too stupid for a masters at imperial? (deciding masters course by end of today!)

I don't think you have to worry about that with Imperial. They get enough applicants that they can make all the money they want from just highly qualified applicants .

Imperial's admission rate for postgraduate studies is something like 20%, so they think you are better than 80% of people who applied!

Tbh it really sounds like you've already decided on Leeds and are just letting yourself be dazzled by 'prestige'. It would be silly to go for Imperial just for the name in my opinion, especially when Leeds is a very good uni, but on the other hand, it's not worth worrying about not being 'clever enough'. If you meet the requirements, it's not in their interest to make a course that people won't complete or will do poorly in.

Focus on which has the best course for you (e.g. which do you prefer in terms of content? Which has the better practical/research experience that fits with your future plans? What about other opportunities, such as working with particular institutions/organisations or networking opportunities?).

I have an offer for MSc Taxonomy and Biodiversity and I really wouldn't go for it if the course didn't tick all the right boxes. It's expensive, and it's going to be an insane amount of hard work, so it's pretty important to get more out of it than a university name on your CV.

Tbh it really sounds like you've already decided on Leeds and are just letting yourself be dazzled by 'prestige'. It would be silly to go for Imperial just for the name in my opinion, especially when Leeds is a very good uni, but on the other hand, it's not worth worrying about not being 'clever enough'. If you meet the requirements, it's not in their interest to make a course that people won't complete or will do poorly in.

Focus on which has the best course for you (e.g. which do you prefer in terms of content? Which has the better practical/research experience that fits with your future plans? What about other opportunities, such as working with particular institutions/organisations or networking opportunities?).

I have an offer for MSc Taxonomy and Biodiversity and I really wouldn't go for it if the course didn't tick all the right boxes. It's expensive, and it's going to be an insane amount of hard work, so it's pretty important to get more out of it than a university name on your CV.

oh you have an offer too? i have to say the price is somewhat throwing me off, leeds is the same price but with an all expenses paid trip to kenya included. unfortunately on the imperial website theres no information about course links to industry or job prospects, which would make my decision easier! are you at silwood park?

Imperial's admission rate for postgraduate studies is something like 20%, so they think you are better than 80% of people who applied!

soo i've been offered a place at imperial to study the ecology, evolution and conservation msc. i also have a place at leeds for a similar course.

i've been weighing it up for months but i simply cannot decide between the two. i prefer leeds but i dont want to turn down an opportunity to study at such a prestigious university as imperial. my main concern is that in the great money-making game of postgraduate degrees imperial could have offered me a place im not worthy of. i went to a red brick uni and im a decent student, though i got a 2:1 overall. i dont want to get there and find myself overwhelmed - will the masters be as difficult at the bachelors degrees? would i be more sensible to take the leeds place which i could probably do well in, or go with imperial simply so i can write that name on my CV?

oh lordly i really dont have a clue what to do and i need to decide by tonight: ANY advice would be appreciated! x

South Kensington, because my course is jointly run with the Natural History Museum. Aside from that the modules are perfect for what I want to do interests and skills wise, that pretty much sold it for me tbh, I'm in love with the NHM and it's a great opportunity to get the right contacts for PhDs (a large number of which at least partly involve the NHM for the area I'm interested in).

So yeah, I'm definitely going to get a lot out of my course, but I'm afraid I don't know a lot about the ecology, evolution and conservation course. I looked at some of the other courses when I applied-the Silwood campus looked lovely -but not that one.

South Kensington, because my course is jointly run with the Natural History Museum. Aside from that the modules are perfect for what I want to do interests and skills wise, that pretty much sold it for me tbh, I'm in love with the NHM and it's a great opportunity to get the right contacts for PhDs (a large number of which at least partly involve the NHM for the area I'm interested in).

So yeah, I'm definitely going to get a lot out of my course, but I'm afraid I don't know a lot about the ecology, evolution and conservation course. I looked at some of the other courses when I applied-the Silwood campus looked lovely -but not that one.

Congratulations on your offer! I've also applied to the Biodiversity and Taxonomy masters. Looks like a lot of hard work, the workload is epic apparently. Have you looked at the programme guide? So many contact hours...well at least we're getting our moneys worth. It would be amazing to study at the NHM, was your offer conditional of a 2.1?

Yeah, it was a 2.1, which I've met. I'm so excited, the modules look amazing. I'm even kind of excited about the statistics module using R

The molecular systematics module looks like it's going to be gruelling-it lasts 5 weeks (compared to the 1-2 weeks of the other modules) but I guess there's a lot to cover and it'll involve a lot of practical work which takes quite a long time (especially if we're doing things like PCRs).

It's probably just as well it's a lot of work, a social life isn't in my budget!