Liberal Arts at King's College London

The not-so-formal, student run blog.

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

Things you should know when starting university

1. Don’t worry about making new friends. There will be so many people and opportunities!!

2. There’s nothing wrong with feeling anxious and afraid. Everyone is new and will be feeling scared like you!

3. Don’t try to change yourself or act as if you’re someone different. You’re fine the way you are – so just be genuine and real.

4. It’s normal to feel lonely and to miss the life you had. It’s part of taking risks, and being brave, and moving on.

5. You’ll wonder if you’ll fit, or find a place in this new world. But that will start to change, and soon this new place will feel good.

6. Don’t only socialise, and go to everything you can. Make some space for being alone, and time for quiet solitude.

7. At the same time, make sure you force yourself to move outside your comfort zone, and try new things with others, and see what you enjoy.

[liberalartsatkcl]

Yo I'm from Trinidad and Tobago too!! What secondary school did you go to?

Yoooo I went to saghs!! What about you?? But I graduated from kcl last year and I don't want to crowd up this blog so message off anon and I'll give you my personal tumblr so we can talk more :D

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hello! I recently got accepted for Liberal Arts at King's College as an international student, and I'm very excited! However, my conditional offer states that I need qualifications I am not currently taking at school - should I email admissions directly and do you know of anyone who has been admitted under these circumstances? Thanks!

Hi! If they have given you a conditional offer, it’s likely your qualifications will translate? I’d definitely recommend contacting admissions to clarify on this though

[liberalartsatkcl]

Which accomodatin is your suggestion?

Hi, this really depends on your budget and preferences. I personally stayed at moonraker, but I know people who’ve had great experiences in halls like International Hall and other places like Stamford Street. The advice I’d give is think carefully about whether you want it catered or self-catered, and how far you’re willing to travel 

[liberalartsatkcl]

Really appreciate your blog. Do you know appx. how many students are in the LA program? cheers

We’re not quite sure, the number has definitely increased since the programme started but I would estimate maybe 300? 

[liberalartsatkcl]

I got an offer to read Liberal Arts and am super keen. Would you suggest an intercollegiate hall to a first-year undergrad? I am thinking about the Garden Halls. What do you think? Thanks :)

That’s great well done! I wasn’t in an intercollegiate hall, but all my friends who were said it was a blast. Garden Halls is new (and much fancier than the older ones) but I’ve heard good things about it! 

[liberalartsatkcl]

Do you know anyone who applied to Liberal Arts as well as another course at King's and got an offer for both? Liberal Arts would be my firm choice but I also want to apply to King's politics. Should I just apply to liberal arts? Thanks in advance. This blog is amazing.

I don’t know anyone personally, but it’s entirely possible to get two offers from different courses in the same university! Apply to both if you would like, you can decide which one you want later :)

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hey, I'm going to apply for MA in lit at Kings. They require my 'initial dissertation idea' but i dont have a clue what i want that to be. Is that a bad thing? How do i complete my application without it?

Hi, sorry we are not the MA literature, I would suggest contacting the department or the program convenor by email because they can help you more. (However, I would suggest maybe talking to some old professors/friends with similar academic interests to bounce some ideas because it’s always a good idea to have one)

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hi. Due to certain circumstances, I will have to apply to King's mid-Feb. I am a non-EU applicant and I am really interested in King's Liberal Arts BA and plan to firm it if I get an offer. I am currently 2 points away from their requirement (IB) but my predicted score meets their requirement and I do believe that I will score at least 35 during the actual exams. Will this hurt my chances? Also, can I know how popular/competitive the course is to get an offer? Thanks a lot!

Hi! I was also a non-EU applicant, if your predicted score meets the requirement it’s quite likely you’ll get the offer. When I applied, the ‘minimum’ was 35, I’m not sure if anything has changed. The course is not too big yet, so I would say your chances are good, especially if you write a good personal statement :)

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hi! Does studying away during your second semester of your second year mean missing out on the "credit-bearing internship module"?

Hm the credit-bearing internship module is actually, from what I’ve heard, quite flexible. I think any internship at any time, whether it’s during the uni term or during summer can actually bear credits if you apply for it. However, I’d ask your personal tutor about this

[liberalartsatkcl]

Would you recommend a liberal arts course and then major in film as a good course for someone who wants to get in to film production??

Well I think that would be more up to you in the sense of what you want to get out of it. King’s film department is very well-known and reputable but it is also quite theoretical, however, they do have good connections to get students hands-on experience. The value of the liberal arts course is that you can get an education in other subjects that can inform, inspire and add richness to your film education and work e.g. historical contexts, philosophy, understanding of political implications etc. 

However, I don’t major in film (though the few film courses I took were very enjoyable!) but if you would like I can pass you the contacts of a film major to chat to

[liberalartsatkcl]

Will you rec books a prospective liberal arts student might find compelling? Or something that will serve as a teaser of sorts for the course? Thank you!

Hi there!

Tbh, the liberal arts is a very widespread course and I don’t know if there are particular books that will cater to all. I could give you personal book recommendations, and I can also pass you titles of some readings we’ve done in our core module that were more interesting: 

Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism(London and New York: Verso, 1983)

Brennan, Jason, The Ethics of Voting (Princeton University Press, 2011)

Diener Alexander C.  and Hagen, Joshua (eds.) Borderlines and Borderlands: Political Oddities at the Edge of the Nation State (Rowman and Littlefield, 2010)

and some of my own favourites from modules:

Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss

The Economist, Hunter-Gatherers: Noble or Savage?http://www.economist.com/node/10278703

Virginia Woolf, Street Haunting

honestly though, just read whatever appeals to you! Read, watch films and documentaries, watch the news. It will all help :)

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hi! I'm applying for LA at King's but I find the UCAS help site a little vague. When applying, do I have to indicate in anyway what my major may be? Do I have to have an A Level in any specific subject (I know this is the case if you want to major in a foreign language but I won't be doing that) and lastly what about GCSEs? Sorry for the influx of questions! Thanks?

Hi! You don’t have to I’m pretty sure, if you want to you could indicate an interest but you don’t have to pick until midway through the first year. A Levels (I think, I did IB) don’t really matter as long as you get into the course, you pick majors from your first year modules. GCSEs don’t matter anymore hahha

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hi! I'm just about to apply to Kings (among other unis) for liberal arts starting in sept 2017 but really struggling to write my personal statement!! I was wondering if you had any tips on how I should go about writing one as every course is slightly different etc! Thank you so much :)

Hi! I would say emphasis why you think a liberal arts education is for you. Why is an interdisciplinary course suited to you, your personality, interests and education hopes/background, what does it give you that other courses won’t be able to? 

hope this helps!

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hey guys! I just wanted to congratulate the one(s) of you who graduated this year! Have you guys 'finalized' your postgrad plans? And do you have any words of wisdom for new liberal arts students? xx

Hi there, 3rd year here but I’m sure all those who’ve graduated appreciate your congratulations. As far as I know, quite a few who’ve graduated have gone on to Master programs and the others seem to be doing well. 

As for words of wisdom, I would say: 

1) Try and explore your interests as much as you can, but keep an eye for your ‘pathway’ in mind as you choose your modules. Start thinking about your major asap because this sneaks up on you fast (our deadline for major choice submissions was Valentines Day)

2) Join the society! Come to socials and be as open and friendly as you can, Liberal Arts has a great bunch of people from varied backgrounds and interests. Other than this, join other societies and just generally be friendly to everyone regardless of their department. Friends can be made everywhere, even if it may seem daunting as a fresher

3) Take advantage of London, it’s one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in the world and there are always things to do! We will organise socials and occasionally share events that may be of interest but be on the look out for others. Time Out London and the Londonist are good starting points :) We’re also working towards creating a platform for Liberal Artees to find others interested in the same events and buddy up

4) Go to as many tutorials/lectures as possible, but also remember to have fun. First year only comes around once!

[liberalartsatkcl]

Hello. I know that this depends on what modules you take, but: how demanding would you say the course is? Are there many essays/assessments you need to do per week?

Hahaha yes modules will vary on difficulty and workload but not by that much. At King’s, there is no spoonfeeding, so most modules will really only have a few essays and especially in the first year you can expect really a maximum of 1-2 essays and/or exams per module. You really don’t get anything ‘per week’, you get readings to do (which can be a lot) but really how much studying and reading you do is up to you and I don’t know many people who will consistently do all their readings

[liberalartsatkcl]

The 2016 KCL Liberal Arts Boat Party

To celebrate the end of the academic year for all and the end of the degree for third years, the KCL Liberal Arts Society held a boat party on the Thames!

Students from all three year groups attended and enjoyed each other’s company, as did a few staff members too! 

These are some of the photographs from that night -- crowdsourced, aka taken by various students on disposable cameras provided by the Society. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the pictures of us dancing were a little too dark... but it was a fun night, and a good way to end the year / degree!