Imperial vs UCL vs Bristol vs Edinburgh: which should I choose for CS?

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I'm applying for 3 of those Unis there (not applying to Bristol). Honestly, I'd go for Edinburgh as it just looks fantastic there.

For me it's a split decision between UCL/Edinburgh.

Reply 21

Linke

Original post by Sweetcorn_1

I'm applying for 3 of those Unis there (not applying to Bristol). Honestly, I'd go for Edinburgh as it just looks fantastic there.

For me it's a split decision between UCL/Edinburgh.

Why not imperial?

Reply 22

Sweetcorn_1

Original post by Linke

Why not imperial?

In the end I dropped Imperial, they are just too rigorous and hard-working for someone like me. The Male:Female ratio is about 70:30 and the social life is pretty poor (in some people's opinions). It's not a huge jump up from the other universities listed, although it is more prestigious, so in my opinion it just isn't worth it.

Reply 23

Linke

I have heard that at both UCL and ICL you can read many (introductory) courses on the side which you may choose from other departments. Does anyone know where I can find my detailed information on this? I'd be interested in doing some economics/business/law on the side. Is that possible? (best thing would be a list for ucl and icl of all available courses). At my UCL interview, I was told that UCL basically encourages doing a "minor" (US style) in another subject, true?

Imperial definitely

imperial
bristol
ucl
edinburgh

Reply 26

th3hutch

Original post by informatician

[dropping in: full disclosure, member of staff at Edinburgh]

You aren't going to go far wrong with any of those departments TBH; they're different, but all good. One reason for coming to Edinburgh is the breadth of the department here (which goes with the size, of course). If you feel you already know that you want to do straight-down-the-line core CS, it won't matter so much, but if you might end up passionate about machine learning or robotics or complexity or compiler-writing or speech technology or neuroscience or... by your third year, then there's something to be said for going somewhere with a very wide range of courses. Speaking as someone who went into university thinking I was going to be interested in something very different from what I came out actually interested in! Plus, of course, the Scottish degree structure makes it easier to do courses outside informatics altogether (if you want to, you don't have to) than it usually is in England.

May I ask which course you took for this because this sounds likes what I am looking and from the reviews UCL looks like the University for me. I am also going to apply for the UCL taster session in June, which for me will be an experience.

Reply 27

danielvh

Tanks for all the info and opinions guys.

I've started receiving responses to my applications:
Cambridge - winter pooled and then rejected :frown:

UCL - unconditional offer
Bristol - unconditional offer
Edinburgh - unconditional offer
Imperial - haven't heard yet

I think if I get imperial I'll probably accept there. If not then I think it'll be a tough choice. Currently I like the look of edinburgh department the best, but I think that the opportunities for things like internships in London may be a pretty big factor. I think I've ruled out Bristol even though I know it's a fantastic department.

Reply 28

Linke

Original post by danielvh

Tanks for all the info and opinions guys.

I've started receiving responses to my applications:
Cambridge - winter pooled and then rejected :frown:

Im in almos the same situation as you. Cam rejection, UCL & Bristol offer, waiting for imperial (not had interview yet). Just like you, I would go to Imperial if they accept me. As for second choice, Im also not sure. Please do inform in the thread when you have decided what to do :smile:

Reply 29

Alleykat606

according to league tables, UCL ranks highest for neuroscience...im not surprised they do have a fantastic department! :smile:

Reply 30

ch0llima

I have heard some very mixed reports about Oxbridge CompSci, which I won't bother getting into because the vultures will swoop :colonhash:

. "One does not simply criticise Oxbridge on TSR". The "TL;DR" is that the courses are too weighed down with theory and the prestige comes through research money and connections rather than student achievement.

The Edinburgh course has been described as "hellish", "insane" and "hardcore" by people I know who've done it. When I went to the open day, even one of the PhD tutors giving a talk (who had done the course himself), described the course in a similar fashion as "incredibly difficult". That said, you put the work in, you get results out and the graduates don't have any trouble finding work or at least getting interviews.

If it helps, I have heard time and time again that the Imperial course offers the best balance between theoretical and practical elements, and that its graduate employability is stellar and its graduates in hot demand. Mind you, the trade-off is that the students are again seemingly worked to the bone and the course is very very tough, and I have also heard some people who don't like the university itself even though the course is good.

In terms of 'generic' graduate level work, it pretty well doesn't matter where you study (within reason) and you will find that a great deal of the deep academic theory doesn't make an obvious appearance in real world computing i.e. you don't always need to know it well. This may change depending on the type of work being done, but if it's something highly specialist or particularly difficult e.g. writing a real-time stock trading platform in some absurd and outdated language then it's perfectly possible that they won't be employing graduates for these roles anyway.

Although it depends on precisely the sort of work you want to do, I can say that ultimately work is a fairly level playing field. Nobody cares if you went to Myra Hindley College at Cambridge and got a First if you are underperforming, can't do the job or can't form a rapport with your colleagues; if the guy with the 2.1 from Manchester manages fine, then he's got the edge. The fact is that, after about five years into your career, nobody cares about what your degree is or where it's from; it becomes irrelevant in the face of work experience, good references and networking. Also, remember that it doesn't matter if you have an IQ of >9000 and got a triple First from a top university. If you are 100 miles off the end of the autistic spectrum, have no common/business sense, little work experience and don't 'fit in' then you're not getting the job.