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Learning at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
London

What is Imperial really like?

I've heard a lot about Imperial, but mainly bad things?
Male/Female ratio is 66/34 can't be good as most seem to be 50/50
Nightlife has bad reviews
A lot of people where very unhappy there?
Reply 1
Top class education + career prospects, with a worse social life than a normal university, fewer females, more non-UK students, in a city so expensive that you will live in a hovel unless you are wealthy.

Pretty much sums it up
(edited 12 years ago)
Learning at Imperial College London
Imperial College London
London
Original post by poohat
Top class education + career prospects, with a worse social life than a normal university, fewer females, more non-UK students, in a city so expensive that you will live in a hovel unless you are wealthy.

Pretty much sums it up


Would any of this be a good enough reason to turn down an Imperial offer? Bearing in mind that my subject (Physics) will probably have awful gender ratios anywhere anyway.
Reply 3
Depends on your personal preferences and what your other offers are. Choosing Imperial over Cambridge would be folly, but if your other options are outside the top 10 then Imperial makes sense.

Personally (and I'm not saying you should be the same) I'd choose Oxbridge and probably UCL/Warwick over Imperial. If the other option was something like Bristol then its harder to say, Imperial has slightly better career prospects at the cost of a much worse undergraduate experience. It really comes down to personal choice and what you do afterwards. If you want a high-paying City job then Oxbridge/Imperial/UCL/LSE/Warwick would maximise your chances, but the general university experience also matters. Living in London as a student also sucks, but UCL/LSE are just as bad for this.
(edited 12 years ago)
got this problem too
offers from imperial and sheffield for biology, both AAA
sheffield ranks one place below imperial in most league tables but imperial has the prestige, whereas sheffield has a social life. Really can't decide :frown:
Reply 5
I go to a school near Imperial, and I and friends sometimes sneak into their student union for cheap drinks and to be honest it doesn't seem that bad. Sure, when looking at statistics it's a bit weird but there are fun people everywhere if you look hard enough..
Reply 6
I chose Imperial.

No regrets at all.
Reply 7
Original post by maxpark3r
I've heard a lot about Imperial, but mainly bad things?
Male/Female ratio is 66/34 can't be good as most seem to be 50/50
Nightlife has bad reviews
A lot of people where very unhappy there?


So what about the gender ratios. You will be in London. There is a much broader range of women in London than there will be in, say, Aberystwyth.
Original post by Pearl Lake
I go to a school near Imperial, and I and friends sometimes sneak into their student union for cheap drinks and to be honest it doesn't seem that bad. Sure, when looking at statistics it's a bit weird but there are fun people everywhere if you look hard enough..


it's not just the people, i'd say i've met 70% of my friends through rugby, at imperial the pitches are 30 mins away by car so it doesn't really seem practical. Just so much is stacked against imperial making it seem silly to choose it just for its prestige.
Original post by Pearl Lake
I go to a school near Imperial, and I and friends sometimes sneak into their student union for cheap drinks and to be honest it doesn't seem that bad. Sure, when looking at statistics it's a bit weird but there are fun people everywhere if you look hard enough..


you must be loaded:eek:
Original post by poohat
Depends on your personal preferences and what your other offers are. Choosing Imperial over Cambridge would be folly, but if your other options are outside the top 10 then Imperial makes sense.

Personally (and I'm not saying you should be the same) I'd choose Oxbridge and probably UCL/Warwick over Imperial. If the other option was something like Bristol then its harder to say, Imperial has slightly better career prospects at the cost of a much worse undergraduate experience. It really comes down to personal choice and what you do afterwards. If you want a high-paying City job then Oxbridge/Imperial/UCL/LSE/Warwick would maximise your chances, but the general university experience also matters. Living in London as a student also sucks, but UCL/LSE are just as bad for this.


Ucl over Imperial :biggrin:
Reply 11
You know what, except from it being famous for its prestige, I have no knowledge about Imperial at all. Still, I think I can be of help to you. Now you may wonder: "Why?"

Just because university is what you make of it, the best example being the social aspect. You seem to care about the male to female ratio. You'll live in LONDON, so there will be roughly 4 million female beings around you, just focusing on your age group still hundreds of thousands :wink: It's true, most friends you make will be from your university. Poohat also listed "more non-UK students" and that seemed to have been meant in a negative way. Tell me, why exactly? You are still surrounded by thousands of Britons, isn't getting to know people from America, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe etc. exciting? Are they worth less just because they have a different cultural background, or not speaking of "worth", do you think you won't get along with them as you will with Britons?

"Nightlife has bad reviews"

Are you kidding me? How can someone "review" nightlife, except for remote villages? You'll be in London and believe people telling you that the nightlife over there is bad? In this case you might have to reach for other planets, since I do not think that on earth you'll find what you're looking for.
(edited 12 years ago)
The issue with nightlife in London, is that they are rarely 'student friendly prices' If you aint got deep pockets, you ain't getting into Mahiki or any club on King's road.
Original post by Sir Fox

Just because university is what you make of it, the best example being the social aspect. You seem to care about the male to female ratio. You'll live in LONDON, so there will be roughly 4 million female beings around you, just focusing on your age group still hundreds of thousands :wink: It's true, most friends you make will be from your university. Poohat also listed "more non-UK students" and that seemed to have been meant in a negative way. Tell me, why exactly? You are still surrounded by thousands of Britons, isn't getting to know people from America, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe etc. exciting? Are they worth less just because they have a different cultural background, or not speaking of "worth", do you think you won't get along with them as you will with Britons?


at my school the chinese kids tend to stick to themselves. Out of about 20 i know of, only 3 of them seem to integrate with everyone else. I'm good friends with them but the rest just tend to speak chinese with each other so it's hard to socialise with them.
Reply 14
Original post by Tsunami2011
you must be loaded:eek:


Wrong.
Original post by poohat
Depends on your personal preferences and what your other offers are. Choosing Imperial over Cambridge would be folly, but if your other options are outside the top 10 then Imperial makes sense.

Personally (and I'm not saying you should be the same) I'd choose Oxbridge and probably UCL/Warwick over Imperial. If the other option was something like Bristol then its harder to say, Imperial has slightly better career prospects at the cost of a much worse undergraduate experience. It really comes down to personal choice and what you do afterwards. If you want a high-paying City job then Oxbridge/Imperial/UCL/LSE/Warwick would maximise your chances, but the general university experience also matters. Living in London as a student also sucks, but UCL/LSE are just as bad for this.


Hi I'm stuck trying to choose where to study Physics too. What do you think of Durham in comparison to Imperial? I mean with regards to the things you have mentioned above :smile:
Original post by vedderfan94
Hi I'm stuck trying to choose where to study Physics too. What do you think of Durham in comparison to Imperial? I mean with regards to the things you have mentioned above :smile:


I know this isn't aimed at me but if prestige is a factor for you then it has to be Imperial hands down. I'm aware that Durham is very strong for science, but many industries won't really take much notice of this. For example, if you were to be interested in finance, a Imperial degree would be more attractive than a Durham science degree imo. Also, I live in London, and Imperial really is not as bad as it's portrayed on here.

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