The majority of you may assume that this blog is merely about life as an LSE student in general, but what if I told you that LSE LIFE and other supporting services are a whole lot more than that?
Keep reading to learn more about LSE’s services and how to utilise them to their fullest potential.
LSE LIFE: Study advisors
LSE LIFE is a support programme for undergraduate and postgraduate students at LSE. Most importantly, they can help you with your essays, dissertations, research, assignments, and so much more. The LSE LIFE reception area is positioned on the ground floor of the library, open from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
One-on-one sessions with study advisers are available through LSE LIFE and can be conducted either in-person or online. Since I commuted during my second and third years, I personally discovered that scheduling online sessions at a time that was most convenient for me worked better. In general, I sought the help of two study advisors to improve my essay-writing abilities because I believed I wasn’t receiving the best grades possible in my formative assessments. In addition, you can ask for help with readings, taking written notes, undertaking research, revising for exams, time management techniques, and other academic-related activities. Just a heads up: since reservations open one week in advance, they do fill up quickly, so book ahead of schedule if you’re interested. Having said that, any cancellations will be displayed, just like with office hour bookings, so you might be able to find a few dates that work for you.
Dissertation support and the Digital Skills Lab
A dedicated support team at LSE LIFE can help you at every stage with your dissertation. The team will assist you in ensuring that you receive the highest mark possible, from aiding you with your research to even reading over some subsections. Besides this, LSE LIFE Events & Workshops provide a variety of ongoing events and resources designed to assist you. These events involve software training sessions offed by the Digital Skills Lab to help you coding with R, Stata, SPSS, and other coding languages. They also include guidance on structuring your literature review and the overall dissertation.
Academic Support Librarians
In my second year, I was advised to get in touch with academic support librarians about a research project I was working on. The dedicated librarians for the Department of Social Policy supported me until I was able to locate the research articles I needed since I was having trouble finding research articles related to the research question I had chosen. In actuality, the LSE has devoted librarians in each academic department; you can locate yours here. If you’d like to schedule meetings with the team, you can do so through Student Hub. These meetings take place in the LSE LIFE space.
My experience…
The help I’ve gotten so far from LSE’s supporting services has been incredible. Particularly, LSE LIFE’s study advisors frequently offered helpful criticism, and ever since I started using them, my grades have improved far more than ever. I now know what the examiners are really looking for and how to research and write in the LSE style!
