Tale of Two Cities

I like Dickens insomuch as I've watched The Wire. I also enjoyed Great Expectations. But that is not what I meant to say in this blog post. Instead I recently discovered a recurring column in Georgetown's The Hoya written by a student at LSE this year. I don't know why I never realized this column before.

Unionview

Here's a cool site about UK universities. It has a pretty detailed video on LSE and the different benefits and drawbacks of studying there.
http://www.unionview.com/

Tougher than Leather

Already I am getting e-mails from LSE about my course load. Apparently I signed up for classes that are way beyond my abilities. Since British schools are on a three year system instead of on a four year system as in America, the 300-levels for which I signed up are too difficult and advanced for me. Of the four courses I'll be taking, I signed up for three 300-levels and one 200-level. In reality, as the General Course adviser has described, my courses should reflect the opposite situation (i.e. one 300-level and three 200-levels). So, I now have to go through the course list once again and pick lower level classes that will still transfer to my MSB business core. So far I hav settled on the following courses:

Government-two govt reqs (minor)
GV265 States, Nations and Empires
GV227 The Politics of Economic Policy

Finance-two finance courses (major)
FM212 Principles of Finance
FM300 Corporate Finance, Investments and Financial Markets

Operational Management-two business core II reqs
OR202 Operational Research Methods
MN201 Economics for Management
MN203 Social Science Research Methods for Management

Geography and Environment-IB one course for major
GY244 London's Geographies: An Introduction to Cultural and Historical Geography
GY202 Introduction to Development in the South
GY205 Political Geographies, Policy and Space
SA217 Psychology of Crime and Criminal Justice

If all goes according to plan, I will get credit for 7 required courses and 1 elective course. I still don't understand how this corresponds to 30 credits for the year, but it does. This means that during my senior year back at Georgetown I will only have to take 6 more courses to earn my two majors and my minor. In reality, I have space to earn a third MSB major, but they don't allow it, so I guess I will just end up taking a few elective courses or get a long-term internship.

I'm dumb

So Liz said that foreign students (me) aren't allowed in the Department of Finance for whatever reason, so they place us all in the accounting department. It's all the same I guess. Good to know. I worried for nothing, who would have thought.

LSE Unconditional Offer

Well, check this out. It looks like I got in to LSE. This is awesome news. I get to feel all the anxiety and excitement that came with preparing to go to college for the first time. This almost seems like a second chance to do college. The one problem I have is the fact that I have been placed in the Department of Accounting instead of the Department of Finance. I don't know what this means, but I'd rather have finance advisors and counselors, especially because I won't be taking any accounting courses.

London School of Economics
Applicant ID Number--

Dear Mr Akshay Bhatia,

Further to your application for LSE’s study abroad programme I’m delighted to be able to offer you a place on the General Course for the academic year 2009-10. Congratulations!
...

Pictures of London

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/london_from_above_at_night.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/more_of_london_from_above_at_n.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/visualisations/planes.shtml

Those pictures frighten me. I can't imagine living in a city that large. Sure I live in a city of 600,000 right now, but I don't exist beyond the neighborhood of 10,000. At LSE, I will exist in the city itself. I have to navigate and find my way through all of this. It's way beyond New York if I had gone to NYU too since at NYU, I would have still stayed in one (very, very rich) neighborhood. At LSE, I may live 45 minutes away from the school. I will have to use the Tube everyday. I'll have to go shopping everyday for groceries and find food each day. This is way beyond Georgetown or what college has been so far. I may have to cook meals for myself each night. Perhaps I am in over my head. Holy shit.

http://www.jasonhawkes.com/

LSE Receipt

I recently received an e-mail from LSE's General Course:

Thank you for submitting your material for the General Course in 2009-10 and for considering LSE as your study abroad destination. The status of your application is indicated below.

Your application is complete.

It will now be considered and a decision issued by e-mail within 7 working days. Please only contact us to confirm the status of your application after this period.

For some reason, I am actually kind of nervous about the application. I know I shouldn't be, but nevertheless, anxiety consumes me.