Over 900 visitors were drawn to LSE’s annual Graduate Open Evening on Wednesday 5 November 2014. A dedicated crew of students and staff members from across RCSD was ready at their stand in the New Academic Building to welcome and answer accommodation queries from prospective students and parents.

In spite of the cold and gloomy November evening, we enjoyed a warm response to our accommodation stand. Over the course of the evening, we answered approximately 50 detailed queries from prospective students who were keen to find out more about LSE’s accommodation options in the heart of London.

The team at the accommodation stand included Peer Supporter George Burton from Urbanest King’s Cross; Front of House Managers Rosa Gil of Rosebery Hall and Neil Lawrence of High Holborn; Professor Chandran Kukathas, Warden of High Holborn, Grosvenor House and Northumberland House; and Residential Services Office staff members Steffie Brader, Ashley Cory, Trevor Murtagh and Hannah Kearns.

The online 360 degree virtual tours of halls in particular proved a very valuable resource as the team were able to offer an instant visual demonstration of the School’s accommodation options.

Interest was also running high in the new Urbanest accommodation at Westminster Bridge, which will include the added bonus of a swimming pool (!) when it opens in September 2015. More information will be available shortly on the accommodation webpage, or you can drop into the RSO and pick up a leaflet.

Top queries from the evening were:

• What will the weekly fees be?
• Are the halls cheaper than the private sector?
• What are the chances I will be offered a place?
• How close are the halls to LSE?
• Are there graduate only halls or will there be a mix?
• Is private housing something LSE can help with?

Interest from potential graduate students in the accommodation options that LSE can offer was high, underlining the fact that accommodation remains a key factor for students in the final decision of where they choose to study.

We would like to extend a big thank you to all of those who helped to prepare, set up or run the stand – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Volunteers wanted for March and July open days

If you would like to be involved in representing the division at a future open day, please do get in contact with the Residential Services Office.

The next scheduled events are the Undergraduate Open Days on Wednesday 25 March and Wednesday 1 July 2015 and the RSO will be looking for volunteers nearer these dates.

All are welcome, and it is a great way to meet colleagues from other teams, to learn about different operations in the division, and of course to talk directly to students on a one to one basis.

Lloyd Whittaker