Wednesday 31 July 2013

Preparing to study at LSE (London School of Economics)

By Pankhuri Tandon

Securing an admission at the London School of Economics and Political Science is a matter of both good performance and good timing. The application for MSc. Economics requires the following:


  1.        GRE
  2.        2 academic recommendations
  3.        Marks
  4.        Statement of Purpose
  5.       Resume’

1.  GRE: The Msc. Economics programme of LSE requires its applicants to submit a GRE score. This GRE score should not be more than 5 years old. The MSc. Economics program at LSE gives more importance to your score in the Quantitative section of GRE than your score in its Verbal Section and Analytical Writing Section. LSE has explicitly mentioned that for securing admission into the one-year Msc. Economics program, the applicant should score above 160(out of 170) in the quantitative section. For the two-year MSc. Economics program, they require a score above 163 in the quantitative section. So make sure you manage to cross this ‘cut-off’ in the quant section of GRE.
 You should aim to give GRE before October. This is for 2 reasons:
a)      The quicker you give GRE, the faster you complete your LSE application. You should aim to finish your LSE application before the first week of January (I shall explain reasons for this later in this article). Note that you receive your official GRE score 15-30 days after the date you have given your exam.
b)      If you are not satisfied with your GRE score, you can give the exam again, but only 21 days after your current exam date. So make sure you keep that margin.
Also, it is important that you have your passport made before you give GRE, as the exam centre only accepts the passport as a valid ID proof.

2. Recommendations: You need to have two recommendations from the teachers who have taught you in college. You do not need to send the recommendation letters in your application; you just need to provide the name and email addresses of the teachers who will write recommendations for you, and LSE will contact them itself. Still, you need to ask the teachers for a reference as soon as you start with your LSE application, because they take time in writing them. Teachers have a lot of preoccupations already, and as the month of December begins, more and more students start with their application and come to ask them for recommendations. The only thing that delayed my application till mid-January was a recommendation that was not sent by my referee. Make sure you keep reminding them to write for you!

3. Marks: Marks in your undergraduate course is the most important criteria for selection at LSE. For MSc. Economics, LSE requires you to score at least 70% (aggregate till the final year) in your undergraduate course. Moreover, LSE gives a lot of importance to your score in maths, statistics and econometrics at your undergraduate level.

4. Statement of purpose (SoP): Although your marks and references are given the highest importance in you LSE application, statement of purpose is an essay (1000-1500 words long) through which the admissions committee analyse your thinking, and your suitability for pursuing the course. A SoP should clearly articulate why you want to pursue the course in that institute(why particularly in that institute?) , and why you have the right aptitude for the course. For this, not only do you need to describe the abilities you have that will help you in the course, but also show that your thoughts and views are consistent with what you are going to study in the course. Make sure your SoP doesn’t look like your CV in prose. It should explain how the things you did till now were with a purpose of helping you in what you are going to do now (the postgraduate course), and how the course you are going to do now will help you in your ultimate goal of the future.

Deadlines to be followed
Although there is no deadline for applying to MSc. Economics at LSE, the seats get filled quickly. Also, most scholarships require you to have an admission offer before you can apply to them. Typically, the deadline for the scholarships is in the period of February-April. So try to obtain the admission offer by January-February. Moreover, LSE usually takes 8 weeks to process your application, so it is best to send your complete application (including recommendations) by December.

Scholarships
The most well-known scholarships are Inlaks Scholarship and Commonwealth Scholarship. LSE also provides scholarships, under its Graduate Support Scheme. Moreover, this year LSE has announced 50 new scholarships for Indian students! :D  There are also organisations like J.N. Tata Endowment and Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation that offer loans at nil or low rates of interest. I advise that you should try to obtain funds from as many sources as possible rather than concentrating your energy on just one fully-funded-scholarship. There are many small scholarships that just escape our attention. Make sure you keep checking regularly in newspapers and online about any new scholarships.


Each scholarship application requires as much effort as one application for admission into a university. Most scholarship applications need a statement of purpose and recommendations (2-3). Note that you can get a recommendation from a teacher only a limited number of times (usually 4), so make sure you manage your ‘profile of recommendations’ from different teachers well. Many scholarships ask you to describe how you will arrange your funds for pursuing the course abroad. My sincere advice is: please describe it as honestly as possible. Trust me, being honest will increase your chances of getting that scholarship.

(Pankhuri Tandon graduated from St. Stephen's College in 2013 and is currently pursuing Economics at London School of Economics. If you have any queries regarding LSE applications, you can leave a comment below)

55 comments:

  1. thanks for writing about this. Also, how important are extra curricular activities in the application?

    ReplyDelete
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  2. For LSE, the most important things are good marks and the recommendations you get. However, having some extra-curricular activities enhances your statement of purpose and indicates that you can manage a variety of academic and non-academic activities well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Also, in my GREs if I manage to clear the quant cut off but score around 155 in my verbal section, will you suggest me to get a better score?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thankyou for this information Pankhuri. My daughter got 67% in her first year in Eco.hons. please guide me on how to go on from here and also tell if she would be eligible for lSE.

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  5. hi Pankhuri.
    I have scored 161 in quant and 154 in verbal. I knw this isn't great but i have A BA Hons eco degree from DU college and an aggregate of 83% for my first 4 semesters. Please guide me regarding my chances of getting into lse msc econ programme.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Priyanka, I think that would be a good enough score, you don't need to get a better score.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nidhi, LSE requires an aggregate of atleast 70% till the pre-final year (when you apply for LSE) so your daughter should focus on getting a higher percentage this year which can shoot up her aggregate score.She should also focus on getting a high GRE score and good recommendations and SOP which increases her chances of getting into LSE. LSE gives marks at undergraduate level the top priority, but if marks are nor excellent then one should give their best in other parameters like GRE and SOP.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ruma,your undergraduate score is good enough to get you in LSE. However, from my experience, I have seen that LSE does see whether your quant score is greater than 164.That's why i wrote in the article that you should cross this 'cutoff'. I advise you to give GRE again and get a quant score greater than 164, and verbal above 150. It is not difficult to get such a score, you would just need to improve on your speed and accuracy. In my opinion, it is a bit risky to apply with your current score..and given your great marks, I think getting a better GRE score will definitely get you a place at LSE.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi!
    I will be applying for the Msc Economics and Msc Economics and Finance course for 2014/15, though I have good undergrad scores (will be taking GRE soon), my resume lacks in other areas (extra curriculars etc), are good marks enough to get you into LSE ? (considering that everyone who applies will have great scores !)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Pankhuri..
    I have done my B.E. from Delhi College of Engineering, my aggregate is 69.65%. I co-founded a Rotaract club in my college and have been associated with it for 2 years. Please guide me regarding my chances of getting into LSE msc economics programme.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Pakhuri.

    I did the GRE and scored 169(Q) 154(V) and 3(AWA).
    My GPA is very good (89%) and I also have many extracurricular activities. In addition, english is not my native language.
    Do you think that they will reject me to the MSc in Economics just because of my AWA score?

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tales!
      Did you happen to apply last year to LSE ? I have similar GRE Scores and I'm confused whether I should apply with a 3.5 in AWA or not!

      Delete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi,
    I wanted to ask if IELTS is a requirement in Visa process or in LSE for MSc Economics.
    As a reply to my mail, LSE does not require IELTS as my medium of instructions at undergraduate level was english. What about VIsa?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Pankhuri,

    Which course should a DU Econ Hons student go for ( 1 year or 2 year's Msc Econ)? Would it impact recognition in India? What do students generally go for?
    Msc Econometrics is a good option? I've heard it is more difficult to get into.
    Does a DU graduate need to write the Toefl?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Pankhuri,

    How important are the extra-curricular activities and internships for MSc Management at LSE?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi,
    what are the subjects in GRE test?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing, It's helpful information..
    London Curriculum School

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Pankhuri !
    LSE gives a lot of importance to your score in maths, statistics and econometrics at your undergraduate level.
    I got an aggregate of 65 in Maths, 95 in Statistics and 100 in Econometrics. So, will these marks help me in getting admission to LSE?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey pankhuri..
    i just wanted to know d institues in india u prefer for preparing for GRE

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi,

    I have 154 in verbal and 162 in quant in GRE and 77.8% in my graduation (upto sem 4). Does this give me any hope for getting to the MSc. in Econ programme at LSE?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi mam, I am currently an engineering student from Delhi college of engineering. I want to pursue Msc finance in fututre from LSE. I am currently scoring around 65%. What precentage should i maintain here?
    Also, since i come from an engineering background what kind of internships should i prefer, engineering related of finance?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi ( if i am not wrong )
    According to THE Guidelines of LSE , we need 65 % as aggregate score in our bachelors

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi
    I am doing a BA economics degree (not a honours degree).
    My aggregate is 91%.
    Will the fact that my degree is not a honours degree affect my chance of getting in to LSE

    ReplyDelete
  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. If we have not taken maths as our subject in college still can we take admission in LSE

    ReplyDelete
  27. is it that only undergraduates of bcs eco can apply for msc eco ...can a BMS student apply for msc in eco in lSE?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi
    I have quants of 165/170
    verbal 152/170
    GPA 6.34/10 from NIT Nagpur
    would you suggest I apply?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi
    My final year results will be announced by june 2017. So, it's necessary to apply in this point of time? like how to go about it?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi
    My final year results will be announced by june 2017. So, it's necessary to apply in this point of time? like how to go about it?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi
    My final year results will be announced by june 2017. So, it's necessary to apply in this point of time? like how to go about it?

    ReplyDelete
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  33. Hi,
    I am really keen on pursuing the one year economics course, at Lse
    I have been struggling with my sop, having written multiple drafts, but I do not know what an ideal sop is.
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    Best,
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  36. Hi!
    I'm Manthan. I'm from India. I'm studying in University of Delhi. After an year I'll getting my bachelor's degree of B.A(programme) in two subjects i.e. Economics and Political Science. Am I eligible to get an admission, into any of the graduate courses in Economics? or is it restricted to students getting a degree of BA (Eco Hons)?

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  37. Hi,
    I'm Abhimanyu. Currently I'm pursuing Engineering. Am I eligible to get admission in LSE?

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  38. Suggest me some good author materials for the preparation please.
    And I'm in a big dilemma in choosing the GRE coaching class. People suggest me to follow this best GRE coaching in Chennai page have you ever came across this site.?

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  39. My nephew has has passed 10th in ICSE syllabus with 93% and joined for +1 . He would like to join LSE for Linguistics degree courses in 2019-20.Do we have some training centers in India, where we can get trainings to attend entrance tests for foreign universities?

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  42. I have done my B.tech and then MBA in Finance. I have 81% in Undergrad and 66% in MBA. So how much should I score in GRE to enter into MS in Economics(two years) ?

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  43. Is there any sort of entrance exam which I need to clear to take admission in LSE?? Please reply to my question.

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