The beginning of every semester, I fret about how much I’d be spending on textbooks over the next week. Before going to LSE, I had checked their syllabus and required textbooks and I had similar concerns. Turns out I didn’t need most of those textbooks after all. In most of my classes, my professors had compiled their own textbooks and the other books were just recommended but not mandatory. And in cases where we had mandatory textbook, I could find online versions on the library website. So I ended up buying only two textbooks and saved a lot that way – which I spent on relishing the amazing food places in London!
Classes here are so different than the ones back home. Firstly, there’s a concept of “lectures” vs. “classes”. Lectures are held by our professors and they include the whole population of students taking the lectures, and so the size of the lectures can be anywhere between 20 and 200. Masters students also sit in on some of the lectures. These are not mandatory and they are recorded, so most of the LSE students don’t end up going to lectures. However, our classes are mandatory and the attendance policy is quite strict for them. PhD students conduct our classes in which they review the stuff discussed in the lecture and discuss the homework. All the classes have homework for every week that we mostly have to hand in. These classes are very small and have a maximum of 20 students. Both class teachers and professors hold office hours that we have access to.
We have only one lecture and one class per course per week and so the total number of hours spent in classes is very, very less. You’d think I’d have a lot of free time in that case. That’s what I was expecting, but that’s not the case at all. Most of the study here is intensely self-guided and there’s a lot of homework to do per class. If you don’t do the homework, there is no way for you to catch up with the class. But it’s a good way to discipline myself with keeping up with work.
The vibe in classes is also very different here. I think it is more of a cultural thing than a structural one. There’s not half as much interaction in the classes and lectures as there was at Northeastern. Of course, questions and comments are encouraged here too. However, there’s very little incentive to participate in class and teachers/professors don’t take as much effort to involve everyone. I think it’s important to note here that the whole grade in LSE depends solely on the exams that are held at the end of the year, and so the performance in classes throughout the year is irrelevant to the grade. Some people prefer this, some people don’t. Either ways, it’s definitely a change to the academic structure, and any change is always welcome, so I’m embracing it!
