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Imperial or Bath?

So I’m torn. I’m been offered places to study biomedical sciences at both Imperial College London and the University of Bath this fall. My family and I have made plans on what my situation is would be if I decide to attend either.

If I go to Bath, I will be getting a year of paid work placement. I will also be living in a catered en-suite room on campus, surrounded by the beautiful city. It’s a really good option.

If I go to Imperial, I will have to live at home in greater London for my first year at least, since London is expensive and more dangerous overall. I will have an account set up to pay for Ubers to the campus.

However, I have done a shadowing at Imperial set up by my doctor, and I have a friend there who is a current first year taking the same course. Essentially, I have connections that could help with getting placements. And I know this shouldn’t be a defining factor, but Imperial is also more highly ranked, especially for science.

All things considered, what looks like my best bet?

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 1

Plagioclase

Which place do you think you'd prefer to study at? Which course do you prefer? How problematic would Imperial be financially? Both universities are very good for biomedical science, I honestly can't imagine that the difference in ranking will have a lot of impact on anything. Also, London isn't particularly dangerous.

Reply 2

Chirpychops

Write a list of pros and cons and see what you come up with. If it were me, I'd go for the internationally competitive institution in a great world city. Bath is great if you're looking for a weekend away sightseeing. Or watching rugby. And there is a good cheese shop. In terms of opportunities, my list would be very one sided.

Reply 3

Troker101

Original post by Chirpychops

Only thing is I won't be living in that great world city because it's too expensive. I will be living at home.

Reply 4

Chirpychops

Original post by Troker101

Only thing is I won't be living in that great world city because it's too expensive. I will be living at home.

It's your pros and cons list. If being in a big city isn't a pro for you then that's fine. If where you get your degree from isn't important then that's fine too. Really, the most important thing is that you do well. Have a look at the chances of getting a first from each institution. For some things (postgrad at Oxbridge?), it might be better to have a degree from Imperial than Bath. For many things, employers won't care a jot.

If the most important thing is to be away from home then that should be the basis of your decision. Bath is a lovely place to be.

Reply 5

EleaGR

First of all, Congrats on your offers!

My daughter has a similar issue, only she is torn between Imperial and UCL, because she comes from Greece and she will definitely be away from home.

In my opinion, the most important factor you should consider is the course structure. As you know, Imperial has reinvented the course in 2017, and it seems from what I've seen, that the structure, I mean the modules and teaching methods are totally different from most other Unis I've seen.

Another thing to consider is that Imperial's course is taught in 2 campuses, South Kensington and Hammersmith. So there maybe a lot of commuting there. I don't know how convenient is this for you. It depends on where you live.

Now, about you living at home and not enjoying London that much, I'm not sure this will be true. You'll be spending so many hours at Imperial, and probably hanging out with friends after classes or after studying at the library, that I believe there's no way you won't get the feeling of this vibrant city.

By the way, if you have any info on the modules and the frequency of classes at the Hammersmith campus, please share. Also, anything you may know of UCL's Biomedical course would be helpful too. :wink:

Reply 6

Troker101

Original post by EleaGR

Thank you for the advice

As far as I know, the Hammersmith campus is mainly for medical teaching and research, as well as the Hammersmith hospital. A course like biomedical science is held mainly in the Alexander Fleming building I believe, which at the South Kensington campus. I can't imagine many classes for biomed being held in Hammersmith.

As far as UCL goes, you can always look at the webpage for the course, even though I'm guessing you've probably looked at it already. But as far I know about UCL, I've heard that it's more unstructured than Imperial. My uncle went for architecture and ending up trying to transfer out (partly because he hated living in London, though). Still, no doubt it's a great school with what seems to be a rather diverse biomedical science course. However, by year 2 at UCL, they expect you do go down a stream where you start specialising in certain fields of biomedical science. Imperial keeps it more broad, so it's up to personal choice there. Also, for the final year project, Imperial says you can do a work-placement project along with a laboratory or literature based one. UCL doesn't seem to have that option. I think it just depends on which one has more of what you like.

Imperial puts a lot of emphasis on lab work in the biomedical science course. I'm not sure about UCL. However, keep in mind it is still relatively new to the university. I have a friend studying biomed there and she says she loves the course, especially since she loves lab work so much. And she also says she loves London personally, even though she lives at home. So I guess you're right when you say that you don't miss out when you live at home.

Reply 7

EleaGR

Original post by Troker101

Thanks a lot for your answer.

About Hammersmith, I'm afraid that LAB Pod Module might be taught there, and according to the weekly schedule this is twice a week for 3 hours. One of which (Friday) is 9am. So if you live in South Kensington halls you need 50 minutes by bus to get there in the morning! I don't know. But there is a video of a Biomedical student Yr. 2 who says that he chose to live in Pembridge hall because it is right in the middle of both campuses -approximately 20'- and that is very convenient.

Also in the Medical Biosciences page they mention 2 campuses: South Kensington and Hammersmith.