I am sure all incoming students are super excited about starting at university! No doubt you experience at LSE, in terms of learning mode and in terms of the way you manage your time, will be different from school. If you are not already living in halls, joining a society or a sports team will be a great way to make friends. In this blog post, I will explore how you can go about choosing societies, how to take on leadership positions and how to make the most out of it.

How to choose societies

There is no limit on how many societies you can join. Most society membership fees are fairly reasonable (many only charge £1.50), but the sports teams might charge higher prices as they require support from their members to book venues for practice (eg £30+ for some sports teams). Although price might be a consideration for students, the Students’ Union (LSESU) offers give-it-a-go memberships (GIAG) for students to try out society events for free for the first few months. You can sign up for that just as you can sign up for any societies by choosing that option on the LSESU website.

How to take on leadership positions

Leadership positions are not only reserved for existing students. Throughout the year, especially from October onwards after everyone has settled, many societies open up new positions for first-year students. This year, I was appointed as the first-year officer for the Women in Law society. My role was to broadcast the society’s events to my cohort and to assist events that the executive committee organises. LSESU societies often host huge events in beautiful venues, and these events are sometimes kindly sponsored by firms, where you get to network and enjoy with your friends. Taking on leadership roles is not only good for your CV, it is also a good way for you to get to know students from other year groups, who can give you amazing advice in future course selection, for example.

How to make the most out of it

I would advise against joining societies or activities solely for the sake of CV or academic purposes. This year, I joined the Actuarial Society and Singaporean Society (despite being a law student and not from Singapore), because they were offering discount tickets to see Hamilton and Phantom of the Opera. Joining a society is also a great opportunity to support your friends who spend hours organising these events.

Remember, your experience at LSE is what you make out of it! I look forward to seeing everyone at Welcome week this September.