Go to Imperial this year or take a gap year and apply to Oxford

Hello all!
At the beginning of Year 13 I had very poor predicted grades so I decided not to apply to Oxford even though it was always something I had in my mind that I wanted to do. Now I have a decision to make; risk losing out on my Imperial place and apply to Oxford or just go to Imperial this year.

I understand that they are both good universities its just that I dont want to be 30 and look back regretting the fact that I didnt even apply.

What would you guys do? For context I am looking to study Physics.

Reply 1

mueed007

Why would you want to go to Simperial hahahaha amirite?
Nah, I’d personally stick with ICL. It depends on what you want to do afterwards but leaving imperial with a physics degree will have you set up mate. Oxford isn’t guaranteed and if anything competition will be higher next year due to this virus messing up people’s uni places.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

Hopefully a doc

well, looking at the 2020 league tables for physics, Oxford is 3rd and imperial is 38th! take from that what you wish.
personally, i prefer ICL overall (considering general ranking and location) but it's up to you to decide whether you prefer the city life or a quieter life/ area

Original post by Adam63

Reply 3

Mustafa0605

Original post by Hopefully a doc

How is imperial 38th? They’re literally the best Univeristy in London. Maybe you’re looking at one off he dodgy league tables out there.

Reply 4

Adam63

Original post by Mustafa0605

How is imperial 38th? They’re literally the best Univeristy in London. Maybe you’re looking at one off he dodgy league tables out there.

yeah I just checked its the Guardian one. I dont really trust league tables too much as they can vary wildly outside the top 5.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 5

galade

Original post by Mustafa0605

How is imperial 38th? They’re literally the best Univeristy in London. Maybe you’re looking at one off he dodgy league tables out there.

That's from The Guardian's League table.

Reply 6

galade

I would say go to Imperial. It is a university with an excellent reputation for physics and an excellent reputation internationally. It is a difficult university to get into so many people there will be of a similar intellect to you. Another thing is that you can always apply to Oxbridge to do your masters, a phd or just even apply for 2021 entry while you are there in September! Imagine waiting a whole year only to get a rejection.

Reply 7

Hopefully a doc

Original post by Adam63

yeah I just checked its the Guardian one. I dont really trust league tables too much as they can vary wildly outside the top 5.

Very true, hence I told OP to take from it what he wishes.
If i were in his case, ICL would be a no brainer

Reply 8

1st superstar

Original post by Adam63

@Sinnoh any advice? seeing as you’re a 1st year Imperial Physics student

Reply 9

Sinnoh

cheers for the @^

Well to begin with this whole dilemma is moot if you don't meet the offer. But you won't be having regrets about not applying. It's not going to dramatically affect your prospects and life after uni. It is only 3-4 years after all. After getting my A-levels I could have given Cambridge another go, but it's not that deep. And really ask yourself if you're just chasing the name of Oxford here.
It's going to be difficult in either place, both unis are known for their courses being quite intense. Of course I don't know what it's really like doing physics at Oxford or anywhere else any more than you, but here's the one distinction I can say with some confidence - at Oxford they'll definitely make you do the work, at Imperial you'll have to get yourself to do the work. For me the way I see it, there's a lot of work... if you choose to do it all. Whereas at Oxford they might be more on your case.
That's not to say you can be a lazy bugger and get an easy 2:1. You can't.

Also re: student satisfaction scores, they have restructured the course (some more details on my post here) to try to fix that and even out the workload. Ours is the first year to have that though, so only time will tell.

Reply 10

jgcr2019

Original post by Adam63

Hey, I am in a similar situation. I applied this year to do History at Oxford and I was set on it and I applied
to other universities just for safety. I didn’t get into Oxford. I got a place at LSE for History and hopefully will be able to change for History and Politics.
The thing is that I would much prefer to be in Oxford than in London, even if the school might be good. What I’ll think I’ll do is if I get the grades I will spend a year at LSE or Aalto (Finnish uni) and apply again for Oxford. So then I have the option of staying in the course or changing and going to Oxford. Idk.