LSE vs. Oxford

to give you some background. I "studied" at LSE for one of their sessions the summer after my first year. Most of the kids were summer after freshman year and from great schools (alot of Harvard, G-Town).

Oh btw is this summer or during the year? I think it's year, which could be harder workload-wise.

I didn't do Public Finance or Economics, however, which is what alot of kids were doing. I did International Law (sounded interesting). The school, I thought, was pretty sick. Dorms are spaced out and in somewhat of different neighborhoods, but the workload is not that tough. In our dorm, Roseberry I think, we had our own bar called the Tipsy Beaver. Needless to say, that was nice. And the school has its own bar right in the middle of campus that everyone hits pretty much daily (profs there too). Everything was expensive as shit though, so maybe Oxford is better.

I was going to be in undergrad finance anyways, so I didn't want to push it with the finance courses I'd already get. My advice is to do LSE and and finance if youre of a different background. That could def. help in interviews.

If it's summer, it won't help. Not really a talking point; maybe if anything a holistic boost as a cool kid who did something diff. If a semester tho, could change the game. Oxford could be completely hands and above alot more fun I have no point of reference.

A buddy of mine went to Oxford and they worked him to the bone. Oxford is probably best only if you actually get a degree from there, which opens doors everywhere in the UK. The atmosphere seems ultra staid and I suspect some professors there eye the whole finance thing suspiciously as opposed to law or medicine.

LSE on the other hand has a lot going for it. Its in London, it is the THE target school in the U.K, and the finance and econ courses are top of the pops in Europe. Simply having been there will look good on a resume and provided you have a stomach for fish, chips and beer, you'll have a blast.

I was just at Oxford this past term and I had a great time. I didn't study anything business related (although it is possible if you talk to the people over at Said) but I really enjoyed it. While the workload is heavy, it is definitely manageable and there is very much a 'work hard play hard' mentality.

The people I have talked to at LSE have also had good things to say; however, one of the advantages of Oxford is that you can go for just the term whereas at LSE it is my understanding that you are required to go for the year (unless you do a summer program). This could make getting an internship difficult (unless you are looking in London or your uni's schedule matches up with LSE's).

In terms of recruiting, there are firms giving presentations at Oxford and LSE everyday, but internships in the UK typically have a different time table than those in the US becasue the students at Oxford/LSE don't get out of school until mid-/the end of June and start up again in mid-October. Regardless of which school you study at, a recruiter/interviewer in the US is going to know that you weren't just gallivanting around Europe for eight weeks-- you were really studying.

I think either option has its pluses and minuses and it really depends on what you are looking for in a program.

If you have any questions about my experience, shoot me a PM.

I'm an undergrad looking at the same two schools to study abroad next year, so if anyone has any advice on lifestyle/apps/workload, feel free to PM me

Here is another question I wanted some feedback on.

Does anyone have an experience going abroad from the US to the UK for a whole year? Because if you do, would you mind sharing how you handled your internship for the following summer? I know most US schools end in May and start in August or Sept whereas UK schools do not start until October.

THanks