I have been in London for a little over a week now, and so far it has been great! One of my favorite routines is going for a run with my friends every morning. After our run, we usually grab coffee, sit outside, and just talk. It has been a really nice way to start my mornings and explore the city at the same time.
One thing I have noticed that is different between London and Pitt is the lifestyle outside of class. In London, people seem a little more relaxed with how they spend their free time. Between classes, it is pretty common for people to grab a quick bite, go to a pub, shop, or even take a day trip. At Pitt, I feel like I would normally spend that extra time going to the library, studying, or getting work done.
Something that is similar between Pitt and LSE is the importance placed on academics. At Pitt, we are always told not to fall behind and to stay on top of our work, and LSE is very similar. The classes are also relatively similar in size, and we still have lectures and smaller class or recitation-style sessions. However, I have noticed that LSE requires students to be more independent. A lot of the learning comes from lectures, readings, and work that you complete on your own rather than constantly getting help from the professor.
At LSE, I am taking classes in organizational behavior, information systems, data science, and anthropology. These classes are very different from what I was taking at Pitt because I previously focused more on pre-med and biology-heavy classes. Here, I am getting the opportunity to focus more on technology and business-related classes, which is completely different from what I was used to.
During this experience, I want to strengthen my time management skills because there is a lot of reading and independent work to keep up with. I also want to improve my essay writing and reading skills. I think it is especially important in this environment to manage my time well and not be afraid to ask questions, participate in class, and share my opinions instead of just sitting quietly.
