You’ve now accepted your offer to study at LSE, what next? Well, I’ve come up with six tips to help you prepare for your university studies and obtain the highest marks possible!
Become familiar with your programme structure and courses
Each undergraduate or postgraduate degree has a webpage that includes the entrance criteria, information for overseas students, and crucial course information. Aim to become familiar with the information; otherwise, it will just pass over your head in the first week. Search your degree programme page.
Preliminary reading
Completing the preliminary reading on the course website was one of the most valuable things I did. You are not required to read all of the books, nor are you required to purchase all of them. Visit your local library or buy a used copy, as these publications often give a quick introduction to the subject and bridge the gap between A-Levels and university.
Review your A-Level curriculum
This may not be applicable to everyone. However, for anyone studying Mathematics, it would be extremely advantageous to revise at least a month before your course start date, so your memory is fresh with all you have learned. You don’t have to work for 8 hours a day, but 1 hour a day would suffice. You may also check the modules on your degree programme to see what topics you may have already studied. For example, I study ISPP, and I discovered that the majority of my A-Level Sociology themes coincided with the first-year ISPP content, so I merely went over those topics.
Use LinkedIn to network
I wish someone had encouraged me to do this before starting university. But I cannot emphasise how critical this is! Reach out to existing LSE students who are already enrolled in your programme to see whether you can get any advice or guidance from them, especially when selecting optional modules for your course, if your degree allows for it! Otherwise, you’ll wind up like me and choose modules that you despise, finding it challenging to revise! You may also utilise LinkedIn to find any incoming students in your cohort and establish connections before your start date.
Purchase an academic planner or calendar
You should definitely get one of these because university can be really stressful at times. Your own academic calendar, much like those provided by your school, will ensure that you meet your formative and summative deadlines, which come around faster than you think! This may also be used to look forward to summer; you can count down the days till the end of the semester, or even put small reminders to ensure you remember everything the lecturers urge you to look into. Be creative with it!
Determine which approach of taking notes works best for you!
This is critical for success at LSE. While the majority of LSE students use tablets, iPads, Macs, and other technological devices to take notes, others may choose to utilise pen and paper to take notes and jot down their ideas. Personally, I prefer having Notion, a note-taking programme that allows you to be really creative with your thoughts. I wholeheartedly endorse this! Several, however, choose Microsoft Word and Google Docs for lecture notes and revision.
Above all, be prepared for a rollercoaster ride at LSE. There will be times when you are overjoyed and times when you have no drive to do anything. But remember, you got yourself here, LSE is fantastic, and within the first week, you’ll feel completely at home. Also, you’ll be in your second year before you know it, so don’t take anything for granted and seize any opportunity that comes your way.
Congratulations, and I wish you the best of success with your future studies at LSE. If you have any questions or are slightly apprehensive about coming to LSE, I would recommend watching our LSE Vlogs. You can also reach out to your department or feel free to comment below!
