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Join The Student Room TodayBe part of the UK's largest and fastest growing student community. It's free to join and a lot of fun - Get inspired, express your ideas, interact and share Imperial College LondonFrom The Student RoomTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > Imperial College London
 Imperial College is a university based in West London. The main buildings are located in Kensington, near to the Natural History and Science Museums, though it has another campus at Ascot in Berkshire. The university was established in 1907 as part of the University of London. It remained part of the Uni of London until 2007 when it became an independent institution. It has recently been ranked 6th in the World by The Times Higher Education Supplement; 3rd in the UK. FacilitiesLibrariesThere is the Central Library as well as individual department libraries on campus, with online booking and search systems for all of the libraries on the campus, as well as access to the STS library in the Science Museum. There are 5 floors in the central library, one for quiet study, one for group study and most levels have computer access. The first floor has recently been re-developed and now contains a coffee shop as well as lounge areas. There is also Athens online journal repository access for students. IT and computingComputers in the main library, and each department has a computer cluster. The majority of machines are Pentium 2.7 Ghz, 1Gig Ram, and 17"tft monitors. The computing department DoC has the largest cluster of computers on the campus, all very high spec. DoC students can remotely log into the departmental computers via SSH and use all the software development packages as if they were actually there. Printing for DoC students is almost free - academic staff usually top up students' print credits automatically at the start of a module so that they can print out notes by themselves. Printing on campus is centralised by the ICT service and charges using online payment system, enabling printing from any computer and printer on campus, including from any personal laptop/computer, providing the right settings are implemented. HealthcareBrand new health centre opened December 2007 underneath Southside halls, Princes Gardens, across the road from the main campus, with online booking facility for quick visits. ShopsThe South Kensington campus has several shops. This includes a newsagents, a stationery shop, an opticians, Blackwells and Endsleigh Insurance. Campus FoodNo food is served at the weekend or during College holidays. All locations ONLY serve food at lunchtimes unless stated.
In the mornings however, the SCR serves a buffet fry-up breakfast to ALL Imperial College members until 10:30am. This is extremely good value as you can get a full fry up for under £3, and there are plenty of healthy options available too.
BanksThere is a branch of Natwest on campus in the Sherfield Building. There are also ATMs in Sherfield building and the Union building. Otherwise there is an HSBC, Natwest and Barclays banks on Gloucester Road. There are also branches of all the major banks along Kensington High Street, and a few around South Kensington station. TransportBus routes serve in a lot of places, see the Transport for London website. There are night buses to central London. South Kensington and Gloucester Road tube stations are a short 5-10 minute walk. Careers serviceThere is a Careers Centre located on the 5th floor of Sherfield Building, which houses a variety of careers-related material, including up-to-date informative publications such as Prospects magazines, finding work experience, and more. Careers Advisors are available in 20-minute or 40-minute sessions, which are booked online via a system called Jobslive. The Careers Centre holds a number of workshops for skills to help with writing CVs, interviews, assessment centres. They also help to organize talks by company representatives, including IBM, Allen & Overy, Deloitte. There are several Careers Fairs held throughout the year. Part-time jobsWork at the Union. There are a range of jobs available ranging from working behind the bar, stewarding to manning the Union Reception. Work for the College. Work is sometimes available in the Catering department or the Conferences department. Both offer higher rates of pay than the Union jobs, and often for less work. Religious facilitiesChaplaincy inside the union building. Various societies cater for the religious and non-religious. WelfareEach faculty has a slightly different welfare system. In general, students will be assigned a personal tutor (sometimes an extra academic tuor) within the department, and many student-run departmental societies also run 'buddy' systems for incoming students. All departments will have student academic representatives who sit on staff-student meetings. The Student Union has a full time Welfare Advisor who can advise on a range of issues, and there is a full time Education and Welfare Sabbatical Officer as well. SportsImperial College has as a large number of sports clubs, and compete in a number of BUSA leagues. Imperial actively supports and encourages students to play sports - at least according to what is written on their website, because students have no lectures during Wednesday afternoon just because Imperial wants them to spend some time sporting... Sports availableAll the major sports are played at Imperial from Football (7 teams!) to Tennis. The most successful Imperial club from a BUSA perspective is IC Boat Club - who consistently win head of the river and other events, and have won at Henley Royal Regatta. The Men's 1st XI Hockey team now play in the second tier of BUSA national competition, after achieving promotion in the 2008-2009 season. Other smaller sports are played as well - such as Lacrosse, Handball, Archery, Sailing, Gaelic Athletic Association, Tenpin Bowling, Ultimate Frisbee, Riding and Polo and American Football etc. Imperial has over fifteen martial arts clubs, including (but not limited to) Wushu, Tae Kwan Do, Wing Chun, Karate, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Shotokan Karate, Shorinji Kempo, Capoeira, Jujitsu and Kendo. Sports FacilitiesEthos sports centre opened in February 2006, and boasts many top facilities including:
Imperial College currently offers free 'gym and swim' to all students (after a one off £15 registration fee) - arguably the only university in the UK to do so. On top of Ethos at South Kensington, sports teams and clubs can make use of facilities at other 'satellite' locations - such as Harlington near Heathrow (where the rugby, football, hockey teams train), St Mary's sports hall/gym in Paddington, Charing Cross gym in Hammersmith and the Boathouse in Putney MusicStandards of music at Imperial are extremely high despite not having a dedicated music course offered or music department. This is evidenced by Imperial College Symphony Orchestra recently winning 'UK University of the Year' in March 2008, and an active weekly lunchtime concert series regularly featuring artists such as the Belcea Quartet, Natalie Clein and Charles Owen. There are music rehearsals taking place every evening and most weekends by various musical societies, and many of the student clubs go on tour both within the UK and internationally. The Blyth Music Centre has a mixture of solo and ensemble practice rooms all fitted with upright or grand pianos. There is an organ in the Great Hall where the two main college orchestras and the college choir rehearse each week. Imperial Discussions
SocialHalls often organise events, but obviously this varies by hall. For the most part not many people go to the union for a night out except at the end of term, but with London at your doorstep, who cares? After first year, the Union is a good meeting place before a night out -- mostly for the cheap drinks! Bars, pubs and clubsThe Union has a couple of bars on campus. The Queen's Arms and the Gloucester Arms are 2-3 minutes walk away from the campus. The rest of London has hundreds of bars of every kind! There is also the medics bar, the Reynolds, at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith. EventsThe Student Union runs a large number of events throughout the academic year which are published at the start of each term.
Regular nights include Tuesday Quiz Nights, Wednesday Sports Nights and fortnightly Gig Nights on Thursdays.
AccommodationAccommodation policyAccommodation is guaranteed to all first year undergraduates, providing Imperial is made their firm choice. If Imperial was your Insurance choice or you are entering a later year, accommodation in halls of residence is still possible but not guaranteed. Most people prefer to leave the halls of residence after their first year, with only a small number of places available for second years, primarily given to 'hall seniors' and those with medical conditions. Any remaining rooms are assigned by a ballot. FacilitiesAll room have internet and telephone access with very fast internet speeds, but there is a 5GB bandwidth (including both downloads and uploads) cap per rolling 24 hours enforced with penalties for breaking it; 1st, 2nd and 3rd occasions result in a 48 hour ban; 4th occasion 14 days; 5th occasion permanent ban. Depending on the hall of residence bathrooms are shared on average between 1 person to 8 people with kitchens shared from between 4 people to 24, though obviously the sizes of the kitchens differ. Halls may also contain some or all of the following facilities: access to a coin operated laundry room, games facilities (pool, table tennis, etc), a tv and a lounge. The majority of halls are non-smoking, however some allow smoking in single study bedrooms. ResidencesThere are around 15 different halls of residence at Imperial, all varying in size, distance from the campus, quality and most importantly price. Beit Hall is one of the closest to the Kensington campus (it is just across the road from Physics and Maths) and is quite often considered one of the nicest, however at around £150 a week it is very costly and cheaper places can still be nice. Southside Halls, newly built and also pretty close, enjoys a better reputation than its previous version. The 'Boathouse' accommodation is located on the Thames in Putney, and is for extreme rowers. Students are chosen to live in this hall of residence based on rowing ability however, so there is only a small chance for first year undergraduates. Private sectorThe 'Student Accommodation Centre' is available for help with finding accommodation in the private sector. They claim to offer the following services:
Approximate private sector rents vary hugely depending on exact area and size but in zones 1 and 2 Bedsits gnerally start from £110 per week and studio flats from around £160 per week. Your cheapest (and most sociable) bet is to share a larger flat with multiple people, with four bedroom flats from around £410 per week in total. Student unionClubs and societiesImperial has over 300 clubs and societies, more than any other university in the UK, so you'll find something to interest you.
Clubs and societies generally fall under one of the following categories:
It's also easy to start a new society, and you can join societies all through the year. Other ServicesThe Union also provides advice on Welfare and Representation issues - please see section above. BarsThe Student Union runs two different sites; Beit Quad, South Kensington and Reynold's, Hammersmith. On top of this the college runs an additional site; the Holland Club, South Kensington. This article will focus upon the former two sites. Beit Quad (ICU) The Beit Quad site is situated within the same building that the student union is within. There are three permenent bars at Beit. The first is the Union Bar. This is by far the smallest of the three and is also the oldest. The decor currently can be described best as a wooden bar. It is also covered with the history of the union, with the coat of arms of each of the Imperial College faculties. There are also the 'pots' stored behind the bar counter on the rear bar. These are pewter tankards each affliated to a position within the union (many of which are presidents of Clubs and Socs - NB not all C/S have presidential 'pots'). As each 'pot' is past from person to person each year, the side of the pot is engraved with the name of the previous holder of the position. There are also many a tradition related to pots, such as 'potting'. There is also a dart board in this bar The second is Da Vinci's Bar. This is a much larger bar to the Union. The decor here is much more like a canteen, in fact there during lunch hours and during certain nights part of the bar opens up to form 'cattering' which sells food to students. There is also large LCD screens above the bar area and a very large screen projector that projects upon the far end of the room (from where you enter). These screens are usually used during large sporting events, which the union can tune into on the sky box (due to the fact the setup relies solely upon the sky box for its reception, all screens show exactly the same channel). A new addition to this bar is the dukebox in the corner, which may or may not work... The final bar is dB's. This is the club/venue area of the union, which normally opens on a Wednesday and a Friday. The area has a dance area and a stage next to it. Opposite the stage is a DJ booth, which this term has seen talent such as Colin Murrey from the BBC. There is also a more limited bar in dB's as compared to the other two bars, which suprisingly sells at the exact same price as the other two bars. Reynold's Bar (ICSMU) This the Medics bar, situated in the Reynolds building of Charing Cross Hospital. The Reynolds plays host to regular themed "bops" usually on a Friday night, which are hosted by an ICSM sports club. Outrageous fancy dress is encouraged. Despite being situated in such close proximity to a hospital, the bar stays open until 12pm on most main nights. The Reynolds has recently undergone difficulties in retaining it's late license due to complaints from security staff and local residents, but after a brief period of shutting at 10.30pm the bar has resumed nearly normal service. Every Wednesday sees the gathering of ICSMs sports clubs under one roof for a night of chaos, chanting, orange buckets and nudity. ICSM Sports Night, throughout it's rich history and to the present day, has a highly deserved reputation for volumous alcohol consumption. But the Reynold's is not all about shooting-the-boot or sticky floors. When one is not sitting at a drinking circle or being blinded by the lights at a bop, one can observe the ceiling enscribed with signatures of newly qualified doctors - each with their own fond memories of the student days in the Reynolds. The decor is owes much to some of the other Medical Schools of London - as signs obtained from rival medical schools adorn the walls alongside road signs and plaques bearing a relation to ICSM. During the day, a small shops is open at the back of the Reynolds to vend coffee and edible items to students.
Due to the license that the union opperates under, only members of Imperial College, students and members of the NUS may use the bar. To circumvent this law, the Union offer £1.00 yearly membership to the bar facilities. PricesPrices are exclusively for Beit Quad Bars only Draught Drinks/568ml
Spirits/25ml
Non-alcoholic
EnvironmentArchitectureThe architecture of Imperial College London can be described at best as being "eclectic." Some buildings are older and look like your typical London terrace: Specifically, the North and West sides of Prince's Gardens and the RSM building. The Queen's tower is also quite old but is one of the most loved structures at Imperial. People are often found around the Queen's tower in summer revising for their exams. The Queen's Tower is found on the Queen's Lawn - the only green space within the campus, which yes, is the size of a postage stamp. Some buildings were built in the 1950s/60s such as the ACEX, Bone and Roderic Hill buildings (Chem and Aero Eng) and it must be said...are pretty ugly...these buildings are however, slowly being replaced. That said, there are many new buildings, the college main entrance is known as the Tanaka building and the architecture there is modern. The Imperial College Business School contained within the Tanaka building is an interesting structure, one that you will either love or hate...the best way to describe it is...a giant baked bean can... Past the Tanaka building is an area of decking with buildings at the edges, these buildings are modern and are made mostly of glass. Each building is a different colour and as a result the entire area looks quite cool. Of course considering that this campus is in the middle of London, the space is very compact with very few open areas. There are however green spaces not far away, Prince's Gardens for one and Hyde Park is less than a five minute walk away. Things are continually improving due to constant ongoing refurbishment of the older buildings. Local areaThe Museums (Science, Natural History and Victoria and Albert) are worth a visit, as is the Royal Albert Hall. This is one of the most expensive areas of London, so you'd usually go elsewhere for a night out (but it's really easy on a bus, and only 90p). Local RestaurantsSouth Kensington area
Gloucester Road area
Other areas
Teaching qualityPros and Cons of Imperial
Applying to Imperial CollegeThinking of applying to Imperial College? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here? Other Imperial College ArticlesWhy not read these other Imperial College Articles? Links
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