down best decision.
^Can you provide some insight on the whole process?
Application process, classes, social life, etc? Thanks a lot
LSE Summer School (Originally Posted: 08/24/2015)
Hey monkeys,
I recently got back from the summer school program at the London School of Economics (LSE), so I thought I would share my experience. Before accepting my offer, I found it hard to find any opinions of the program online, so I hope this helps any prospective applicants in the future.
My Background
I will be entering my second year at a Canadian University, studying economics and finance, with interests in investment banking, buy-side equity research and fixed income and derivatives trading. I became interested in the program for two reasons: (1) I wanted to study abroad and (2) I wanted to take a course on an interesting topic in finance.
The Program
LSE runs two 3-week sessions (I think they are running three sessions for next summer). You can take one course per session, and each are taught by full-time faculty. I took one of the finance courses, however there are many other subjects to choose from (eg. accounting, management, law). LSE is highly regarded for finance and economics, particularly in the UK, and I found the quality of teaching to be very strong.
My Experience
I came to London a bit nervous, as it was my first time overseas and I did not know anyone in the program. But almost everyone was in the same position, making it extremely easy to meet people. Although it was only a 3 week course, (I wouldn’t call it a formal study abroad), I found it was long enough to have close to the same experience in a much shorter period. Coursework was comprehensive and challenging but manageable. There was still plenty of time to go sightseeing and explore London nightlife. LSE’s campus is in the heart of London, and many of the places to go are around a 20-30 minute walk away. Overall, the opportunity to experience a new culture changed my outlook and helped developed my interest in the global financial markets.
Should you attend?
While I highly recommend the program, I would think carefully before applying if you already have an internship lined up for the summer. Work experience can often outshine any other experiences you have on your resume. Coming out of first year with no finance contacts, I tried networking my way into a summer position, had a few interviews and ultimately could not secure an internship. Oddly enough, I met students in upper years who decided to attend both sessions of the program instead of working for the summer. It is a highly regarded program that their respective schools (in the States) provided scholarships to attend. A lot of students were there solely for resume padding and partying, but if taken seriously the program can be used to leverage an application to LSE’s masters programs and expand knowledge on a subject of choice. Ultimately, I would take my opinions with a grain of salt and make your decision based on what you think will benefit you the most.
I hope this personal anecdote helps anyone considering attending this program or studying abroad for a semester. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions about the program.
I somewhat interested. Well, I graduated this year but just out of curiosity when would it be the ideal time to apply for the program? It just seems like you have to plan way ahead to be able to register. What's the profile of the average student? How would you compare this summer program with others? Will be the diploma be of any use for people who have graduated or is it only good while you're still in school?
There were a few kids in my class who already graduated so you wouldn't be the only one. I applied pretty late (within 2 months of the program). Id say the profile of the average student who gets in is someone with good marks and who meets the prerequisites of the course they're applying to. I'm not sure how this compares to other summer programs. If you take something related to the field you want to pursue, it can carry some weight. It all depends on the employer.
That's an interesting observation -- could you expand on how the summer school can help you with the MA application process?
Good question. Both my profs teach masters courses, and what they told me is that getting a good mark in the summer can show admissions that you can handle the level of LSE's coursework. I'm not sure how much or if it actually helps but from what I was told it's possible.
how are the classes in terms of difficulty and manageability? since the sessions are condensed semesters. Are there curves for exams? Are the students extremely qualified in the subjects or is it a a group of students with a range of ability?
LSE Summer School and Masters (Originally Posted: 03/14/2016)
Hi,
I come from a non target school in the UK. Currently I am studying Financial Management in my penultimate year and my goal is to pursue a career in finance (not yet decided about the specific pathway). I'm aware that in order to get a top job in the industry you need to attend a target school or have the network. Unfortunately, that is not the current case for me.
I was considering applying for a Master in Finance at LSE in 2017. I just got accepted for 3 finance summer school courses at LSE. Do you think that attending and getting an A in the summer courses would help with the admission process or should I try to find a specialised finance internship instead?
Hi, you're talking about 2 quite different options, whihc are not related to each other. LSE values both your willingness and plans to study at this school (I mean summer courses) and your trying to experience finance before studies (I mean internship). YOur internship, however could be quite a risky attempt, as you might not get any chances to gain a bright evidence/proof of your good skills and knowledge during internship. Whereas your summer courses will help you start networking with the school's team, new the school's specifications much better and be ready for the admission process.
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