Ask an Imperial College London Student!

Hi everyone. What with open days this summer being cancelled, here's a kind of AMA thread for everyone considering Imperial.
I'm a first-year undergrad studying physics. I'll be happy to answer any questions about the uni in general, and of course about the physics course (which has just been restructured!)

So what was the general vibe about the course restructure ? Did it go smoothly or were there bits that seemed out of place ? Any weird timetable glitches or bits where part B should have followed A, but lectures from different modules got out of sync ?

There was a mechanics test in the seminar at the start of the year that pissed everyone off because it was a timed test that came out of nowhere and the questions didn't seem at all proof-read. The median mark was 15 out of 50. Since the feedback they said they'd change it to make it less like a test and give people more time to do each question. It's worth very little anyway.

on the Uni's webpage it states that for medicine the entry A-Level grades are AAA, if I got AAB for example does this mean I wouldn't get in? Or are they flexible depending on the student

Hi Sinnoh,

Thank you for doing this AMA. BTW, i follow your weekly physics blog and food blog with great interest. I have a few questions:

1) I am an international student considering applying to Imperial next year. My interest is Physics. How is the physics teaching? Are the experiments well conducted?

2) The fees for international students is HUGE, how does one reduce costs while living in London. What are average weekly accomodation rates after 1st year? Is is easy to find reasonable accomodation that one can share with friends?

3) Is it better to do the 3 year course and then apply for grad school elsewhere( US/ Oxbridge) or would you recommend doing the 4 year course?

4) What are the UG research opportunities like? Do most people avail them? Do most of them result in some publications?


Thank you for your help

The medical departments are giving medical biosciences students during the first week. Do you know which model this is? Since I was planning to buy my own one. Thank you!

Hi I think you forgot to include a word between "students" and "during"

Hi Sinnoh, I'm currently doing my A-Levels (I take Chemistry Biology and German) and I am very interested in studying Medicine at Imperial College. I have a few questions though!! I am not familiar with university life at all, so its nice that you are willing to answer some questions.

Firstly, how is the application process? I assume that I must admit my personal statement, are there any tips for writing it? Anything in particular that the uni are looking for? Would be very helpful!!

Secondly, I am slightly curious about living in the first year dorms. As I don't live in London - I am nervous about having to share living space, kitchen ect... with others. Do you know how many people share a kitchen in the dorms? Or if you can have the option to have a room with your own fridge or something to privately accommodate you? After first year, living in London? Do students move into a shared private flat together or do you move into the Uni's accomodation, I have read about Evelyn Gardens? Would you recommend this, or be able to tell me a bit more about it, how many people per apartment...ect?

Finally (sorry for all these questions) on the Uni's webpage it states that for medicine the entry A-Level grades are AAA, if I got AAB for example does this mean I wouldn't get in? Or are they flexible depending on the student?Thanks so much for answering my questions it really helps as I'm unsure of the whole experience!!

OMG I dont know how I missed that hahaha. I was talking about the iPad. Do you know which model this is? Thank you!

1) Some lecturers are very good, some not. You do sometimes hear horror stories about lecturers (not at any particular uni) who just read off powerpoint slides and add nothing to them. So far that has not been the case. Academic tutorials are once every two weeks where you're in small groups with a lecturer, I find them very useful for getting to understand bits on the course that you're struggling on - if only we had them more often!
Labs seem to run smoothly enough, you've almost always got time to finish and take breaks. There's an introductory lab cycle where you learn how to make a proper lab book and get used to the much longer experiments you'll be doing. At A-level we might do the whole practical in a single 50-minute lesson, here the lab sessions are 4 hours at a time.

2) To reduce costs, cook for yourself as much as possible and try not to go to the pub too often if you do drink because it's especially expensive in London. I'm not the most frugal person and excluding accommodation I probably go through about £100 a week normally. I could cut that down quite a bit if I brought my own lunch into uni, prepared my meals in advance and drank a bit less. If you buy lunch at university it's usually somewhere around £5 depending on where you go.
Not sure about weekly costs for private accommodation afterwards, though - I live in London so I'll be staying home next year and commuting. People can and do find friends to share with, and it will be cheaper if you do share.

3) Entirely depends on whether you want to do a master's elsewhere. I'm only in 1st year so I have no opinion on the matter. You can switch from the BSc to the MSci course and vice versa up until I think the second term of third year, subject to conditions.

4) I don't think that many people do take part in UROPs as a proportion of the year - many people won't be in the country (but you can apply for summer accommodation at Woodward) and others might have internships happening. I would have potentially had one lined up for the summer but I think coronavirus has completely ****ed up that plan.
Usually with UROPs you have to actively go and ask a staff member if they're running any - only a few of them get actually advertised to the year and they'll probably be more oversubscribed as a result. It'll also depend on who you're with.

I'm afraid I don't know much about the application process for medicine; it is very different to that of physics and for me the personal statement wasn't that important, but I know that's not so much the case for medicine. Probably the golden rule is that you can show your motivation for wanting to study it and show that you know what you're getting into.

First year halls - look forward to it! The number of people per kitchen will depend on which halls you're in. In Woodward it was 6 to 8 people per kitchen, in Southside and Eastside there are more people to a kitchen, but the kitchens are bigger over there too. I had enough storage space and got on pretty well with my flatmates.
You can't keep a fridge in your own room, in fact you can't keep any small kitchen appliances in your room at all. There are also no studio flats available in Imperial-owned halls so you will be sharing a kitchen. Try to use it as an opportunity to socialise, remember it'll be everyone else's first time too.
I don't know anyone who went to Evelyn Gardens, but my recommendation is that you do try to find friends to share with for second year onwards. There will be guidance given by the university on finding accommodation afterwards.

And finally yeah AAA is definitely their minimum. I think their usual offer that they give is actually A*AA, and Imperial being Imperial, and medicine being medicine, it's unlikely that you could still get in if you missed your offer barring exceptional mitigating circumstances.

Ah thank you so much!! Also just had a look at the different halls of residence which look really nice! Can you choose which one you go in, or does the uni put you together with people of the same kind of interest or course. Would be interesting also to know if these particular people in your dorm are the only friends you initially make, or are there any social events where students socialize more.. Obviously I am aware that I will meet people generally in the uni, from my classes or going to the gym....ect

Do you know when the new White City campus is being opened?

What do you think about the campus? Tbh I'm deciding between Nottingham and Imperial and one of the things that puts me off Imperial is the campus. Also is the social life good there?