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This week, Jessica McArdle, who is studying for a Msc in Media and Communications, gives us her view of LSE

Being a student in…London:

Going to university in the heart of London - a 5-minute walk to Covent Garden and Waterloo Station, around the corner from the Royal Courts of Justice - is a great feeling. In comparison to other universities that have a clearly mapped out campus, LSE provides no such cocoon from the world of work that lies on its doorstep. Its city location brings a host of passers-by, both tourists and local business people, to the campus on a daily basis. Similarly students are frequently lured off campus by a variety of restaurants, bars, clothes shops and other amenities that lie just minutes away from the lecture halls. For some people, this dilutes the “living in each other’s pockets” uni experience, while many others consider it an advantage. Either way, coming to terms with this is essential to your LSE experience.

From food and drink to culture and arts, London offers students a taste of everything that money can buy - as a student at any London uni the costs are high but so are the perks. For those looking for some cheap eats, staying on campus is generally the best bet on a student budget. Other budget savvy students gravitate towards classics such as Wrights Bar, a small sandwich bar where your appetite can be filled for loose change (£1.30- £2.60) and coffee addictions sated for just 60p. Service is fast although long queues tend to mount at the one and two o’clock marks, so timing is of the essence as is a tolerance for being addressed as “my dahling”, although it has to be said that the ends are worth the means. The canteen “Brunch Bowl” is like marmite; if you liked school cafeterias look no further, but if the thought of deep-fried sausages and chips sends you running for the hills, avoid.

As for bars, there are several on campus. The George IV prides itself on being a hangout for postgrads, docotoral students and lecturers; as an undergrad it’s the kind of place where you go with your tutorial group and actually bring your tutor. And then there’s the SU bar, The Three Tuns, affectionately known as “The Tuns”. Now this is a student bar, and with Fosters and Carling going for just £1.70 in central London you can feel like a millionaire even if only for a short time.

Outside campus, food and drink options become quite a bit more costly though a few places offer student discounts and incentives. For example Bierodrome, a Belgian beer house and restaurant located just across the road from LSE, has a beat the clock menu where the price you pay depends on the time that you order - order at 6pm and pay £6 for mussels, chips and a beer - good times at a low price (between 5.30pm and 7.30pm Monday to Friday). Off campus there are a multitude of clubs although many LSE students socialise within society, halls or sporting circles for their first few months at uni before venturing further afield.

Despite the discounts available, living in London is extremely costly, from travel (monthly Oyster card £62 with student discount), to cinema (£10), not to mention accommodation. A perk of living and studying in London is that the streets are brightly lit and rarely empty of people, which makes travelling alone at night less daunting for students. Nonetheless, many students take the precaution of carrying panic alarms to deter attackers, and such alarms along with other precautionary products (such as condoms) are handed out free of charge to students through the Student Union.

Study time:

The library in LSE, as with the teaching and selection process, testifies to the university’s international reputation as a place of high achievement. Its opening hours - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - are a constant reminder of this. Overall the library is well-stocked with computers, desks and laptop areas for study, and the only time overcrowding becomes a problem is in the run up to exams (as in most universities), when cunning students go to great lengths including night studying and sleeping in college to ensure that they have a seat the following day.

Though all five floors are lined with thousands of books, periodicals and journals for the most part, the course collection on the ground floor is where most of the action takes place. This is the case for most faculties, and restricted lending times and high penalties (50p per hour for day loans) mean that it’s far too easy to run into debt even when you’re just studying. Limited copies of the core texts in some subjects can lead students towards dirty tactics such returning and reissuing books in the middle of the night when others won’t have a chance to take them out. However, many faculties are moving towards electronic access of reports or chapters (in addition to lecture notes) which makes it easier for students to avoid the rat race. For more information click here.

In terms of time spent at lectures, an 11-hour week seems to be the standard for most students, although once you factor in the number of hours of required reading your study time can double or even treble. Each faculty varies on the marking structure of their courses but in essence the grades for most subjects are made up of 50 per cent coursework, 50 per cent exams. Lecturers are generally open to speaking to students but it is mostly essential to make appointments in advance, as many lecturers are highly active in their field.

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