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Imperial: UK's MIT

danny111

i bet they would outshine us.

but my point was its coz if we do A-level in history, then it will be superior to their high school history. (i dont know this myself, but a good friend who did the american system told me this, and apparently its relatively well-known anyway). so they do a lot of subjects at college to get breadth.

edit: just read the last 2 paragraphs, and agree.

Yeah, the thing about taking courses at local colleges is true. Basically the hardest stuff they can take is the AP, which isn't very difficult from what I've heard. Also, their course system is quite convoluted because someone in year 11 can be in the same class as someone in year 12 and choose classes quite freely. I actually prefer to have two years of A level or IB where I have a set and rigorous course and don't have to get caught up running between school and community college to try and get a solid education.

Apparently if you attain 7s in your Higher level subjects IB then you have the option of graduating in 3 years from a US college, although it would take away some of the college experience in my opinion.

Reply 41

Playboy King

Well I don't think there is any other sci-tech specialist uni in the UK that's better than Imperial so in a way the two are alike...in that they both are the sci-tech supremos of their countries. Are the two equivalent? No. MIT is considerably better, the research in tech it has brought out is amazing.

I'm not so sure about Imperial being the best sci-tech specialist in Europe either, I believe ETH Zurich would definately give it a run for its money...especially considering many high level authorities rank their science and technology programmes equivalent to if not better than Imperial/Cambridge. They're all amazing universities anyway, choosing between them is like splitting hair. If I had to pick to go to one of them it would be MIT though :yep:

Reply 42

danny111

3

Wololo

A levels superior? Not really.

People who do the Scottish system study more subjects and not in as much depth. People who study the IB study more subjects and not in as much depth.

And do you know how long the "advantage" from doing A levels lasts once you get to uni? 30 seconds. If that.

US High schools are hampered by a number of problems, but A levels really aren't the big bad that English students think they are.

too bad im not english, know how much A-level suck, and did the IB.

also, a HL IB subject is just as much depth.

Reply 43

Wololo

danny111

but my point was its coz if we do A-level in history, then it will be superior to their high school history.

Danny111

too bad im not english, know how much A-level suck, and did the IB.

Get your story straight or stfu.

Reply 44

danny111

3

Wololo

Get your story straight or stfu.

i am so sry i used the term "we" and "a-level" on what is a pre-dominantly english forum.

maybe it is because you havnt given me the bananas yet?

Reply 45

Moronic Acid

11

How can you even try to compare the two?

Reply 46

sunspoon

14

We haven't tried to put a fire engine on top of the Queen's Tower on Commemoration Day so I guess we can't really call ourselves the UK version of MIT just yet.

Reply 47

spex

16

Forget that. MIT is america's imperial :smile:

Reply 48

danny111

3

spex

Forget that. MIT is america's imperial :smile:

now thats attitude. lol.

Reply 49

billydisco

3

Wololo

but A levels really aren't the big bad that English students think they are.

They're only bad because out of the 40-50 subjects offered, 25-30 of them are complete nonsense, designed for poorer pupils to 'increase their educational achievement'.

Which is a posher word for "go to university under the illusion they have achieved something and get 30k in debt and no job afterwards"

Reply 50

Wololo

I wasn't saying A levels are bad qualifications. What I mean is that some students have an over inflated view of how much of an advantage they give you over IB/Highers etc when you get to uni.

I realise my wording is rather ambiguous though :smile:

Reply 51

Giant Midget

2

Wololo

By what benchmark do you declare an english undergraduate degree "better" than a US one because we don't use a liberal arts system?

If you were to say "english universities teach one subject in much greater depth", that would be one thing, and fairly indisputable. But to declare our system "better" shows a rather narrow perspective. If everyone worked in the field in which they earned their degree, you could argue that the english system is better, but they don't, so it's a very difficult viewpoint to justify.

Our education goes into more depth. Theirs emphasizes breadth of education. It's a different philosophy, but one isn't intrinsically better than the other, and a quality liberal arts education from a good US university is something I would have loved.

I agree with your points above however I do not have a narrow perspective. I know a lot about the American undergraduate system having applied there and done lots of random things for my application. I admit that me saying the UK undergraduate system is better without setting various criteria is niave but I just couldn't be bothered to write that much in my previous post.

Reply 52

O-Ren

15

MIT is the most prestigious technical college in the world, not just in America. It's much more diffcult to get into than Imperial too: I considered applying there but didn't bother when I found out only 1 in 20 foreign students gets a place. It's also commonplace to turn down Harvard/Princeton etc. in favour of MIT, whereas it's quite rare to turn down Oxbridge in favour of Imperial. Obviously people do, but it's rare.

Imperial's great but it's not on the same level as MIT.

Reply 53

username309957

O-Ren

MIT is the most prestigious technical college in the world, not just in America. It's much more diffcult to get into than Imperial too: I considered applying there but didn't bother when I found out only 1 in 20 foreign students gets a place. It's also commonplace to turn down Harvard/Princeton etc. in favour of MIT, whereas it's quite rare to turn down Oxbridge in favour of Imperial. Obviously people do, but it's rare.

Imperial's great but it's not on the same level as MIT.

I turned down my Oxford Interview once i knew i was into Imperial lol...is that mad?

Reply 54

Moronic Acid

11

Scottish_gurl

I turned down my Oxford Interview once i knew i was into Imperial lol...is that mad?

Probably a little :p:

Reply 55

Wololo

Scottish_gurl

I turned down my Oxford Interview once i knew i was into Imperial lol...is that mad?

Not at all. I see you do chemistry. When I was on my year in industry at AstraZeneca, we had two batches of summer interns pass through, with students from Oxford. They came in thinking they were the **** because they went to Oxford. They rapidly found out that Oxford students forget things they learn just like everyone else, and that there was nothing special about them :smile:

Reply 56

O-Ren

15

Scottish_gurl

I turned down my Oxford Interview once i knew i was into Imperial lol...is that mad?