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I have an offer. What happens next?

Whether you have a conditional or unconditional offer, there will be things that you will need to do, from responding to your offer, meeting conditions and providing documents to confirm your offer, and finding out about accommodation and visas. Use the tabs below, and the links on the right hand side to find the next steps for you.
Please note: Any official offer will come from Graduate Admissions and will include the LSE logo.

How to respond to your offer

I wish to accept my offer

The offer reply form is an online form which will become available on the Graduate Applicant Portal (GAP) once your offer is processed. Instructions are on the form. You should use the form to:

  • Indicate your acceptance of the offer
  • Inform us if you are disabled or have specific learning needs
  • Provide your passport number (non-EU/EEA nationals)
  • Provide a photograph for your student card
  • Indicate your agreement to the terms and conditions of registration

You should submit this form to let us know whether you intend to accept your offer or not. You should also submit the Financial Undertaking Form as soon as you can.

We must receive the form to officially record your acceptance of our offer. The form is also used to: 

  • Generate your student card with the photo you upload
  • Set up your LSE computer network account

Ideally, try to submit the form within six weeks of receiving your offer, to help us with our planning, but if you are not able to submit the form within this time, please do not worry. You will not lose your offer, nor will we assume that you do not wish to take up your place. You do not need to contact us to inform us that you will be accepting, just submit the form when you can.

Please return the form as soon as you can to enable us to plan for the coming year, and to make the registration process easier for you when you arrive. 

You may receive an email reminding you that the form has not been submitted; these are sent automatically. Once the form is processed, you will see your status updated online.

I wish to decline my offer

We are sorry that you have decided not to take up your place at LSE. We wish you all the best with your alternative plans. Please inform us of your decision by using the response form on the GAP.

I wish to defer my offer to next year

LSE has a no-deferrals policy for offers for graduate programmes. The only exception to this is in cases of unforeseen illness or bereavement. You can use the extenuating circumstances form on the GAP to tell us.

Instead, you may reinstate your application for entry in the following year at no cost for up to two programme choices. As an early applicant, it is very likely (although not 100% guaranteed) that you will be made an offer in the following cycle.

If your deferral is agreed in exceptional circumstances

We ask you to submit a deferral deposit as requested on your deferral letter, using the online Student Finance portal to pay using the advance payment option. The deposit must be received by the January 31st deadline to secure your new offer for next year. The deferral deposit is offset against your tuition fees once you register.

Your new offer letter will be sent to you once we start issuing offers for the new year of entry, usually in January. Please make sure that you inform us of any change of address via the GAP.

I wish to decline and reinstate my application for another programme this year

Exceptionally, you may be considered for a further programme for the current session.

If you choose to be considered for a further choice and are successful, we will contact you to ask you which offer you would like to retain; it is not possible to hold more than one offer. If you wish to take up the new offer, you should use the form on the GAP to tell us that you no longer wish to keep your first choice offer.

If you are not successful for your new choice, you may still take up your current offer using the GAP form.

If you have already been considered for both of your original choices (i.e. your current offer is for your second choice), you must pay a further application fee in order to be considered for a third or subsequent programme.

If your current offer is for your first choice and you wish to be considered for a second choice you do not need to pay a further fee.

You can add new choices via the portal, including adding a new statement of academic purpose.

I wish to decline and reinstate my application for another programme next year

You must inform us of your intention to reinstate before the deadline, using the form on the portal to do so.

Please use the Offer Reply Form on the portal to tell us that you won't be taking up your place this year.

Use the LSE eShop payment form to submit your reinstatement fee. Please note that the reinstatement fee is currently £80 and will rise to £95 on 19 November 2023. 

Your application will be considered when the new application cycle begins.

Make sure that we are informed of any changes to your contact details via your record on the portal.

Other useful links

Accommodation

If you wish to apply for a place in LSE accommodation, you should apply online as soon as possible using the link on the portal.

If you are not offered a place in LSE accommodation use the other resources offered by the accommodation service and students' union advice service to find a place to live. Do not despair if you don't get a place in a student residence – many students prefer to live outside university halls.

Financial support

If you have been awarded a scholarship from the Graduate Support Scheme, this will be indicated on your offer email and is stated on the GAP. The information from the same application form (available via the portal) will be used in our assessment of other LSE scholarships later in the admissions cycle. If you are made an award from one of these sources you will be informed in due course.  Any award is offset against your tuition fees in the first instance.

The Financial Support Office publishes further information about other external sources of funding.

Other sources of information

  • The offer pack that you receive with your offer is designed to answer the vast majority of your questions
  • The knowledge base has more information – search or browse for the answer to your question
  • The new arrivals website has a wide variety of information about moving to London and joining  LSE
  • Your departmental contact can help you with information specific to your programme

Planning for your arrival

Visit our Your First Weeks pages for a wealth of useful information

I need to apply for a visa

If you require a visa to gain entry to the UK we will send you a Confirmation of Acceptance of Study (CAS) by email before your programme begins. The CAS is a unique number generated by the UKVI and is specific to your study at LSE. You will also receive a CAS statement, which is a summary of the information used by us to make your offer and supplied to UKVI. You can find more information about applying for a student visa once you have received your CAS here.

Your CAS will only be issued once your offer is unconditional, you have accepted the offer and you have submitted the financial undertaking form. We start to send CASs from May onwards. 

Registration

Registration information can be found in your offer pack.

Other information about reading listsdepartmental inductions and timetables for individual programmes are available from your department – contact details are on the Departmental Contacts page.

Type of offer

Follow the links below to see what else you need to do, dependent on the type of offer you have:

Conditional / Unconditional