“So why LSE?”
I get that question a lot. It’s a fair question to ask someone who left behind everything they knew to fly across the globe to a completely foreign city. As a first-year student, my rehearsed answer would have been: to open doors. I knew I wanted to graduate with a shiny degree, allowing for more choices in life; a more stable career; more job opportunities. But I honestly never would have imagined during completing my degree, that my time at LSE would shape me and alter my view of the world. So without further ado, here are some of the biggest takeaways from studying at LSE so far.
Learning to think critically
Personally, I think LSE’s secret to producing so many great thinkers over the years has been its emphasis on encouraging students to think up good questions, rather than relying on standardised answers. What’s the basis of your argument? How did you get there? I quickly learnt that behind every good essay is 101 enquiries.
When we talk about education, we often hear the word “critical thinking” being thrown around, hailed as key to academic development. Yet, before LSE, I must admit that I had no idea what it truly meant to approach issues systematically or revel in the nuances and complexity of societal issues.
While it was difficult initially, along with the uncertainty of approaching unsolved world problems comes a lot of freedom. For curious minds, the School’s academic environment opens up an arena wide enough so that any student gets a chance to play. In an LSE classroom, disagreements are always welcome, that is, as long as you’ve been diligent enough to figure out how to back your statement up.
Of course, learning the art of critical thinking is a life-long journey, and I certainly have a long way to go. But the training I’ve received from my professors and teachers has certainly been a catalyst in getting me to think deeply and more broadly about world issues.
Growth by osmosis
Stepping into LSE initially can feel daunting. In my first month as a student here, I remember feeling overwhelmed by the calibre of my classmates. Whether it was internships, academics or extra-curricular activities, it seemed to me that everyone around me was not only doing more, but doing better than I was!
The truth is, LSE is home to a lot of go-getters, genuinely hungry for new experiences and knowledge. While I’d always considered myself a motivated person, my idea of “working hard” had been confined to the academic syllabus. “Working hard” to me was doing the work I’d been given as best as I could, never actively looking for opportunities myself.
However, over time, I’ve found my classmates’ enthusiasm and curiosity rubbing off on me. While it can be hard to avoid comparing myself to my classmates, I’ve gradually grown more and more comfortable with the discomfort of no longer being a big fish in a small pond. Besides, even if it might not seem like it, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single university student who’s actually got everything figured out!
Today, I find it pretty exciting to see my peers take on new challenges I’ve never even thought to try. As I’ve had the privilege of learning, it’s a big world out there, and being in the centre of an international metropolis certainly acts as an amazing starting point to begin exploring it.
University is a lot more than an academic syllabus. It can be a pivotal point of development and self-discovery. No matter your goals after graduation, having the platform to learn new skills, especially alongside others, is an amazing gift before moving on to your next step in life. As a student at LSE, I’ve had the chance to be exposed to so many new experiences and life lessons. I’ve personally felt I’ve grown a lot here, and I’m excited to find out what else my LSE journey has in store for me!
