One of my favourite things about LSE is the multitude of clubs and societies. With over 200 to choose from, there’s surely something for you, whether you prefer sports, activities or academics.
When planning my start to LSE, I was determined to try as many things as I could. I went on to the LSE Students’ Union’s website and made a list of everything I wanted to try. Safe to say, it was a pretty long list!
There were four categories I wanted to fill in terms of extra-curriculars: I wanted to do something sporty, something academic, a performing arts activity, an academic society, and something totally random. There was no shortage of options for any of these categories. Everyone knows that university is a place to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone, and this definitely rings true for my experience so far. In the end, I joined Pole Fitness, Dance, Drama, Data Science society, and The Beaver (the university newspaper). I’ll go into some more detail on some of these below.
A great place to start when it comes to joining clubs and societies are the Welcome Fairs at the start of the year, during freshers’ week. This year we had three days, each with their own theme. The first day had all the national, cultural, faith, and charity stalls; the second featured sports, special interest, and media and the final day was for academic and careers societies. All the stalls have friendly students behind them, happy to tell you all about the societies they’re representing. It’s a great place to find out about one of the most exciting parts of freshers’ week – Give It a Gos (GIAGs)!
GIAGs are free sessions that most societies put on to give you a taste of what the society/club is like before you commit and buy a membership. They are so much fun and during freshers’ week you’ll have plenty of time on your hands to attend as many as possible – and in my opinion, the more you attend, the better. Even if you don’t end up joining the society, it’s a great way to just meet people and get socialising (not to mention the free food).
If you’re looking for good socials, the Athletics Union (AU) is where it’s at, that is, if your idea of a great social involves drinking and nights out. The AU is a subset of the Students’ Union which most of the sports clubs are a part of. If you’re a non-drinker (or just prefer not to) there’s plenty for you as well, so don’t worry! Most societies also plan social dinners or fun activities like bowling. Equally, no-one will have a problem if you go to a drinking event and don’t drink; LSE societies are very inclusive.
My sports clubs are Pole Fitness and Dance. After having so much fun at the GIAGs for these, I have been attending classes ever since. I do have a gymnastics background, but I want to stress that these societies are open to all levels, and I highly recommend anyone to give them a go. These societies have also been a really nice way for me to meet loads of lovely people – two societies which I highly recommend trying.
I’ve also had an amazing experience with the Drama society. As someone who has never been in a musical before, I was super keen to get involved and the society was so welcoming. This goes for all the societies at LSE: they don’t care if you’ve never done something before – they’ll be thrilled that you’re trying! You’ll definitely discover this at the Welcome Fairs; all the society reps love it when beginners show an interest in their society because it means you think it’s cool and fun. I would definitely recommend Drama Soc.
In summary, if you’re thinking about applying to LSE, the wide array of societies should be enough to convince you. And once you get here, try as many as you can – clubs and societies really help you make the most of your time at LSE.
