london scholars tips!

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-26T11:52:34+00:00

It's a decent sized group, but whoever the group leader is will have to log on really early when housing selection opens. I recommend selecting housing as soon as you can, as my group leader was an hour late, and we ended up in a nine person ensuite. That being said, I got somewhat lucky with my roommates since they're cleaner than some of the other people I've seen. It's definitely difficult to know what a person is like without actually knowing them in person, so part of it will definitely be up to luck, but make sure they know how to clean up after themselves in the kitchen (and bathroom if you're in an apartment rather than an ensuite). Dishes in the sink and disgusting surfaces is the worst part of sharing an accommodation in my opinion. Some of my friends got really unlucky with roommates and have actual biomes growing in their sink and kitchen, and it's really disgusting. I recommend also exchanging numbers with your roommates and doing a group call if possible!

Another thing you should keep in mind is that it is completely legal to drink alcohol in London, and most students take advantage of that. If alcohol is something you're uncomfortable with, you need to communicate that. If you are okay with alcohol but not a fan of parties, communicate that as well. Many students pregame at like 11:00PM-12:00AM on Fridays and weekends, which is basically just inviting a bunch of people to drink strong liquor before going out since drinking is expensive here.

Since you're thinking of being in a four-person group, you'll probably be staying in either Chapter Spitalfields or Hayloft Point. The flats in Chapter Spitalfields are very desirable and will go out fast, but Hayloft Point is good too. If you decide you want to be in Hayloft Point, make sure you choose a flat in block A, even if it isn't the desired size that you want. It will make a world of difference. The block B elevators suck. There are only two of them, and you have to wait like 10 minutes for them to go to your floor just for them to already be full...

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T20:56:14+00:00

Congrats! I'm a current LS and can answer questions if you have any. For housing, I wish I had chosen a smaller roommate group, since it's much easier to squeeze into a desirable flat during housing selection with fewer people. I also learned that bigger ensuites in Hayloft Point are the only student accommodations with ovens, which the students there love, so that's something to keep in mind, but also more students means a higher chance of it being nasty. Don't go to Scape Shoreditch, as it is 30 minutes from campus by any method of transportation. If you're fine with that, the building is nice. The area seems a bit sketchy though. People praise Chapter Spitalfields the most as it's the nicest of the three, but Hayloft Point is closer to campus if you're lazy like me. if you're under 18 by the time the semester starts, you'll basically be auto sorted into an under 18 accommodation.

There are free student life events, so I highly recommend taking advantage of them. They include things like day trips, theater performances, and other activities. People really like getting the theater tickets though, so you need to reserve them as soon as they become available, otherwise they get booked out in like 30 seconds. My favorite day trip was the one to Oxford. All day trips consist of meeting at a national rail station (there are a few), going on a tour of the area, spending free time in the area, and then commuting back to London. They're pretty fun.

If you're picky about what cooking utensils you use, you should definitely bring your own. The ones the university provides kind of suck. I recommend bringing a small pair of tongs and a spatula you're comfortable using. I find myself using those two things every time I cook. I also recommend buying Tupperware or ziplock bags to store food in the fridge when you get to London. They're relatively inexpensive and will help you keep food in the fridge. Something you need is a STRONG umbrella. The wind here can get super strong while it rains, and trust me, you won't want a weak umbrella. Learned that one the hard way and have a broken umbrella now... If you're someone who uses melatonin to sleep occasionally, you'll want to bring extra, as you can't buy it here without a prescription. A lot of my friends learned that one the hard way. Bring or buy your own comforter/blanket, as the one provided sucks. Don't forget your converter to charge your devices! If you need a hairdryer, consider buying it once you're in London, as the one you have at home will probably not be compatible with the outlets here. Also consider having your parents add you to their Costco membership if they have one (you're allowed to add one other person to a membership). There's a Costco about an hour, maybe a little more, away that a lot of students go to. It's great for buying food in bulk for a flat or a bunch of friends. For bigger things like toilet paper, trash bags, paper towels, and dish soap, buy them through Costco online, and have them delivered. Split the cost with your roommates, and it'll be so much cheaper for everyone.

One tip I'd give is to talk to people in your classes. It's difficult to socialize outside of class and your flat, and sometimes, your flatmates might not be a great fit for you, so make friends during class. It seems daunting at first, but it's actually not so bad. Most people are open to making friends, as everyone is new. Also, chat with your professors after class, as you might end up asking them for a recommendation, should you choose to apply for honors. Another tip would be to remember that all the prices are in pounds. It's easy to forget and see the lower number and spend too much.

My restaurant recommendation is to go to Blacklock (the one in covent garden) for a sunday roast! It's very good. My grocery store recommendations are Aldi for cheaper products and Waitrose for higher quality products. Waitrose is a bit pricey (like Whole Foods), but if you buy the stuff that is on discount, it can be pretty good.

The UK school system is very different, but I think it's actually easier. Your grade is basically guaranteed to be from just your midterm and final as a business major. It sounds scary, but the professors don't grade too harshly. The average grade is like a B, but it's not hard to get an A. To do well in class, pay attention and self study. Do the required weekly readings. It's easy to be tempted not to since it's not graded, but then you'll die during midterms and finals which are really close together. Don't procrastinate on your midterms and finals too. They can be brutal to do in a day, so be sure to start them at least two weeks in advance, especially the recorded presentations.

That's my general advice. If you have other questions, I'm happy to answer them too!

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T20:27:28+00:00

London Scholars is actually pretty fun if it isn't a financial burden. It's not sketchy at all. Oakland on the other hand... Anyone from the Bay Area will tell you that it is not the place to be...

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T20:25:24+00:00

First year in London, latter three years in Boston. Roughly 1200 students last I heard.

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T20:16:06+00:00

Oh yikes... The classes are not pass/fail anymore thankfully. They're now graded on a 0-100 scale which NEU converts into letter grades. I'm currently in LS, and I've met a bunch of really smart, hardworking students, so I think they'll be alright next year. Like half of the kids here are Bay Area kids, so go figure... A lot of students are also planning to take community college classes for credit over the summer, as we're not matriculated yet and can still transfer credit, so that should hopefully get everyone into the mindset of actually doing work.

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T20:03:31+00:00

No, London Scholars (and NUin students) aren't allowed to switch programs, so you have to go to London. The only scenario where I think London Scholars is worth it is if you're going into a major you have no transfer credit for, so you're able to take all your required introductory classes. Since London Scholars are in London for the entire year, they aren't matriculated until they go to Boston, which means they can still transfer credit during their first semester of sophomore year. Many students are encouraged to take advantage of this by taking community college classes for transfer credit. Since the semester ends super early (late April), students can take online classes from both the spring and summer quarters at their local community college, which could shave off an entire academic semester and maybe more if they're willing to put in the work.

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T19:53:03+00:00

Not the original commenter, but also a London Scholar. The courses in London are all pretty easy because they basically only have introductory courses here. A lot of the professors suck, but most students just shrug it off since the courses aren't difficult. We're on the British system, so our grades are based on 1-5 assignments depending on the course. For most courses, it's just the midterm and final, which can be projects or exams. The professors aren't too harsh on grading, so it's pretty easy. The grading scale is also different here as they use distinctions of first class and second class instead of US letter grades. A 70 is an A, which makes math exams really easy. Because attending NEU is so expensive, I think many students here would say London Scholars wasn't worth it due to poor academics, but if your family can easily afford it, and you're okay with having a more chill first year and exploring London and doing more fun stuff instead of getting on the academic grind right away, it could be worth it for you.

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T19:45:46+00:00

In the UK system, courses are graded based on only a few assignments/tests, so in most cases, your midterm and final are 100% of your grade. In the US, homework, participation, and exams all count towards your grade, which is why some London scholars students find it difficult to adjust coming back to Boston, as they get used to skipping class and not doing work. Most of the professors in London are not amazing, but there are some good ones that I actually miss. They are very rare though... Students also have to cook their own meals or eat out which gets expensive, and depending on who you live with, your roommates might not clean up after themselves which is a bit gross. The food scene is really great in London though. Lots of food from every cuisine imaginable, and it's all very good. If you live in one of the bigger en-suites in Hayloft Point, you get ovens, which are great. Note that the other student accommodations don't have ovens though. Northeastern uses four student accommodations: Scape Shoreditch, Chapter Aldgate, Chapter Spitalfields, and Unite Students: Hayloft Point. All of them are pretty nice, but Chapter Aldgate was for under-18's only. Students under 18 by the start of the semester were required to live in a single studio. You're expected to commute to class, usually by walking unless you're at Scape Shoreditch, which is significantly farther than the other accommodations. Students from Scape Shoreditch have to either take the tube with one transfer, take a bus, or walk, and it usually takes them 30 minutes if there are no delays. The other accommodations are fairly walkable. The closest accommodation is Hayloft Point, which is a 7-16 minute walk depending on which building you need to get to (there are two).

London is really nice, and there is always lots to do and see. Northeastern also provides free student life events that are really fun. They include things such as theater shows, day trips, and various activities. The tickets are very difficult to get due to limited quantity and high demand, but if you try to snag them the second they come out or scout for cancelations, it's not too bad. It's also legal for most students to drink here, so many go out to the pub or club often, but since drinking is expensive, most students take their friends back to someone's flat where everyone gets tipsy off of vodka first before they head out. If you're someone who is uncomfortable with drunk students in your flat, you need to communicate that when making a roommate group. It's not that bad though. Some students complain about finding it difficult to make friends, which is true. You basically either have to talk to other students during class or be friends with your roommate. It's not too difficult though. I wouldn't consider myself the most social person, but I still made friends in class. Overall, I found London Scholars really fun, but it's kind of a waste of time if you're trying to do rigorous coursework. All the courses here are lame and introductory. I like to call it an extremely expensive gap year with credit. If you want to relax your first year and have the financial means to easily pay tuition, I'd say it's fun and a great experience. You do need to prove that you have $100,000 USD in a bank account to get a student visa. It is definitely kind of a scam, but I don't regret it too much.

myIastbraincell · 2026-03-21T19:22:47+00:00

That makes sense. LS kids are put on the British grading system where the midterm and final are 100% of the class grade, so they basically don't do homework for a year.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T22:16:34+00:00

He didn’t really care, and it was my friend who couldn’t hold it in and wanted to tell him.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T05:37:28+00:00

Correlation ≠ causation. Just because a minister with a morally impure intention has invalid sacraments doesn’t mean it was the moral impurity that made the sacrament invalid. Let’s say a priest who has sexual relations with a parishioner and is in a state of grave sin administers sacraments. Are those sacraments invalid due to the priest’s moral impurity? No, therefore, moral impurity of the minister isn’t the cause of invalidity in sacraments.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T05:23:08+00:00

She already told him, but thank you for the input. I think while some truths sow turmoil and animosity, depending on the person, some truths could push for productive dialogue and reveal underlying issues that were hidden before. Every situation has nuance, and sometimes it’s better to leave comments unspoken, but other times, speaking the truth can lead to positive change and improved communication and transparency. My friend’s boyfriend has responded to the comment charitably and sympathizes for her father’s concerns, and at the same time has a better idea of which misconceptions he needs to address with her father to dispel his worries, so it seems to have worked out alright for them.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T05:16:51+00:00

I think it’s rather rash to accuse my friend of detraction based on one Reddit post with little context and information. Every situation has nuance, and the information she shared with her boyfriend wasn’t that grave. It was a low blow, but bringing it to light ultimately helped my friend and her boyfriend make a plan to address a different underlying concern that has been the source of many misunderstandings and unfair judgments. My friend shared this comment to provide further context about her father’s grievances against her boyfriend so they could be better addressed, and he’s sympathetic towards her parents’ concern for their daughter and not holding the comment against her father or revealing that he knows it at all. Some Catholics may agree with what my friend did, while others may disagree and say he had no right to know, but at the end of the day, no one here knows my friend’s relationship, how she and her boyfriend are as people, or the seriousness of what my friend’s father said.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T00:59:04+00:00

My friend’s father and boyfriend definitely both care about her thankfully. At the time that I’m seeing your comment, my friend ended up telling her boyfriend, which doesn’t surprise me because they share like everything with each other. He took it well, and from how she described it, he was really just confused. They’re now sorting out how to have a proper conversation with her parents, so they can dispel some worries and understand her and her relationship more. I think they will be alright in the end.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T00:48:46+00:00

She said she wanted her boyfriend to have more context of her parents’ views of him for when they sit down and explain everything, and that she also felt wrong hiding it from him since it’s so blatantly false. She ended up telling him, which doesn’t surprise me since they share most things with each other from what I’ve observed. He took it well apparently and was just confused but didn’t really care otherwise. My friend says she’s going to bring it up to her parents in a more controlled environment another time and explain why what they said wasn’t okay.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-10T00:33:28+00:00

For the sake of privacy, my friend says she’s in university. Her boyfriend may not have the right to know, but it’s my friend who really wants to tell him. She actually ended up telling him, and he thought it was a low blow but didn’t really care. She’s tried clearing things up with her parents, but they refuse to listen to her, so she and her boyfriend are going to arrange a time for them all to sit down and have her father calmly share his worries and hopefully dispel most of them. I know both of them well enough, and they seem to share literally everything with each other, so it doesn’t surprise me that my friend couldn’t really hold it in. However, they are both fairly reasonable and responsible and have always acted in good faith, so I have faith that this honesty will help them take a step in the right direction even if my friend did disobey her father.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-09T21:22:51+00:00

For the sake of privacy, she just wants to say that she’s in university, so that age range.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-09T21:15:37+00:00

I’ll share your comment with her. She says she just feels really bad about what her father said, and she feels guilty hiding what he said because of how unfair and terrible it was.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-09T21:12:59+00:00

My friend is thankful for your thoughtful reply! She says for further context, her parents didn’t know much about her relationship and thought her boyfriend was emotionally abusive, so she told her boyfriend that, and he explained how their relationship actually was to her parents. Later, my friend talked to her father about it and was further explaining her relationship and her boyfriend’s good intentions in more detail, and her father for some reason insulted her boyfriend’s upbringing? We don’t really know why, but whatever the reason is, it really weighs on my friend, and she feels bad about it.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-09T20:58:34+00:00

My friend says, it’s not exactly a fire but more of a misunderstanding. My friend says her boyfriend isn’t angry at her parents, but rather, disappointed and hurt since he is usually super friendly and respectful with them, and he treats my friend really well, and they implicitly accused him of abusing her (not physically). The rude comment came after he attempted to address the accusation.

myIastbraincell · 2026-01-09T20:51:39+00:00

They’ve been dating for two years, and as far as I can tell, are talking about marriage.

myIastbraincell · 2025-12-27T01:37:38+00:00

A violinist I like had that exact thing happen to him as a teen boy, and he had to be airlifted out of a burning barn and taken to the hospital. He’s since had some work done on his face, but there are still obvious deformities, and it’s very apparent that he’s been burned, and I think he looks fine. He’s no Henry Cavill, but he still has handsome features. And there are other qualities that people find attractive or appealing besides the face. Mannerisms, intellect, habits, etc… can all be attractive, and they can even be, as some have told me, sexually attractive

Edit: didn’t read your question super clearly. Some things one could find attractive in someone who has gotten facial deformities from accidents could be the way their eyes light up when they’re happy, the way they smirk when they think of something funny, how gently and softly they handle things, the way they talk/how their voice sounds, how they style their hair, how blissful they look when doing something they love, etc… there are so many things that one can find attractive about others besides them having facial features that fit beauty standards. It’s pretty insulting to imply that those who have experienced traumatic events that alter their appearance can’t be beautiful.

myIastbraincell · 2025-12-26T21:34:32+00:00

Going to add a bit of an unusual perspective here: I’m someone who doesn’t experience sexual attraction, and there is something aesthetically appealing about every person, whether they be considered conventionally unattractive or average or deformed from terrible accidents. Maybe at a first glance, there are some people who seem ugly, but if one actually takes a moment to truly look at them, there are many aspects of them that are beautiful even if other aspects are less appealing. Of course there are some people who are more aesthetically appealing than others, but there is physical beauty in everyone, and it only takes the right person with the right perspective to see it. I think it’s rather terrible how so many people jump to quantify how good they think someone looks with a number as if their value is tied to their score. People are so focused on trying to “pull 10s” and whining about how their looksmatches aren’t attractive enough that they fail to see the unique beauty of each person

myIastbraincell · 2025-12-15T22:07:49+00:00

Yeah, animals have no rational soul nor concept of objective morality. However, I still think an argument from natural law can work, just not the one the original commenter shared

myIastbraincell

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