I went to LSE and yeah it's expensive, but I guess it does open doors or whatever... I dunno, I wouldn't say it's worth THAT much. You'll have the same degree if you go to Kings or UCL and pay a fraction of the price. I always thought that all the people that went there for their Masters were being completely conned - yeah it's a good uni, but it's not FOUR times better (as the price would suggest) than the other main university of london colleges.
I do kind of think that if you're willing to even contemplate paying that much for a masters, then you're just buying into the name. Hence why most of the people on the IR masters course are from america - it's no big deal money wise to them (compared to US universities) and there's the whole LSE name, blah blah blah.
If you DO decide to go (and I would think carefully about that), then remember that LSE is pretty rich and gives out money left right and centre - they gave me thousands a year cos I was broke and working and still skint... Not that you shoudl rely on that...
As for CDL - I have one at the moment, I don't see what the problem is. If you were only to take out a loan for HE if you could GUARANTEE being able to pay it back, only accountancy students would apply. I'm studying chinese anthropology, I'm not going to get a highly paid job, but this is a course I want to do, so I'm willing to put myself out for it.
It's perfectly possible to work while you're at LSE - I worked 25 hours a week even during my finals. Needs must I suppose - if you want to afford it, you can find a way. Otherwise, go elsewhere. You'll probably have a better time.
