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Sankirtana Kumar Tharamel

March 15th, 2022

Accepted Your LSE Offer? 4 Things To Do Before You Start Your Course

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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Sankirtana Kumar Tharamel

March 15th, 2022

Accepted Your LSE Offer? 4 Things To Do Before You Start Your Course

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Let me start off with a huge congratulations! This is quite a huge milestone and so here’s step 0: celebrate! Take a beat to just dance, sing and let the fruits of your labour lift you up! If your first thought after receiving your acceptance letter was “oh man, there’s so much to do!”, that’s your cue to smell the metaphorical (and hopefully real) roses.

Now, that being said, it is true that the time after your acceptance (and your acceptance of the acceptance) can be daunting. Not only does this require you to make some potentially tough decisions regarding shifting, finances, and prioritization, but it also calls for your shifting lenses from that of an “applicant” to a “student at LSE”. This is where you decide what you want from your course, how you want to prepare for it, and how much effort you are willing to expend. Isn’t it quite curious how many articles there are to support you during your application, or even while you move across states or countries, but not many to support you in between? Well, here I am to unstintingly plug in that gap! Haha!

If you have decided to do your course at LSE, here’s your guide to making the most of the time in between then and the start of your course, to set yourself up for a great time at LSE! This will cover some core aspects that you can do from the comfort of your own home, without having to bust out your wallet, or writing and re-writing million-word essays.

Note: Although these are arranged linearly, consider it as more of a simultaneous set of activities you can arrange according to your interest and convenience. For example, it would make sense for your to connect with both classmates and alumni during the same period, or start with setting intentions.

 

1) Connect with your classmates

This is the most obvious first step, but it’s certainly worth calling out explicitly. Your classmates are going to be your immediate source of pretty much everything over the next year(s). Connecting with them not only gives you a taste of what the year will look like but also helps you see how you can support each other tread through the waters of confusion, uncertainty and what-not through the year. And who knows! You might end up connecting with your forever-friend through this!

Tip: Form a Whatsapp or Facebook group if you don’t have one already. Go ahead and take that initiative here! Odds are that the department may have started a Facebook group for you, so you might want to look that up. This is such a convenient way to discuss issues, connect as a cohort, make plans to tour the city, or even start a mini revolution together! The world is your oyster and these mediums could be your ally.

 

2) Look up your professors

Well, I personally had looked them up as I wrote my Statement of Purpose, but if you aren’t as overly fastidious as me, this is a great time to do this. A quick google search of your department name followed by “faculty” usually gets the trick done. Alternatively, head over to the LSE website -> select your department -> select “people” -> browse through the names and profiles of your staff. However, I personally find the website method quite unnecessarily complicated and so prefer going the old-fashioned way of just googling it.

Knowing your professors, their interests and past work can really help you get a gauge of what to expect from your course and also see how their work might connect to your module and identify your personal connection to their work as well. This can help you reach out for projects, resources or just pick their brain on something that interests you.

Tip: Read through their work, research papers, etc. to understand which topic(s) they specialize in. Shoot them an email to introduce yourself and pick their brain on questions you may have regarding their work. The conversations that ensue are certain to be extremely engaging!

 

3) Set intentions for yourself through the course

Now that you have some time to see what you might want to take back from your course, why not take some time to set intentions ahead of time? Here’s your chance to get artistic with a vision board, or if you’re anything like me: a Google Sheet. Think about your long-term vision (yes, it’s perfectly fine if you have no idea yet!), your short-term goals, and break that down to what you might want from your course.

If you have no idea where the course is leading you, worry not! That is one of the many things you can expect to get from university. Take this time to set intentions regarding what you want to do to get some clarity. Eg: the connections you will build, conversations with professors, projects you will do, etc. (even if the topics of these are still unclear).

Tip: Connect this with what alumni tell you so that you have a holistic understanding as you set intentions.

 

4) Network, network, network

Specifically with alumni! They are your entry into the life that was. Their insights are quite irreplaceable and so now’s as good a time as any to do this! A simple LinkedIn search with LSE followed by your department yields great results. Alternatively, use the LSE page on LinkedIn to search for alumni in your department. Odds are they are quite ready to provide their insights. Talking to them about their experience in the course, how they made the most of it, tips they may have, etc. are good segues to a great connection.

Tip: It’s all a numbers game! So, send as many LinkedIn connections with messages, and you may receive a couple of responses. Keep trying!

 

5) *Potentially unpopular opinion* – open yourself up to looking for jobs from the get-go

Take this with a pinch of salt. This is mostly relevant to students pursuing their Masters, especially one-year ones. It is perfectly fine if you do not know what you want to do after the course, but it is important to keep your doors wide open to possibilities. Looking up the sectors in which you might want to work, looking up companies in the space in which you want to work, looking up where alumni work, etc. are great ways to get prepared. This might be a great time to also ask alumni how they scouted for jobs and got their current jobs. This helps you see what sort of opportunities to take up in college and how you might want to build your resume.

Tip: Keep in touch with your alumni. Their experience and insights might go a long way in getting your next job!

 

Well, that’s all, folks! Don’t forget to enjoy the process and meeting new people. It is quite fun when you think about it, so take it one step at a time, and enjoy the process before it all passes by in the blink of an eye.

About the author

Sankirtana Kumar Tharamel

Hi! I am Sanku. You will mostly find me dancing my legs off, pouring over a book, or just deeply engaged in conversation. An engineering graduate and STEM girl at heart, I have been exploring the development sector for greater than half a decade now, and hope to continue this line of work after my MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Posted In: Applying: Undergraduate

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