Ask a current chem eng student anything!

OP

I thought that may be the case, ill ask my teachers and see what they think. So speaking as a chem eng student and not necessarily an imperial college student, what do you think about gap years? I really need to earn some money and I want to do some volunteering but i'm worried about getting rusty at chemistry etc

Yeah something engineering related would be useful. Try looking at Engineers Without Borders? I'm not sure if this is limited to just university students but they do good global engineering projects.

Reply 101

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by Missile 157

I'm considering applying for chem eng at Imperial this year, are there any books that would be useful to read (out of interest and for help at interview questions) but also accessible to someone still doing A levels? Many of the books I've found so far are textbooks and I'm wondering if they'll be too complex or whether there are better types of books about chem eng to read at this point.

I never read any Chem Eng related books before the interview. I wrote in my PS that I read Henry Petroski's "To Engineer Is Human" and Richard Feynman's "Six Easy Pieces."
Only Loughborough Uni asked me about the books, Imperial didn't.
I know a friend that wrote that he read a Chem Eng text book and when he was asked something about it he brought it out of his bag! (He got in anyways)
I'll agree that reading text books isn't the best way forward. They're way too complicated and you won't be asked things to that detail.
Why not look into tce magazine (The Chemical Engineer)? It has good chemical engineering articles and can be used as a talking point in interviews. Kinda like New Scientist but focused on Chem Eng. I think your school will need to subscribe to it to obtain it for you though as you can't buy it in shops.

Reply 102

Slumber

Original post by babuchang

I don't know anyone who has that laptop at uni, sorry!

Ok thanks for your help :smile:

Reply 103

Munrot07

18

Original post by babuchang

Hi guys
I'm entering my final year here at Imperial. If you guys have any questions regarding the course/Imperial feel free to ask!

Got a few questions :P sorry!

Did you live in halls for the first year? If so which hall and what sort of room. What was it like?

What was freshers like? What clubs did you join and what activities did you do over the first few weeks?

Any tips for someone starting at Imperial?

Reply 104

Give me a minute

Hi there! Do you mind to share something about the mastery exams? How hard are them coz I heard that quite a number of people failed in the exams?A bit terrified by drop out rate of ICL :frown:

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Reply 105

ThePhoenix13

4

Original post by Give me a minute

Hi there! Do you mind to share something about the mastery exams? How hard are them coz I heard that quite a number of people failed in the exams?A bit terrified by drop out rate of ICL :frown:

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Oh yes... The pass mark is 80%! How difficult are these exams?

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Reply 106

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by Give me a minute

Hi there! Do you mind to share something about the mastery exams? How hard are them coz I heard that quite a number of people failed in the exams?A bit terrified by drop out rate of ICL :frown:

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Original post by ThePhoenix13

Oh yes... The pass mark is 80%! How difficult are these exams?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yeah it does sound daunting that the pass mark is 80%. They almost certainly scale it though so that very few people fail.
It's easier than the main exams and if you prepare by doing the problem sheets and the mastery sheets that they give you then you should be fine. They make sure you're prepared for it in 1st year by constantly giving you mastery sheets to do and hand in to be marked for you to see how you are doing. Just make sure you do them and revise them.
The real exams are on a whole different level...

Reply 107

ThePhoenix13

4

Original post by babuchang

Yeah it does sound daunting that the pass mark is 80%. They almost certainly scale it though so that very few people fail.
It's easier than the main exams and if you prepare by doing the problem sheets and the mastery sheets that they give you then you should be fine. They make sure you're prepared for it in 1st year by constantly giving you mastery sheets to do and hand in to be marked for you to see how you are doing. Just make sure you do them and revise them.
The real exams are on a whole different level...

A whole different level? Haha. Do you have any other advice for the first year?😊

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Reply 108

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by Munrot07

Got a few questions :P sorry!

Did you live in halls for the first year? If so which hall and what sort of room. What was it like?

What was freshers like? What clubs did you join and what activities did you do over the first few weeks?

Any tips for someone starting at Imperial?

Hiya!
Yeah, I lived in Willis Jackson in Evelyn Gardens in a single (non-ensuite) room. It was pretty decent. Its near a lot of grocery shops, restaurants and cinemas (Kings/Fulham Road) which is super convenient. It also had good facilities; pool table, garden with BBQ, video games room.
Also I didn't pay too much (compared to Prince's Gardens) and was about a 15 min walk away from uni.

Freshers was great! I did most of the activities that my hall organised, so it will vary from hall to hall. It was a mix of clubbing, boat party, eating out, games, musicals.
I joined loads of societies (various country societies, choir, basketball,volleyball) but only ended up attending a couple regularly.
I'd advise you to do as much activities while you can during the first few weeks, to see what you like, as the work will ramp up after a month or so.

Reply 109

Munrot07

18

Original post by babuchang

Hiya!
Yeah, I lived in Willis Jackson in Evelyn Gardens in a single (non-ensuite) room. It was pretty decent. Its near a lot of grocery shops, restaurants and cinemas (Kings/Fulham Road) which is super convenient. It also had good facilities; pool table, garden with BBQ, video games room.
Also I didn't pay too much (compared to Prince's Gardens) and was about a 15 min walk away from uni.

Freshers was great! I did most of the activities that my hall organised, so it will vary from hall to hall. It was a mix of clubbing, boat party, eating out, games, musicals.
I joined loads of societies (various country societies, choir, basketball,volleyball) but only ended up attending a couple regularly.
I'd advise you to do as much activities while you can during the first few weeks, to see what you like, as the work will ramp up after a month or so.

Thanks

I have a few more (if you don't mind :P sorry for the long list of questions)

What was the choir like? (I'm thinking of joining).
Is it easy at Imperial to make friends without clubbing/drinking?
How easy was it to make friends in the first week and do you find the friends came from your course, hall, societies or a mixture of all of them?

I know most of these questions are silly but I worry easily :P

Thanks once again

Reply 110

Lucas97

I am currently a year 13 student now. I did my GCSE at one of those bad academic performance school. Here are my GCSE results:
Maths-A*
Physics-A
Chemistry-A
Biology-B
English-C
Art-C
Business studies-D
RE-E
Another reason for getting low GCSE grades is because English is my second language and took the exams with only 3 years knowledge of English. Actually i was the only one pass the GCSE English Language in my class-that's how bad my school was.

I am now doing Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry,Physics at a better sixth form. I have already gained an A* in Maths with average ums of 95. I got an A in AS chemistry with average ums of 89 and an A in Physics with an average ums of 80. My predicted grades are A* A* A A. I really want to do Chemical engineering at Imperial. The requirement is A*A*A or A*AAA. It also says the majority offers are A* A* A A and GCSE achievements are also considered. Is there any chance for me to get into Imperial?

Reply 111

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by Munrot07

Thanks

I have a few more (if you don't mind :P sorry for the long list of questions)

What was the choir like? (I'm thinking of joining).
Is it easy at Imperial to make friends without clubbing/drinking?
How easy was it to make friends in the first week and do you find the friends came from your course, hall, societies or a mixture of all of them?

I know most of these questions are silly but I worry easily :P

Thanks once again

I was in the Gospel Choir to be specific. It was pretty fun and the people were really chilled. We did a couple of performances in the uni and outside.

Yeah, you definitely don't have to go clubbing/drinking to make friends, lot's of people don't and they're fine.
Keep in mind that a lot of people might go during fresher's but will stop as term starts properly.

Overall I'd say it's a mix but I found that my closest friends came from my halls as you'd hang out the most with them, in your first year at least. Most of them weren't in my course and if I wasn't in that hall I would have never met them. It makes a pretty huge difference who you end up living with.
It took a bit longer to make good friends on my course but you get to know more people over the year as you work with them for projects, chat between lectures etc.
Societies are really good for meeting people as well and I made some friends through this.

People are really friendly in Freshers', don't be afraid to be the person to initiate and go up to people and say 'Hi,' nothing bad is gonna happen.

Reply 112

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by Lucas97

I am currently a year 13 student now. I did my GCSE at one of those bad academic performance school. Here are my GCSE results:
Maths-A*
Physics-A
Chemistry-A
Biology-B
English-C
Art-C
Business studies-D
RE-E
Another reason for getting low GCSE grades is because English is my second language and took the exams with only 3 years knowledge of English. Actually i was the only one pass the GCSE English Language in my class-that's how bad my school was.

I am now doing Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry,Physics at a better sixth form. I have already gained an A* in Maths with average ums of 95. I got an A in AS chemistry with average ums of 89 and an A in Physics with an average ums of 80. My predicted grades are A* A* A A. I really want to do Chemical engineering at Imperial. The requirement is A*A*A or A*AAA. It also says the majority offers are A* A* A A and GCSE achievements are also considered. Is there any chance for me to get into Imperial?

Your GCSEs aren't very strong so your reference should include your initial struggles with English and that your school is not very high achieving.
Your AS levels are decent though, which is more important.
I think you have a realistic chance as you're doing the right subjects and your grades are good. Make sure you personal statement stands out, as this will (hopefully) separate you from other candidates who are going to have better GCSEs than you.

Reply 113

stargal

Hello

I am applying for university courses currently but have chosen medicine after many days arguing between medicine and chemical engineering. I studied AS physics , bio, chem and maths and have dropped physics this year for A2. I did well in my GCSE with 6 A* 3A 2B's(English) and 1C in French. however my AS levels weren't great with only BCCD where I am to re-sit many modules this year to bring the grades up and maybe even take a gap year if I don't get into my preferred course.

I wondered how easy it is to get a chemical engineering job in the UK after graduation and also in the long term, and whether you have to travel a lot. And if I were to change my mind at the "last minute" how would it look on the personal statement having done mainly medicine related work experience and not much for chemical engineering, however I do still have time to get some work experience now in chem eng, if I were to change my mind again. I have done a lot of research into both the medical and chemical engineering field and love them both, however my more medical related experience has led me to choose medicine.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 114

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by stargal

Hello

I am applying for university courses currently but have chosen medicine after many days arguing between medicine and chemical engineering. I studied AS physics , bio, chem and maths and have dropped physics this year for A2. I did well in my GCSE with 6 A* 3A 2B's(English) and 1C in French. however my AS levels weren't great with only BCCD where I am to re-sit many modules this year to bring the grades up and maybe even take a gap year if I don't get into my preferred course.

I wondered how easy it is to get a chemical engineering job in the UK after graduation and also in the long term, and whether you have to travel a lot. And if I were to change my mind at the "last minute" how would it look on the personal statement having done mainly medicine related work experience and not much for chemical engineering, however I do still have time to get some work experience now in chem eng, if I were to change my mind again. I have done a lot of research into both the medical and chemical engineering field and love them both, however my more medical related experience has led me to choose medicine.

The stats from my the 2015 Guardian table says that 88% of the course (at Imperial) ends up with a job after 6 months, which seems about right. I know a few people who have already secured jobs from their internships before entering final year. There does seem to be a high demand for students with chem eng degrees so I wouldn't worry too much. It's totally up to you whether you want to travel a lot or not but it is much easier/faster to advance your career if you do travel and live overseas for periods of time.
I don't think it would be a problem to not have done any related work experience. I worked in a bank and put that in my PS.

Reply 115

Godel_Mark

What are the courses considered to be the most difficult by the undergrads at imperial?

Do you know whether computing is up there?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 116

kimsiclez

12

How often do people generally go home during term time?

Reply 117

babuchang

OP

2

Original post by Godel_Mark

What are the courses considered to be the most difficult by the undergrads at imperial?

Do you know whether computing is up there?

I think the Joint Math and Computing (JMC) course is regarded as the hardest as they do basically 70% of the computing course and 70% of the math course so their workload is insane. Also they only have 30+ people in the course.