Frequently Asked Questions

Browse our offer holders' frequently asked questions or get in touch if your question isn't covered.

If you have questions please read the information and guidance below. Alternatively, you can email us via our contact form. 

 

General Offer Holder FAQs:

What are the terms of my offer?

Your offer of admission to the School has been based on the information you provided on, or with, your UCAS application form. It is your responsibility to provide official evidence of your qualifications if we require it (please see your offer letter). If you are unable to provide such evidence, we reserve the right to review, and possibly withdraw, your offer of admission.

My offer is conditional on academic qualifications. I’ve also been asked to provide certified documentation of previous qualifications. What does this mean?

Your place at the School can only be granted on the condition that you obtain the minimum specified grades in your forthcoming academic qualifications and provide us with certified documentation of your previously obtained qualification(s), eg, The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma with 38 points overall and 7,6,6 at Higher Level. Plus provide certified verification of your previous qualifications listed on your offer letter and send to the School by 31 July 2024.

The deadline for us to receive official confirmation of forthcoming qualifications is 6 September 2024, whilst certified documentation of any previously obtained qualifications requested on your offer letter should reach us no later than 31 July 2024.

My offer is conditional on previously obtained qualifications, what does this mean?

Your place at the School can only be granted on the condition that you provide us with certified documentation of the previously obtained qualifications listed on your offer letter,eg, your 2022 French Baccalaureate.The deadline for us to receive certified documentation of these qualifications is 31 July 2024.

Why have some of the subjects I have studied been excluded?

The Admissions Selector takes into account all of the information that is presented on your UCAS form when they assesses your application.

Your offer is based on the range of subjects which are most relevant to your degree. As stated on our website, there are subjects that are generally excluded from any offer made, eg, if you are taking General Studies or Critical Thinking at A level, your grade in this subject will not be counted towards the requirements of any conditional offer. Similarly, an A level or equivalent in a language learning subject that you have had significant prior exposure to may not be counted.

The Admissions Selector may also choose to exclude other subjects, for example: “Obtain grades AAA excluding Art, plus a pass in a fourth A level.” In this case your Art qualification cannot be used to meet your offer condition.

 

My offer is conditional on an English language qualification, what does this mean?

Your place at the School can only be granted on the condition that you obtain the minimum grades in one of our recognised English language qualifications, eg obtain one of our recognised English language qualifications listed in your Offer Guide. You may have already declared a qualification we accept (pending verification) on your application, or maybe exempt, based on your nationality. All offer holders who are requested to obtain an English language qualification as part of their offer, will be given access to a questionnaire. Our English language questionnaire can be used to provide us with details, which will either allow us to verify results on your behalf, confirm your exemption, or re-confirm our guidance on supplying us with the necessary documentation. Our website clearly states how we can verify certain English language qualifications. Declaring a valid qualification we do not have access to personally verify (see the English language qualifications section of the page here) via a questionnaire is not sufficient for us to approve the qualification.

Is it possible to lower or change the conditions of my offer?

No. The School will not enter into negotiations with offer holders over the terms of their offer. Each offer has been made taking into consideration all the information included on your UCAS form and the Admissions Selector’s decision is final.

I have decided to drop one of my subjects, is this ok?

It is important that you contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office before you drop/ discontinue any subject – even if this subject does not form part of your offer. An Admissions Selector will consider your request and we aim to provide you with a final decision within two weeks.

What does “Obtain grades A*AA with an A* in Maths plus a pass in Further Mathematics” mean?

This offer means that you need to obtain two A grades at A level and an A* in Maths with an additional pass (ie, grade A-E) in Further Mathematics as a fourth subject.

Why does my offer ask me to achieve AAA at A level rather than 360 UCAS tariff points?

LSE does not use the UCAS tariff. You are required to obtain the grades and any subjects specified in order to meet the terms of your offer.

I have been asked to obtain 38 points and 7,6,6 at Higher Level in the International Baccalaureate. Do bonus points count towards meeting this condition?

Yes. Bonus points will count towards your overall total points score.

My offer is unconditional. What does this mean?

You have provided us with all of the qualifications required to fulfil our entry requirements (we may have received them via UCAS), prior to an offer being made. Your place at the School will be granted, however, you must complete the relevant pre-arrival documents before you can register at the School. Please refer to your Offer Guide for further details.

When do I need to reply to my offers?

Once you have received decisions from all of your choices, you will be given a date in UCAS Hub by which you need to reply. Please refer to the guidance on the UCAS website. 

What should I do if I want to decline my offer?

When do I have to send off my certified documents?

Please refer to our page here for details on how to supply us with any certified documents as part of your offer conditions.

Is it possible to change programmes?

If you have decided you no longer wish to study the programme for which you have been made an offer, then - under exceptional circumstances - you may be able to be considered for a different programme.

If you decide before 31 January that you want your application to be considered for a different programme, you should contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office outlining the reasons for the change. Your application would then be in competition with all other applicants to that programme.

If your request to change programme comes after 31 January, your application will be classed as late. This means that we will only be able to look at your late application if there are still places available on the programme once all on-time applications have been assessed. However for the vast majority of programmes, we do not look at any late applications.

If the Admissions Selector for your new programme choice decides not to offer you a place, or you are happy for your application to be considered as late and we do not look at your late application, your new programme choice will be unsuccessful and you will lose your offer on your original programme choice at LSE.

Please also note that it is not possible for your application to be considered for a programme from which you have already been unsuccessful.

I have changed my correspondence address. What should I do?

Please notify UCAS and the institutions to which you have applied of your new address in writing as soon as possible. Please note that if you have indicated your term-time address in the correspondence address section of the UCAS application form, do not assume that all correspondence will be automatically sent to your home address once term finishes. You should notify UCAS and the institutions as soon as you leave your term-time address so that all correspondence can be sent to the correct address.

When can I apply for accommodation? 

Accommodation booking information for 2024/25 can be found here. You will be able to book accommodation through our online accommodation system once you have firmly accepted your offer to study at LSE. 

Please visit our accommodation pages to find out more about the accommodation options available and the booking process and deadlines.

 

When is the scholarship application deadline? 

Please visit our Fees and Funding page for a detailed guide to the financial support available and the application process. The number, value, eligibility criteria and type of awards vary from year to year. All scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need in the first instance, and then academic merit.

 

When do I need to pay my tuition fees? 

Offer holders can pay their fees as soon as they have their offer. If you have not paid in full before or at registration then you will be placed on a termly Payment Plan. You will be expected to pay 1/3 of your fees on each payment date. Please see the information here.

I am an international student. When can I apply for my visa? 

You can apply for your visa up to six months before your programme begins if you are applying overseas and up to three months in advance if you are eligible to apply in the UK.

You will only be able to apply for your visa when you have received your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) number from us to complete your Student visa application.

LSE can only issue your CAS once you have:

• firmly accepted your unconditional offer
• completed your Financial Undertaking Form (FUF)
• confirmed to us your passport details, including all of your official names as shown in your passport, the correct spelling and the order that they appear in on your passport. 

Please note: Even if you have met the above conditions, due to technical reasons, we will be unable to begin issuing CAS' until May/ June at the earliest.

It is important that you read the visa information for prospective students on our Student Advice and Engagement Team website.

When does term start?

Term starts on Monday 30 September. 

In your first week you need to formally enrol with the School, and attend School and departmental welcome induction events.

LSE Welcome includes a variety of formal and social activities designed to introduce you to the School, your department and the Students’ Union. Specific information about LSE Welcome will be published in the summer before you join us.

Can I visit the campus? 

If you would like to visit the School, please refer to the page here.

There are also lots of other ways for offer holders to get in contact with us. 

Our Offer Holders' Day takes place in April.

We also have a Virtual Undergraduate Offer Holders Day.

You can also speak to the Student Marketing, Recruitment and Study Abroad team via Live Chatcontact Undergraduate Admissions or join a Discovery Session

Have the UCAS deadlines changed this year?

Yes. To allow schools and students more time to prepare and submit applications the UCAS application deadline has been moved to 31 January 2024.

The UCAS decision deadline (for all applications received by 31 January) is 16 May 2024. The UCAS reply deadline (for all offers received by 18 May) is 6 June 2024.

When will I receive my decision?

Whilst we will endevour to make all decicions as soon as possible, in some cases, applicant's may not receive a decision until the UCAS deadline. Please refer to our Admissions Calendar for the latest information.


Frequently Asked Questions before registration:

Can I defer my place until next year?

If you wish to defer your entry, you will need to submit a  request to the Undergraduate Admissions Office by 12 July at the latest. Your email needs to state your reasons for your request and what you plan to do on your gap year. The Admissions Selector will then consider your request and you will be contacted once a decision has been made. Should your request be granted, your UCAS record will then be changed to reflect your change of year.

We aim to respond to all deferral requests as quickly as possible.

If your request for deferral is refused, your offer is still valid for 2024.

LSE does not offer the option of a two year deferral, unless the applicant has extenuating circumstances preventing them from beginning their programme in 2024 or 2025. Please note that compulsory National Service is not considered as an extenuating circumstance for two year deferral requests.

What happens if I fail to meet the conditions of my offer?

If you marginally fail to meet the conditions of your offer, your application is automatically referred back to the Admissions Selector for reconsideration in August. Your application is then considered in competition with all the other applicants who have marginally failed to meet the conditions of their offer. There is no guarantee that LSE will be able to confirm your place at the School.

We will send our decision to UCAS as soon as possible, so please do not contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office as it may delay the processing of your application.

What happens if I ask for a re-mark?

If you plan to ask for a re-mark for any of your exams, then you should inform the Undergraduate Admissions Office as soon as possible. For speed, you should ask for a priority re-mark from the relevant exam board/s.

The office needs to receive official confirmation of the results of your re-mark by 6 September 2024 at the very latest. Providing your re-mark grades meet the original grade conditions of your offer, we will overturn the unsuccessful decision and your offer will be reinstated. If no vacancies are available for the current year of entry then the School reserves the right to offer a deferred place as an alternative. Please note: we will be unable to reinstate offers if we receive revised grades after 6 September 2024.

What happens if I experience difficulties at examination time?

We understand that circumstances can arise which have a detrimental impact on exam performance. If you marginally miss the conditions of your offer at Confirmation, the School is only able to give due consideration to those with severe extenuating circumstances. However, we can only consider information regarding extenuating circumstances which has been sent to us by 28 June 2024 for applicants studying the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and 31 July 2024 for all other qualifications, including any corroborating evidence that you can offer such as a doctor's note, a note from your school or other official documentation.

It is highly unlikely that we will be able to consider any appeals which are received after results have been published, as many of our candidates meet, if not exceed the conditions of their offer and we do not have the places to admit additional students at this stage.

Therefore if you feel that your exam performance has been affected by extenuating circumstances, you should contact us in writing by 28 June (for the IBDP) or 31 July (for all other qualifications). 

It is also advisable for your school to notify the examination boards of any such extenuating circumstances, along with relevant medical notes, as they can then be taken into consideration when your scripts are being marked.

Due to extenuating circumstances, I will be unable to sit my exams this year. Can you defer my conditional offer to next year? 

No, this will not be possible UCAS guidelines state that a conditional offer cannot be “carried over” to the next academic year. Therefore we would have to withdraw our offer and you would need to re-apply in the next UCAS cycle. In this case, we cannot guarantee that you would be given another offer the following year.

What happens if I can't provide certified documentation of my English language qualification which you have requested before 31 July?

If you cannot provide certified documentation of a recognised English language qualification, we will not be able to confirm your place at the School. If you cannot meet this deadline for any reason, it is important that you inform us before 31 July 2024. 

Please refer to the information at the top of this page for the latest guidance and advice on our deadlines.

Note for international students: Submitting your certified documentation late can result in delays in issuing your CAS number to the Home Office, which you will require to apply for your visa. It is important that you apply for your visa early enough to allow sufficient time for you to attend Registration. More details can be found on the Student Advice and Engagement Team website.