[Boulder, CO]

I was thinking about turning this into an opportunity for a sort of road-trip. Does anyone have any useful tips for doing this, in terms of best route, precautions, anything?

Thanks!

No particular tips. That's a pretty easy route. Just have good music and some water and snacks. Kansas is boring (IMO)You're on I64 for something like 700 miles. It's hard to get lost! My best advice? Take a friend and give yourself a bunch of days to do it. It will be fun. I love road trips.

Good luck! Boulder is a pretty town.

[London, England]

£800 total or £800 just for your rent? I think you should be looking to pay about £500 a month for one bedroom in a shared flat/house, and more than that if you want a one-bedroom place. Word of advice - I have a friend who spent a long time looking for a one-bedroom place, and all he found was disgusting stuff within his affordability range. I'd definitely say that shared house/flat is the way to go...

Living centrally is not *that* expensive compared to living in zones 2, 3 or 4. You have to shell out £100 a month or more for a travel card if you're going to be using the Tube regularly as a commuter.

Research areas carefully because there some quite undesirable places to live. However, there are also some amazing ones. I've lived in Hackney and Angel and love both areas.

I agree about the leafy suburbs not being cheaper. The halls are really the best bargain. I live about 45 minutes away in North Greenwich and it costs me about 25 pounds a week in travelcards. Food is actually cheaper than the US, food from the grocery stores. Drinks are cheap at the pubs around the school and there are a lot of activities you can do with all the UCL campuses. Lots of free museums and things.

Truthfully, you'll be so busy with your classes, you won't have to worry about it. It's been a great experience and I'll second the part about the people. I've met some great people - students and faculty. It's been really cold and grey. That's the only think I could live without.

[Political Sociology]

I'm starting the Political Sociology course at London School of Economics. Classes start on Monday. We've had some induction meetings and so far, so good. It seems like a really fascinating program. They do have an MPhil/DPhil program, too, though I am taking the taught masters.

[London School of Economics ?]

I'm going to LSE for MSc in Political Sociology. I'm really looking forward to it.

What program are you going for?

[Profiles and Results 2009]

I thought I would post my stats if only to reassure people reading that you don't need to have some stellar academic CV and research experience to get in. You just have to be a solid student and have a good story to tell. Be unique!

PROFILE:

Type of Undergrad Institution: Colorado State University

Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science, Certificate in Diversity in Law (now in the Ethnic Studies dept.)

Undergrad GPA: Graduated Dec 2007 with 3.97. But when I started, my GPA from long, long ago was too low even to get into a state school. I had to go to community college for a semester to get some decent grades. My very first GPA when I dropped out of the first college? 0.95

Type of Grad: n/a

Grad GPA: n/a

GRE: 670q/700v/5.5a (but I didn't need it)

Any Special Courses: grad course in Nationalism and Nation Building

Letters of Recommendation: Dean of Liberal Arts College, full professor of the grad course, visiting prof I had for two senior courses, person I had done some work for.

Research Experience: None

Teaching Experience: only my children

Subfield/Research Interests: National identity formation in Third Culture Kids/Nationalism & Globalism/Media studies

SOP: Used what I had written for a scholarship I didn't get. Worked pretty hard on it. Went with a fairly narrative structure since I don't have a lot of academic experience but I do have a lot of life experience

Other: I'm 42 years old, divorced with three kids. I've traveled a lot in the last few years and had some life-changing experiences. I mentioned them all in my SOP. I also did some research and found out that my specific interest is lacking in research. I looked carefully at where I could best study what I wanted to study.

RESULTS:

Acceptances($$ or no $$): London School of Economics, Msc Political Science, small financial aid package, waiting for scholarship info to be released.

Waitlists: n/a

Rejections: n/a

Pending: n/a

Going to: LSE

What would you have done differently? I might have studied more for the GREs, though I ended up not needing them. I might have applied at more than one school. I was kind of clueless. I talked to a professor at Goldsmiths who said 'all you can do is write yourself OUT of an acceptance.' but I didn't apply because I wanted the LSE name.

[Politics & Communication, Mass Media... Schools?]

I have no advice because I'm behind you academically. But I was wondering if you wouldn't mind giving me a little hint of what it was like for you at LSE. I'm going over this fall for an MSc in Political Sociology and will probably be taking a lot of media and communication courses. I'm just a bit nervous because I have no idea what my days or weeks or work load will be.

I can't imagine with your stats you'll have much trouble with getting accepted somewhere for a PhD!

Again, out of curiosity, what are your job prospects with the MSc? What kind of positions would you be looking at?

Amy

[How old are you?]

Chiming in late, but throwing off the curve. I'm 42. Will turn 43 shortly after starting. And whoever said younger people have more flexibility about where the move to is quite correct. My three kids have decidedly mixed reactions about moving to England.

Accept to LSE MSc Political Sociology 09