Imperial College London Physics Offer Holders 2021

Yeah I totally agree. My IB conditional offer is insanity (42 out of 45 points). A lot of my friends going to the US have totally relaxed now but I’m stuck continuing to stress

my offer is 3 A*s!!! it’s so stressful because i need an A* in further maths too, which is notoriously hard work and i’m in a class w some other people who are great at it too, so i’ve just got my fingers crossed at this point!:,(

The course starts from the very basics so you don't need to start busting out the maths books before you start to get a first, what I would recommend though is getting comfortable with using Python.

If you are going to be buying textbooks, wait until you start - the lecturers may be able to get you discounts, or you might not have to buy them at all since a few of the big ones are available online for free to students.

is anyone else worried about how high their offer is?! i definitely feel like i can’t relax at all until a level results day

Yeah good luck. I’m worried cause not only would I need 7s in maths, chemistry and physics but I’d also need a 7 in either French or English, which I’m no good at.

Thank you I've noted that down! And what would you suggest is the best way to do so? Would youtube videos be good enough?

Thank you I've noted that down! And what would you suggest is the best way to do so? Would youtube videos be good enough?

WOW! I can see why you guys got offers - amazing work! Congratulations! What do you guys hope to do in the future? Anything in particular you want to research or get involved with or place you want to work?

I guess I'm just trying to figure out why I was rejected (I am a home mature student so perhaps that might have something to do with it) considering that I applied having already gotten my grades for my Advanced Highers (Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry) got all A's plus I've done IB and AP qualifications as well (got the highest possible grades in all of them).

I've done engineering and biotech internships and placements, completed courses online for physics and computer science (including Imperial's own online Mathematics and Further Mathematics courses), read books on pure mathematics and classical physics, and tutored students in Physics and Mathematics (all of which I included in my personal statement and my referee included this in their reference along with additional volunteering and charity projects that I've been involved in).

I've reached out to Imperial for feedback but just continue to get the same generic reply of "We receive many more applications than we have places to offer. As such, the level of competition for places is extremely high. The admissions panel judged that your application wasn’t considered sufficiently competitive to receive an offer of admission on this occasion. We thank you for your application and interest to pursue our programme.".

In comparison to some of those who received offers I can't help but feel as though I'm either as competitive or in some cases more competitive than them and would just like clear justification from Imperial for their choice to not give me an offer.

does anyone know when the offer holders event is going to take place?

does anyone know when the offer holders event is going to take place?

I’ve just received an email from imperial regarding the offer holders day.

Yeah same I just finished booking the date. Still sucks that we didn't get to see the university in person

is anyone else worried about how high their offer is?! i definitely feel like i can’t relax at all until a level results day

Current student for physics if you want to ask anything.

Did you find it really hard to go from doing A-levels to studying at uni? How are their teaching methods.

Initially it's not bad at all - a lot of the content in the first term will be familiar to you if you've done A-level further maths. But the difficulty sneaks up on you, and I found myself pretty unprepared for the first exam in January. It's very tempting to just skip the early problem sheets because you've done it before, but really you need to get in to some good habits early on.

Teaching's alright, I think? But independent work still matters the most. The lecturers in the first term are a mixed bag, some are good, some send people to sleep. The pace picks up in the second term.
Seminars are two hours, once a week, with a quarter of the year group (~60 people) at a time. You're in groups of 4 or 5 working through problems.
Academic tutorials are one hour, once every two weeks where you're in a group of no more than 5 with a lecturer just going over whatever you're finding difficult in the course at the moment. They're very useful provided you're up to date on lectures.

Could you recommend any revision books/materials for first year or in general? It would mean a great deal!