With a population only 21% that of the world’s three most populous countries, Southeast Asia sends LSE more undergraduates than do China, India, and the US combined.
[In 2013/14 LSE undergraduates from ASEAN numbered 606, PRC 204, India 62, and US 233, while ASEAN’s population came to 610mn, with that of PRC, India, and the US combined 2,930mn.]
Understanding cause in these numbers or making people feel bad (or, conversely, triumphalist) is not my goal here. Instead, I am simply pointing out the reality of the LSE student landscape, and trying to assess the implications of that landscape: Given these figures how do we improve the student experience in the most effective way possible that makes everyone’s time at LSE memorable and valued?