Bath, Cambridge or Imperial for Chemical Engineering?

Congratulations again for all your offers!! Can I ask if you applied for BEng or MEng?

I was under the impression that Cambridge has a general engineering course which allows you specialise during the second or third year. If you're only interested in studying chemical engineering, then maybe you should reconsider going to Cambridge.

Imperial does have a wide reputation for all its engineering departments (im applying to one) so I dont think it makes that much of a difference whether you go to Imperial or Cambridge. (Do note that I'm not actually from anywhere in the UK so I dont know if this is what people think as well)

Bath is a very good university so you really arent missing out on much if you do go there. However, because you have gotten offers from Cambridge and Imperial, you should consider putting one of them as your firm and Bath as insurance because you really dont want to take a gap year for engineering as you are not likely to find any relevant and helpful work placement.

Hope that was helpful!

Original post by A*da*m

So as the title suggests, I've had offers from Bath, Cambridge and Imperial for Chemical Engineering and I am having a very hard time deciding which one to choose:/ for me all three have amazing things about them and also bad things about them and so I'm not really getting anywhere in working out which is going to be best for me, I'll sum up very quickly my thoughts on them,

Bath: Year in industry, high students satisfaction, I love the campus, social life probably best out of the three, lovely city, probably a more mixed group who go there compared to cambridge and Imperial, but it does have a lower reputation nationally and most definitely internationally
Cambridge: it's amazing reputation, brand new building so will have amazing facilities, but I'm struggling to see myself doing the whole college and formal dinner thing:/ and also a little concerned at being overwhelmed with the people who go there
Imperial : in London which is good and bad, expensive, heard awful things about the social life (so if any current students could please clear this up I would be so grateful!! :')), high international student percentage

There's loads more things I've considered but that's just what I could think of in two minutes. The grades I need for Cambridge and Imperial are the same while bath is a lot lower. If anyone could reply with some advice I would be so grateful!! Because I am really struggling I have no clue where to choose:/ I appreciate lots of people will say clearly Cambridge because of the reputation but I am trying to choose on overall uni experience rather than just that. Thank you very much for anyone who takes the time to reply! :')

You seem somewhat negative about Imperial so it looks like a Cambridge firm with Bath as insurance.

Reply 6

OP

Original post by Saihan

Definitely put bath as your insurance in case. I have heard that imperial is mostly full of males but it is in a great area and job prospects are high. Cambridge is worth going just because of it a reputation. If I were you i would firm cambridge and put bath as insurance just in case your grades are not as high as you expected.

Thank you for your reply! Yeah so many people have suggested this combination but I'm just still unsure on what the social life will be like at Cambridge!! And also the intensity of the course there, the sort of people I would meet etc. Yeah unless i choose Bath as my first choice i will definitely put it as my insurance, about Imperial when you say you have heard about it, do you know people who have gone there? Or is this from what has been said online about it?

Reply 7

OP

Original post by Thomas Collins

Congratulation on your offer from Cambridge, I got rejected :frown:

Bath is my first choice. I loved the social aspect this university had to offer; the university is within walking distance of the town centre, it has a really good sporting reputation, and the students came across as well rounded individuals. Additionally the university has a relatively good academic reputation - placing highly in university league tables.

I cannot personally comment about Imperial (as I haven't looked round it) but a few students at my school said the social environment there is terrible. As it isn't a campus university you spend a lot of time travelling to lectures and travelling to parties, which can be expensive.

Thank you for your reply!! i'm sorry about your rejection, but you're still going to an incredible uni in Bath so congrats for getting a place there!! Which college did you apply to at cambridge?

Yes I share the same views on Bath which is why I'm so undecided!! I thought the social life looked very good for such a top uni and the campus facilities were great, I also think the year in industry (Which course did you apply for?) is a really great opportunity which I wouldn't get at imperial or Cambridge. And also the student satisfaction there is amazing which I think is important I would like to go where i think I'll be happiest overall :smile:

Do you think going to Cambridge/Imperial over Bath would really affect my career prospects that much? I know internationally Bath falls way behind the other two (Mainly because it is so new) but in terms of within the UK it seems to have a just as high reputation and with its year in industry also making Bath graduates very employable, do you think there would be much difference?

Yeah that's also what I've heard about Imperial which is literally my only put off about it at the moment :/ Thanks again for your reply!! :smile:

Reply 8

OP

Original post by Konanabanana

Cambridge > imperial > bath
Chem eng at imperial is extremely good. Better overall at Cambridge but of course application stage is more tricky

Firm - Cambridge
Insurance - Imperial

Worse comes to worse you dont meet any except bath, well then reapply it's better to wait a year and potentially have a better goal in life the rush yourself to bath when imperial is literally so much better. Take a gap year if you dont get A*A*A or A*A*A*A, depending on what you got given. 1 Year is not long

Hi, thank you for your reply!! What do you mean by the application stage? :smile:

My offers for Cambridge and Imperial are both the same grades so sadly I can't put both down as firm and insurance :frown:

Do you really think Imperial and Cambridge are much better than Bath then? I'm not really considering a gap year and to be honest I'm not overly worried about the grades, like I know exams can go very badly wrong occasionally to anyone but the grades shouldn't be too much of a problem for me, I honestly just want to go to the university that will give me the best chance in life whilst also giving me the best overall University experience :smile:

Reply 9

Bath_Student

Original post by A*da*m

So as the title suggests, I've had offers from Bath, Cambridge and Imperial for Chemical Engineering and I am having a very hard time deciding which one to choose:/ for me all three have amazing things about them and also bad things about them and so I'm not really getting anywhere in working out which is going to be best for me, I'll sum up very quickly my thoughts on them,

Bath: Year in industry, high students satisfaction, I love the campus, social life probably best out of the three, lovely city, probably a more mixed group who go there compared to cambridge and Imperial, but it does have a lower reputation nationally and most definitely internationally
Cambridge: it's amazing reputation, brand new building so will have amazing facilities, but I'm struggling to see myself doing the whole college and formal dinner thing:/ and also a little concerned at being overwhelmed with the people who go there
Imperial : in London which is good and bad, expensive, heard awful things about the social life (so if any current students could please clear this up I would be so grateful!! :' :wink:

), high international student percentage

There's loads more things I've considered but that's just what I could think of in two minutes. The grades I need for Cambridge and Imperial are the same while bath is a lot lower. If anyone could reply with some advice I would be so grateful!! Because I am really struggling I have no clue where to choose:/ I appreciate lots of people will say clearly Cambridge because of the reputation but I am trying to choose on overall uni experience rather than just that. Thank you very much for anyone who takes the time to reply! :' :wink:

Imperial: a social nightmare.
Cambridge pathetically high work load for essentially the same starting salary.
Bath: Nearly on par, same starting salary, best time (100% student satisfaction speaks for itself).

Bare in mind that for vocational subjects like engineering the starting salary hardly deviates.

Reply 10

OP

Original post by jaichandak

Congratulations again for all your offers!! Can I ask if you applied for BEng or MEng?

I was under the impression that Cambridge has a general engineering course which allows you specialise during the second or third year. If you're only interested in studying chemical engineering, then maybe you should reconsider going to Cambridge.

Imperial does have a wide reputation for all its engineering departments (im applying to one) so I dont think it makes that much of a difference whether you go to Imperial or Cambridge. (Do note that I'm not actually from anywhere in the UK so I dont know if this is what people think as well)

Bath is a very good university so you really arent missing out on much if you do go there. However, because you have gotten offers from Cambridge and Imperial, you should consider putting one of them as your firm and Bath as insurance because you really dont want to take a gap year for engineering as you are not likely to find any relevant and helpful work placement.

Hope that was helpful!

Hi, thank you so much for your reply!! I applied for MEng at all three, have you applied for university this year? If so which course? :smile:

Yeah at Cambridge I would do Natural Sciences in the first year then move over to the Chem Eng department from year two and onwards. This is probably another slight drawback for me in choosing Cambridge, whether I would enjoy taking natural sciences rather than going straight into Chem eng I'm not too sure :/ That's interesting to know, may I ask what country you are from? And had you heard of Imperial before you applied? Because I've spoken to lots of people recently and the majority hadn't even heard of Imperial before even though it has been rated as a top ten uni fairly consistently and even second in the world in one league table, so I'm hoping it has a much higher reputation with employers compared to the general public ahaha!! :smile:

Thank you that was very helpful! Yeah a lot of people have said the same thing, because I've had the opportunity of going to both Cambridge and Imperial, would I regret it if I pass up both opportunities :/

Reply 11

OP

Original post by Smack

You seem somewhat negative about Imperial so it looks like a Cambridge firm with Bath as insurance.

Thank you for replying, sorry if it came off like that because actually from the start Imperial has been my favourite and out of the three is probably the one that gives me the most excitement about going there!! The only two drawbacks I have at the moment is the apparent awful social life and the cost of London, if someone who has attended a London uni could tell me average costs of accommodation after the first year that would be very helpful, ie. second year onwards so private housing etc. What sort of distance from the centre/university do students usually find housing in? A long commute from year two is also another drawback it seems with how in demand and expensive private accommodation is :/

Reply 12

anonwinner

19

Original post by Bath_Student

Imperial: a social nightmare.
Cambridge pathetically high work load for essentially the same starting salary.
Bath: Nearly on par, same starting salary, best time (100% student satisfaction speaks for itself).

Bare in mind that for vocational subjects like engineering the starting salary hardly deviates.

According to http://university.which.co.uk/ Chemical Engineering at Cambridge and ICL both have average graduate salaries of £31K, whereas Chemical Engineering at Bath has a starting salary of £28K.

Chemical Engineering at Cambridge has a student satisfaction score of 88%, ICL 82%, and Bath 92%. This could be due to Cambridge and ICL students having higher standards than the average Bath student.

Cambridge is by far the most competitive and gives the least offers, followed by ICL and then Bath.

Overall, Cambridge is obviously the best choice.

Reply 13

Bath_Student

Original post by anonwinner

According to http://university.which.co.uk/ Chemical Engineering at Cambridge and ICL both have average graduate salaries of £31K, whereas Chemical Engineering at Bath has a starting salary of £28K.

Chemical Engineering at Cambridge has a student satisfaction score of 88%, ICL 82%, and Bath 92%. This could be due to Cambridge and ICL students having higher standards than the average Bath student.

Cambridge is by far the most competitive and gives the least offers, followed by ICL and then Bath.

Overall, Cambridge is obviously the best choice.

The starting salaries are not proportionate to the work load. Cambridge and Imperial graduates ought to earn significantly more for it to be the better choice.

I rest my case.

Reply 14

OP

Original post by Bath_Student

Imperial: a social nightmare.
Cambridge pathetically high work load for essentially the same starting salary.
Bath: Nearly on par, same starting salary, best time (100% student satisfaction speaks for itself).

Bare in mind that for vocational subjects like engineering the starting salary hardly deviates.

Hi, thank you for replying!! Judging by your name I'm guessing this is heavily biased!! :biggrin:

but at the same time this is really my exact thinking. The intensity of Cambridge and the social life at Imperial are my two biggest concerns about those unis, and I agree, starting salary, career prospects etc all seem to be the same for all three. Can I ask about your experience about going to Bath? I'm guessing by your reply it has been very positive but I would appreciate any more details you could give me!!

Reply 15

Bath_Student