Grad School

I received my intermediate transcript from the LSE today, and on the back, there was a grading scale that translated into the A/B/C system for the general course (study abroad). I am not sure how I didn’t know this throughout this entire year, though I’m sure it was buried somewhere deep in the LSE website. Knowing this would have alleviated a lot of unnecessary anxiety. For the newbies coming into the British system and feel like fainting when receiving a 60, this should make you feel better:

A+: 79+
A  : 74-78
A- : 68-73

B+: 60-67
B  : 55-59
B- : 50-54

C+: 45-49
C  : 40-44
C- : -

Fail: 0-39

It’s helpful to know that it’s difficult to get above a 70 (i.e. getting an actual A without the minus is pretty much damn near impossible in the graduate level unless you are gonna be the next Nobel Prize winner). This makes me feel better, but still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. For example, why is there a near 20-point distribution in the B range? And why is C- empty? I suppose I will never understand. Alas, I hope this helps the new-comers!

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I know my blog has attracted a good number of prospective students for the LSE MPA. Before moving to NY, I would like to get rid of some textbooks that I’ve purchased for my year at the LSE. I figure I’d pass these off at a good price to new-comers. Please contact me at w.lee.rpcv@gmail.com if any of the books interests you!

GV 478: Political Science and Public Policy

Shepsle and Bonchek: Analyzing Politics: Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions. £8 [sold]

EC 440: Micro and Macro Economics (for Public Policy)

Varian: Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach. 5th Edition. £15 [sold]

Frank: Microeconomics and Behavior. 8th Edition. £15 [sold]

Mankiew: Macroeconomics. 6th Edition. £15 [sold]

EC455: Quantitative Approaches and Policy Analysis

Stock and Watson: Introduction to Econometrics. 2nd Edition. £15 [sold]

DV441: Development Policy and Management

Gruber: Ruling the World. £8

Bates: Markets and States in Tropical Africa. £8

Axelrod: The Evolution of Cooperation. £8

Rodrik: Has Globalization Gone Too Far? £8

Other Related Books:

Hay: Political Analysis: A Critical Introduction. £8

Wooldridge: Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach. 3rd Edition. £15 [sold]

Williamson: Macroeconomics. £15 [sold]

McClave, Benson & Sincich: Statistics for Business and Economics. £15

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So, it occurred to me that I may have been a bit harsh on the LSE. I blame it on my Asian upbringing where I demand improvement even when things are already really good. Tiger Mom in the making, anyone? (I just started reading Amy Chua’s book: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. But that’s another post for another day.)

An Asian mother tends to focus on the less than perfect aspect of everything and demands improvement. I believe that’s how I have been in reviewing the LSE. Let me just strip away the Tiger Mom a bit and be the Western Mom in praising good behavior, shall we?

Prospective students must think, this girl is insane, how could there possibly have so many faults to a school that’s as famous as the LSE? And to conduct any good cost-benefit analysis (ahem, thx LSE education), one should hear not only the costs, but the benefits, right? So here is a list of the Good Stuff:

Reputation

I’m not gonna lie, when you go out there and drop that you are studying at the London School of Economics, anyone who knows anything about anything will turn their head and immediately think you are smarter than you might actually are (certainly the case for me, I feel). From North America to East Asia, you drop the LSE name, you get a little ahead in the line. This is the single most appealing thing about having this education. The little annoyances aside, having this name on your resume and being a part of the LSE network goes a looooong way in the future.

Diversity

With a reputation like that, the LSE attracts some pretty darn bright people from around the world to not only come to study, but also to teach. Study alongside various cultures provides interesting background for discussions. Via my development class, I learned a lot about how things go down in Turkey, Ecuador, Brazil, Madagascar, etc. Reading about how things function in textbook and academic journals is one thing, hearing personal accounts is completely the other. Given its central location between the Americas, Asia, Africa and obviously Europe, this level of diversity is difficult to find elsewhere.

Cost

I laughed when there were student mobs protesting against tuition raise to £9,000 (approx US$15k). Try finding an Ivy for that little. While that price tag is for undergrad and master programs cost more, yet when it’s all said and done, the tuition here is still much less than most reputable US schools. Sure you don’t get all the bell and whistle (no super fancy classrooms, campus, unlimited printing, spanking new gym, etc), but if you honestly just want to pay for you education and be done with it, then the LSE is great value for money.

Library

Perhaps not the best architecture design for a study space and definitely always over capacity, the LSE library still hold the title for the biggest social science library in the world. If take out the frustration of trying to find a spot there to study, that library is a gem of information. Any book you could possibly want relating to the social sciences field, you can find. Furthermore, as a student, you have access to a massive quantity of online databases full of academic journals. If you are into research, you can do it to your heart’s content here at the LSE.

Public Lecture

LSE has stellar public lectures. I wish I wasn’t spread so thin and were able to attend more of them. Big names come to the LSE ALL the time and it doesn’t even phase us anymore that so-and-so-super-famous is talking tonight. We are so spoiled that we shrug it off and say, eh, someone else famous will be here next week, I’m too busy this week. All the lectures are recorded on podcast so while missing them isn’t the end of the world, there is still something about seeing famous people speak in person.

Education

Obviously the LSE provides good education, otherwise it would not have the reputation that it has. While I am unsure on the practical relevance of courses that I had to take in the MPA program, I am pretty proud of my ability to rattle off important authors in the field. That is something I never took away from previously more practical education. Now that exams are done and I can think rationally, at the end of the day, my mind has been very much enriched and I now have even more esoteric and interesting things to toss around at dinner parties.

And I can’t stress enough, if you want to get some solid quantitative and econ education, there is no better place than the LSE (the fact my two econ exams nearly killed me was pretty solid proof).

These are just a list of things that are great about the LSE off the top of my head. Fellow LSErs, feel free to add things that you find are stellar about this institution!

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Phew! I’m done with my first and hopefully final (given I passed everything) set of LSE exams!! This honestly has been the worst academic purgatory I have ever endured. It was just so… long, and painful. Cramming 5, year-long courses worth of information in my head is definitely not anyone’s definition of fun. The evidence that this was horrible? I succumbed to Red Bull and *gasp* 5-Hour Energy. Throughout all the years of my academic life, regardless how tired I was, I never succumbed to Red Bulls. They are only for when I need to keep going at a party. Redbull Vodka is one thing, Redbull Studying is another.

In my review of the LSE after my first term, I said that perhaps the lack of continuous assessment encourages learning for learning’s sake. It forces you to keep up with materials and really learn the subject. That was what I thought then, this is what I think now: Lack of continuous assessment induces some severe cramming. It was pretty crazy how much information I jammed into my little brain within few weeks of time. Furthermore, it is actually encouraged to study strategically. There were some classes where I simply skipped weeks and weeks worth of information. Again, doesn’t seem to really induce learning, but rather, strategic cramming and test taking techniques.

It wasn’t until I started studying for exams did I begin to learn stuff for my classes. I kept thinking, “hmm, this is actually interesting, why didn’t I learn it til now?” And why was that? no exams? no learning. I am the quintessential product of Taiwanese/US education system. When I complain about these once a year exam that account for 60-100% of my grade, I think about those kids at Oxford who take ALL of their exams over the final two years under a 10 day time frame.

Talk about stress! Thank goodness I was in an African village just before this, and I am as chilled as one can possibly be under these circumstances. If I had to deal with this in my pre-Peace Corps self, I’d definitely end up in the hospital. And speaking of hospital, there are definitely several stories I have heard with people collapsing at the library, and so forth. The worst story I heard was a girl who had a panic attack during her exams. The proctor asked her to leave the room and went with her to get a drink at the café. The next thing you know, the poor girl apparently collapsed in the elevator, a janitor had to drag her out, and she was carried away by an ambulance.

For that poor girl, she is definitely not going to be able to graduate. The LSE rules on exams are so strict and if you miss it for any reason, the re-sit is NEXT YEAR. Yikes. And speaking of strict rules, you should see how crazy these proctors are. It’s really almost amusing how nutty they are about tiny rules. In the US, you just roll into your class and take the exam and then roll out. The only stress involved is making sure you know the material, and if you really do miss the exam for some medical reason, the professor can usually work with you to arrange a re-take. At the LSE, you gotta make sure you make it to your assigned exam room even if you are on your death bed, or else you take it next year. You not only have to remember a whole year worth of information for that class, you also can’t forget your timetable, your student ID, leaving your belongings at the front of the room, etc. etc. And if you still have a pen in your hand the SECOND the proctor calls time, well, you are a cheater.

Talk about unnecessary added stress, no wonder that girl had a panic attack.

Maybe a British person can explain all the rules and this education system in general to me. Because after 9 months, I still don’t get it.

At the end of the day, despite all of my criticisms, I did learn some valuable stuff this year at the LSE MPA. Not what I expected at all, but still has some merit. The big takeaway? There is collective action in everything that you ever do in life. No matter what subject of exam I am taking, I can throw that in there and earn a few points.

So I learned some stuff, and made it out of  this academic purgatory alive (albeit barely), and I’m glad it happened. At the same time, I am ready to close this LSE chapter of my life and move on to bigger (?), better (?) things!

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Since my last post on the LSE MPA, there have been some significant changes made to the curriculum. How did I find out about the new changes? An email from my blog reader. This in and of itself should raise concern over the level (or lack thereof) of communication between administration and the student body.

So, what are the changes?

Instead of 5 units of courses a year and a mandatory dissertation in year 2, the new curriculum only consists of 4 units of classes a year. Dissertation in year 2 is now optional in place of an one-unit course. For the International Development folks, this means you no longer have an option course in year one. The trade-off is a 20% lighter workload than what I had to endure.

I found out about these changes whilst studying for 2^nd of my five exams and it made me want to scream. Just the thought that had I enter this program one year later, my life would have been 20% better, i.e, I would’ve been able to devote to my classes 20% more, have a better social life, or the like. I am a proponent of making the dissertation an option. This is a professional degree, and dissertation does not necessarily provide the kind of tool kit that one needs in a professional arena.

Responses from the student body

Since most of us did not know about this news until a few days ago, the newly elected board of MPA Policy Forum (supposed to be a student governing group – its name is undergoing possible change) vigorously lobbied for a meeting with the MPA Steering Committee.

An email was sent out few days ago from one of the Committee members who would not be able to attend the meeting. One of the paragraphs really drew my attention:

We are acutely aware that students do not feel they were given adequate opportunity to comment on the new arrangements, and although this was raised at Staff Student Liaison Committee meeting, and is in direct response to other petitions from students over several years, we are profusely sorry that more was not done in this respect.

So he apologized, but I did not see any concrete plans on how procedures will change to better communicate and engage the student body. Again, if you are changing curriculum without consulting students who are experiencing the coursework and will be the ones who apply the learning, then how is it possible to have a good curriculum? It’s analogous to designing aid policies without asking the local population what their needs are. Come on! LSE is better than that!

Dilemma

Whether or not the incoming 2^nd year students will adopt the new curriculum, or maintain the current status quo of 5 units of classes including mandatory dissertation, requires unanimous voting from the student body.

I have a hard time believing that there are people who do NOT want the change. To be a complete nerd, let me just apply a little of what we learned this year. Adopting the new change is a Pareto optimal move for everyone – no one can be worse off. If you want to write a dissertation – take the option. If you want to take more classes, feel free to audit and attend all the classes you want at the LSE. No one is stopping you. But voting against the new change will hurt those who struggle with current load of coursework. The email from my reader who informed me of this new changed said, “So I am guessing someone has read your blog and took note of your comment that 5 units are just too much!” I wouldn’t go as far as that, but while the administration did not adequately engage the student body, I am quite certain that the complaint of excessive coursework is well represented.

Why do I care?

You may wonder why I am wasting my time addressing issues that have no relevance to me, considering I am off to Columbia next year. Well, I spent a year here at the LSE, and will thus be forever associated with the program. I want the LSE MPA to evolve and to grow into something that all of the students can be proud of, and can enthusiastically recommend to others. From my last post, you can probably conjure that I currently lean toward the negative side when it comes to recommending it.

I want to be equally as proud of my time at the LSE as I will be at Columbia SIPA. I want people to recognize these two programs as equal substitutes. I don’t want anyone in the future to ever ask me what I was thinking when I chose LSE MPA over Columbia SIPA.

My two cents

So what would I change if people gave a crap about what I think?

Significantly lower admission granted to undergraduates. Every good professional program has exception of a few absolutely brilliant undergraduates who deserve a place. They have saved lives or took part in some other amazing miracle during their summers or gap year. Those people absolutely deserve a place. However, letting academically brilliant students who lack professional experiences into a professional program creates problems for the rest of the student body. Unfortunately, the LSE MPA currently has a much higher percentage of such students than other programs that I know. As far as I remember, I don’t remember this statistic being published whilst I made my decision, so I was in the dark.

What problems could academically brilliant undergrads possibly create? For one, their skill as a study machine has not diminished one bit. They haven’t forgotten how to study strategically, how to cram for exams, how to memorize extensive amount of information. Those who have gained professional experiences have a great deal of other skills, but at a great disadvantage in this area.

Furthermore, I notice a lot of people who came from undergrad also studied similar subjects before, which further put them at an academic advantage. So not only that they remember how to study, they also just learned this stuff sometimes less than a year ago. You tell me if that doesn’t create imbalances with people who’ve been in the workforce for 5 years and did Art History or Literature in undergrad.

Once again: this is a PROFESSIONAL program

Curriculum for a professional program can’t mimic MSc degrees. The admission process and the type of students admitted can’t be the same as purely academic programs. I am confident that the current administration is well aware of these factors, but I feel they still lack significantly in addressing the professional aspects of the program. The academic side is more than well taken care of – obviously even a bit too much given the reduction in curriculum. Focusing more on the professional aspect will set this program apart. The competition for MPA programs are nowhere near as fierce as MBA programs and LSE is already one of the best, but it needs to innovate continuously and quickly to compete with programs that are sprouting around the world.

Your thoughts?

I don’t mean to air the program’s dirty laundry in public, but I believe these type of changes and issues need to be made aware for prospective students, who perhaps don’t want to get reeled into a not-yet stable program.

I also think it’s a good chance for other policy professionals to contribute their ideas on what makes a great professional program that will serve the wide and varied public sphere. They are the people out there doing the kind of work that people in this program aspire to. So if they were to educate new-comers, what would they want us to learn?

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