The Student Room Group

Imperial College with Swiss Diploma

I do not know if I will get the chance to find a solution to my questions, but I really can't understand if my Swiss Diploma is a strong/weak/neutral one to get into Imperial either for Computing or Physics degree program. Maybe if someone else is a student at Imperial (or in the UK) from Switzerland and is reading this then I can get some help, since contacting Imperial itself was not helpful at all.

On the entry requirements page, it is written that the minimum for Switzerland is: "Overall grades of 5.0, with 5.0 in relevant subject". But this is surely only the minimum, not the recommended requirement (they also told me that I only need to have a 5.0 in maths, no matter the level of competence, and that is a ridicolous low requirement). My grades (final one) are the followings:

First Language - Italian: 5.5 x3
Second Language - German: 3.0 x2
Third Language - English: 4.5 x2
Maths (Further Level) - 5.5 x3
Biology - 5.0 x1
Chemistry - 5.5 x1
Physics - 6.0 x1
History - 5.0 x1
Geography - 5.0 x1
Arts - 3.5 x1
Biochemistry (Further Level) - 5.5 x3
Physics (Further Level) - 5.5 x1
Personal Project (Calculators: Physics, Electronic and Mathematics of these machines) - 5.5 x1 (my teacher was shocked by the fact that the examinator does not give me a 6.0/6.0 as he considered it "a small masterpiece":wink:)

If you take all the weightings (in Switzerland, unfortunately, subjects can count x1, x2 or x3 into the final grade) I come to score 105.5/126 that is 5.02/6.0 overall. I think this is not a competitive overall at all. But if you count only the scientific subjects, then the overall is 5.5/6.0. The problem is that I have really, really bad grades in Arts and German (:angry:). I asked the admission team if they will even consider the bad grades in these two subjects (they are completely useless for a degree in Computing/Physics at Imperial) and they do not really answer this question (:confused:). Can I really not get an offer only because of the bad grades in Arts and German, despite the fact that I have 5.5/6.0 overall in relevant subjects?!?!
Then the second problem is that I still do not understand if UK A* A-Level is compared to a 5.5/6.0 or 6.0/6.0 in the Swiss system; It seems to differ from place to place. (why?)

Now, the point is that I still have a year in front of me, and I will surely take some time (a lot) to study some new school related stuff (and I will try to get the maximum from it), therefore I do not know if I should take or not A-Level examinations, given my situation. Imperial said that it is not necessary if I already have the required grades, but do I have them?
On one hand I do not want to be forced to get other qualifications if mine is good enough (I prefer to study for the pure pleasure of learning new things, rather than for an examination), but on the other hand, I want to make sure that my grades are strong enough for an application at Imperial to be successfully.
What should I do? I am so confused! :judge:
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by 534443
I do not know if I will get the chance to find a solution to my questions, but I really can't understand if my Swiss Diploma (aka "Attestato Di Maturità Cantonale Riconosciuto Dalla Confederazione" - such a beautiful name btw :awesome:) is a strong/weak/neutral one to get into Imperial either for Computing or Physics degree program. Maybe if someone else is a student at Imperial (or in the UK) from Switzerland and is reading this then I can get some help, since contacting Imperial itself was not helpful at all.

On the entry requirements page, it is written that the minimum for Switzerland is: "Overall grades of 5.0, with 5.0 in relevant subject". But this is surely only the minimum, not the recommended requirement (they also told me that I only need to have a 5.0 in maths, no matter the level of competence, and that is a ridicolous low requirement). My grades (final one) are the followings:

First Language - Italian: 5.5 x3
Second Language - German: 3.0 x2
Third Language - English: 4.5 x2
Maths (Further Level) - 5.5 x3
Biology - 5.0 x1
Chemistry - 5.5 x1
Physics - 6.0 x1
History - 5.0 x1
Geography - 5.0 x1
Arts - 3.5 x1
Biochemistry (Further Level) - 5.5 x3
Physics (Further Level) - 5.5 x1
Personal Project (Calculators: Physics, Electronic and Mathematics of these machines) - 5.5 x1 (my teacher was shocked by the fact that the examinator does not give me a 6.0/6.0 as he considered it "a small masterpiece":wink:)

If you take all the weightings (in Switzerland, unfortunately, subjects can count x1, x2 or x3 into the final grade) I come to score 105.5/126 that is 5.02/6.0 overall. I think this is not a competitive overall at all. But if you count only the scientific subjects, then the overall is 5.5/6.0. The problem is that I have really, really bad grades in Arts and German (:angry:). I asked the admission team if they will even consider the bad grades in these two subjects (they are completely useless for a degree in Computing/Physics at Imperial) and they do not really answer this question (:confused:). Can I really not get an offer only because of the bad grades in Arts and German, despite the fact that I have 5.5/6.0 overall in relevant subjects?!?!
Then the second problem is that I still do not understand if UK A* A-Level is compared to a 5.5/6.0 or 6.0/6.0 in the Swiss system; It seems to differ from place to place. (why?)

Now, the point is that I still have a year in front of me, and I will surely take some time (a lot) to study some new school related stuff (and I will try to get the maximum from it), therefore I do not know if I should take or not A-Level examinations, given my situation. Imperial said that it is not necessary if I already have the required grades, but do I have them?
On one hand I do not want to be forced to get other qualifications if mine is good enough (I prefer to study for the pure pleasure of learning new things, rather than for an examination), but on the other hand, I want to make sure that my grades are strong enough for an application at Imperial to be successfully.
What should I do? I am so confused! :judge:

Ps. Sorry for my "not so good" English, I still have to work on it...


Why dont you just contact them directly with a list of questions so they can provide additional guidance? only Imperial can tell you or confirm the responses. Thats what they have an international department and admissions for. If you dont know then ask.
Reply 2
Original post by 999tigger
Why dont you just contact them directly with a list of questions so they can provide additional guidance? only Imperial can tell you or confirm the responses. Thats what they have an international department and admissions for. If you dont know then ask.


This is exactly what I did before posting this thread, unfortunately it was a waste of time as they did not help that much with my questions, they just threw away elusive answers that do not really mean anything.
Original post by 534443
This is exactly what I did before posting this thread, unfortunately it was a waste of time as they did not help that much with my questions, they just threw away elusive answers that do not really mean anything.


Have you tried going through the international team. Just make it easy for them make it more concise and phrase the questions so they can give a simple answer.
tell them you are after guidance and clarification rather than confidential or unfair advice.
Reply 4
Original post by 999tigger
Have you tried going through the international team. Just make it easy for them make it more concise and phrase the questions so they can give a simple answer.
tell them you are after guidance and clarification rather than confidential or unfair advice.


I will try this route. Thank you for your advice.
Original post by 534443
I will try this route. Thank you for your advice.


Sorry its not specific but the only people who can give you the answers are imperial. I believe you can get what you want just by some enquiries and clarifications. Its the a case of knowing how to get through an organisation, which is the approach I would adopt for myself. Dont forget your query is very specialised so you have to locate the person who can give you the answer.

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending