Dilemma ( Opinions? ) Long Read (Help greatly appreciated!)

Hi,
First of all, congratulation Tim (I presume), I understand your concerns.
Studying in England is highly expensive as you say.
For your pro/ Cons
Pro: totally agree with you an Imperial degree is valuable...
Cons: money as you say and the problem is that with a bsc particularly in geology it might be difficult for you to find a job....
+ you have to count at least £10-13000 to live every year the coat of your bsc is approximately +100000.

After it is still your choice, but beginning with a high debt might be difficult and will you be granted the money from a bank?
Good luck with this tremendous choice
Taud

Thank you Taud! Getting the money to go is not the issue, the issue lies mainly on whether is the money worth spending~

I would say that it is worth the money I think but another question to ask is: Do you have another offer, a plan B?

You might already look on professional websites to see if you degree is worth the money

There are actually no websites that discusses/tell whether a degree in geology is worth/not worth the money. ( Unless you know one, do share it with me! )

Plan B now : Totally change my course to Engineering(Type of engineering, still no clue) and do locally at an UK campus ( There is Nottingham and Southampton here )

Hi Tim, Have you joined the Malaysian imperial college offer holders 2016 group? There are officers in the Malaysian Society who you can talk to, particularly the welfare officer. Here is the link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1719437241606295/

I am currently a medic at Imperial

First off, Congratulations Tim! Its definitely not easy to get an offer so I assume you've done particularly well for your ALevels/equivalent.

I faced the exact same dilemma albeit mine is only a year for MSc. What I did to finally land a decision was to consult my peers/tutors/family/peoplewhomatter and I hope you do the same. Like you, I'm an international student too, so I can understand the financial burden of paying 26k GBP annually, let alone staying alive in London.

Based my discussions with friends and family, the one question that haunted me was:

Will I regret declining Imperial 2/3/5/10/50 years from now?

Since you do not have a problem sourcing the financials, declining the opportunity hurts even more when you know you could have attended. Would you be equally motivated to study locally?

Best of luck to you friend.



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Hi Tim

Congratulations!

My first question to you is:

Will you get into debt for spending 26k per year on your degree? If your family is wealthy, then by all means go for it. Otherwise, if your family will suffer financially, then it's likely not worth it.

If money is an issue, an alternative worth thinking about is doing an undergrad in Malaysia, or NUS, and pursue a Masters at Imperial, Oxford, Cambridge or MIT. Half a million dollar in Malaysia can buy you a small house and you have not factored in the living expenses as well. Unfortunately, the chances of an international student landing a job in the UK is slim, and will become slimmer with recent political changes. You'll need to be at the top of your class to have a shot at getting a job, and don't forget you'll be competing with your peers, Oxford and Cambridge.

I've also commented on your pros. Hopefully this helps.

1) Better graduate prospect (Reputation of university and delivery of the course) Imperial currently ranked no.1 for geoscience in the UK
- Imperial is a world ranking university. However, outside of UK, the public recognition of the brand name (note brand, not technical capabilities) is still not as good as Oxford or Cambridge.

2) State of the art facilities and lecturers that are great and experienced in the field
- Agreed. You have leading researchers on campus that you can go talk to. And from my time there I managed to build some pretty good connections with the researchers. Not all facilities are world class though.

3) Out of comfort zone ( Highly motivated and independence)
- This is the same regardless if you go to Imperial or not. However, the undergraduate course in Imperial is seriously intense so be prepared for it.

4) Experience a new culture
- This does not need to be at Imperial?

5) Once in a lifetime opportunity
- I graduated from a 3rd tier university thinking I will never ever have the chance to set foot in Imperial (I'm an engineer and it's my dream university after MIT). I worked for around 7 years before applying to Imperial for my Masters. Miraculously I got in, and did OK but I managed to build some connections there. I will be returning to Imperial for my PhD next month.

So, just because you can't get into Imperial today doesn't mean that's it for your lifetime. The chance will still be there!

PS - I'm not a top student, just an average B student in my undergrad and from my Masters. I'm sure most people are smarter than me so you'll have a better chance than I have!

6) Greater connections (Assumption)
- Yes you can build lasting connections by studying in the university. You need to be proactive though.

7) Great crowd? ( My thoughts are that anyone that manages to enter Imperial College London is students that are competent and highly motivated in their academic pursuits) ( Not saying other unis students are different but Imperial does have strict requirements/interviews to enter)
- Yes you'll have very smart peers, and a lower likelihood of having course mates who aren't interested in studying. However, there will still be bad apples.

8) With such a great amount of money invested, it would extremely pressuring to perform as there is no way out/back . ( Drive to excel)
- Unless you're the type of students that thrive under extreme pressure, it may not be a good idea to corner yourself.

Hi there! Thank you for such a comprehensive feedback. I have taken in all the opinions and decided not to go to Imperial College London for undergraduate studies. May I know what university did you do your undergraduate course at? I am curious on how does Masters admission work at top universities.