Information for General Course offer holders

You should accept or decline your offer to study with us online via your LSE Public Account. We must receive the form to officially record your acceptance of our offer. 

• If you do not receive an invite to set up your LSE Public Account within two weeks of receiving an offer, please email gc@lse.ac.uk (include your LSE ID number) for support.
• Accepting your offer is not binding, and should you subsequently wish to decline your offer before registration you will be able to do so without incurring any penalty.
• There is no formal deadline for accepting your offer, however until you have accepted we cannot continue processing your application which may delay sending important documents.

We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with a number of key sources of information.

• The General Course Offer Pack is your essential guide to finding answers to frequently asked questions and learning more about what to expect during your programme. 
• The LSE Welcome Guide provides information on what to expect once you arrive in the UK and at LSE. These pages will be updated for the 2025-26 academic year over the summer.

In your offer email we may have let you know that we need additional or official copies of certain documents. It is essential that you provide these as soon as possible as you won't be able to register as an LSE student until we have received and approved them.

• Check your offer email and ensure that we receive all outstanding documents as soon as possible. 
• Send official documents and transcripts directly from your institution or study abroad adviser. This includes transcript services such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse.
• Any requested documents should be sent to gc@lse.ac.uk.
• We cannot accept hard copy documents

LSE accommodation:

All General Course students who have accepted their offer and made their accommodation booking by the deadline of 9 June 2025 are guaranteed a place in LSE or University of London accommodation (subject to availability).

Bookings continue to be accepted after 9 June whilst rooms remain available so offer holders are encouraged to make their booking as soon as possible.

• Browse and learn more about our available student accommodation on the accommodation webpages.
• Apply for accommodation using the LSE Student Accommodation System.
• You must have accepted your offer in order to be considered for guaranteed accommodation.
• Plan to arrive in London and move into your accommodation by Sunday 21 September 2025. 

Private accommodation:

General Course students can also opt to find housing in the private sector.

• If you wish to live in private accommodation, please visit our accommodation pages for further information and advice.

The John C Phelan General Course Scholarships are available to any applicant, of any nationality, who secures a place on the General Course programme and accepts their offer. The scholarships will be awarded primarily on the basis of financial need.

• Apply by downloading, completing and submitting the General Course Scholarship Application Form by 25 April 2025. If you have any questions please email gc@lse.ac.uk.
• Please ensure that you read the guidance on the last page of the application form.
• Please return your completed application form by email to financial-support@lse.ac.uk by 25 April 2025. We cannot accept hard copy applications.

The Financial Undertaking Form (FUF) tells us who will be paying your LSE tuition fee.

• You will receive an email requesting that you complete the FUF. Please complete the form as soon as possible once you receive it, as this informs us who should receive the invoice. Please follow the guide here when completing the FUF.
• Please speak with your study abroad advisor prior to completing the form if you are unsure of how your LSE tuition fee will be paid. If your university will pay your tuition, please provide them with the template letter that they will need to provide you here.
• If you are applying for scholarships or financial aid, you will still need to complete the form so that we can invoice the correct person. Fill out the details regardless of potential funding, and this can be taken into account if it is granted.
• You will need to fill out this form before we can issue your CAS number (see 'Applying for a visa' below), which you will need for your visa application.

Obtaining a visa:

The General Course team is not legally permitted to give you advice on obtaining a visa to enter the UK.

Visit the LSE Student Advice and Engagement Team webpages for information about visas. If you have any questions regarding visas then please contact the team by completing their online enquiry form.

Your CAS number:

Receiving a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number is essential before you can complete your visa application. In order to be able to receive your CAS by the earliest possible issue date, ensure that you meet the following criteria:

• You hold an unconditional offer.
• You have accepted your offer on LSE for You.
• You have returned a scanned copy of your passport photo page to gc@lse.ac.uk (we will email you to request this in the coming months).
• You have completed the Financial Undertaking Form.

To help us better plan for the coming academic session, we require all General Course offer holders to confirm their course preferences prior to the formal course registration period in September.

• You will be emailed and asked to complete an online survey to indicate your course preferences. These will then be reviewed and you will be contacted over the summer months should we have any comments or concerns. 
• The courses you select at this stage will be used to allocate you to an academic department at LSE.
• Please note that your course preferences are not guaranteed. However, we will do everything possible to ensure that you can join your preferred courses.
• You will be asked in early September to officially register for your chosen courses.
• When making your final course choices please consult the Undergraduate Course Catalogue and the additional guidance provided on course levels and economics options.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that the courses you have chosen fit with your home university’s academic requirements. It is the responsibility of your home institution to determine whether credit will be awarded.

You are eligible for National Health Service (NHS) treatment once you have paid the compulsory immigration health surcharge.

• For information about access to healthcare while in the UK, please visit our healthcare in the UK webpage.
• You may be exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge if you meet certain criteria. Visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website for further information.

Even if you are entitled to free NHS healthcare during your time in the UK, you may like to take out private health insurance. Private health services are often able to offer treatment faster than if you went through the NHS.

There are many companies who provide private healthcare insurance, but LSE is unable to make recommendations about the best provider for your needs.

Before you arrive, we'll be hosting informal sessions to help answer your questions and give you the opportunity to meet other General Course offer holders.

You can also look forward to our annual series of Destination LSE events, which allow offer holders from the same international region to connect before arriving at LSE.

See more of life at LSE on social media:

To see what it's like to be a study abroad student at LSE, follow @LSE_GeneralCourse and #LSEStudyAbroad on Instagram.

Countdown to LSE

This short video covers everything you need to have done before arriving at LSE. Watch the 2025/26 video here.

We are very happy to announce that General Course Offer Holders have the ability to use our Ask an Alum function.

Ask an Alum is a new digital tool that enables General Course Offer Holders and General Course alumni (currently over 5400) to connect with each other to seek advice on a particular topic – from how to start a career in a specific industry to the best tips for relocating to a new city. The tool uses AI to match questions received via a simple online form to the alumni who are best placed to answer them.

Typically, you will receive response within 10 workings days but it is unlikely to take that long. Use the button below to pose your first question!

Ask a Question!

Please note that this feature is only available to current General Course Offer Holders and as such you will need to supply your LSE ID when posing a question.

FAQs

1. WHAT CAN I ASK?
   As an offer holder, you can ask any questions relating to the course, studying at LSE, and what it is like to live and work in London. Once you are studying at LSE, you can use the tool to ask anything to help with your academic or professional development. There are thousands of alumni, academics, staff and friends that can help with building and growing a startup, personal development, or figuring out career options
2. WHO WILL SEE MY QUESTION?
   We send your request to the best alumni, academics, and staff in your area of interest. Members of staff at LSE, including LSE Careers, may use the content of your question to improve programming. Using this Service will not influence any current or future application to the School. 
3. WHAT'S A GOOD QUESTION?
   Think of your question as an advertisement. Share who you are, what you are doing, and what you need help with. Keep it short and sweet. Here’s a short video on how to craft a great question that will get you results and help build your network.
4. CAN I REQUEST SOMEONE SPECIFIC?
   No. We make our matches based on availability, proximity, experience and skills.