Materials Science and Engineering MEng Oxford vs Imperial vs Loughborough 2025 entry

Hi,
I currently have an offer from St Anne's College at Oxford (A*AA), Imperial (AAA) and Loughborough (AAA) for Materials Science and Engineering (MEng). I am having a really hard time choosing what should be my firm between the three.
I know that many people would probably choose Oxford due to its prestige and name but I was wondering how much of a difference it actually makes career wise (i.e. is it significantly easier to get a good job if you have Oxford in your CV?) When I visited Oxford on the open day I felt like Oxford's materials science department looked really old so I'm not sure how great the facilities are and how great of an experience it would be to study materials science there. Is the learning purely theory based or is there an equal practical/engineering component involving projects and group work? Also how friendly are the lecturers - are they willing to explain things if you don't understand and do they genuinely want to help you out or do they more so just expect you to get on with it and expect you to understand things the first time?
I really like the course at Imperial as it seems more hands on and seems to involve a lot of the engineering aspect. I know that in the first year everyone works on a big group project and there are lots of smaller projects throughout the course. I also like that you can specialise in biomaterials and nuclear engineering as this is something I would be interested in. The department seems quite big and experienced and the facilities also seem quite great. However, I'm not sure how much of a social life there is and how easy it is to make friends.
For Loughborough, I really liked the STEM lab that they have there and everyone seemed so friendly. The campus is beautiful and I feel like people will socialise and try new things as the uni is so big on sports (not really a sporty person myself but I think it would be good to try something new). I don't know a lot about their materials department specifically but their engineering department in general seems really good. They also offer the option of a year in industry (something which oxford doesn't, Imperial allows you to do a year in industry but I'm not sure if there is much support with it).
Sorry for the super long essay but I would really appreciate any advice that anyone could give to me on this. Thank you!!

Hi,
I currently have an offer from St Anne's College at Oxford (A*AA), Imperial (AAA) and Loughborough (AAA) for Materials Science and Engineering (MEng). I am having a really hard time choosing what should be my firm between the three.
I know that many people would probably choose Oxford due to its prestige and name but I was wondering how much of a difference it actually makes career wise (i.e. is it significantly easier to get a good job if you have Oxford in your CV?) When I visited Oxford on the open day I felt like Oxford's materials science department looked really old so I'm not sure how great the facilities are and how great of an experience it would be to study materials science there. Is the learning purely theory based or is there an equal practical/engineering component involving projects and group work? Also how friendly are the lecturers - are they willing to explain things if you don't understand and do they genuinely want to help you out or do they more so just expect you to get on with it and expect you to understand things the first time?
I really like the course at Imperial as it seems more hands on and seems to involve a lot of the engineering aspect. I know that in the first year everyone works on a big group project and there are lots of smaller projects throughout the course. I also like that you can specialise in biomaterials and nuclear engineering as this is something I would be interested in. The department seems quite big and experienced and the facilities also seem quite great. However, I'm not sure how much of a social life there is and how easy it is to make friends.
For Loughborough, I really liked the STEM lab that they have there and everyone seemed so friendly. The campus is beautiful and I feel like people will socialise and try new things as the uni is so big on sports (not really a sporty person myself but I think it would be good to try something new). I don't know a lot about their materials department specifically but their engineering department in general seems really good. They also offer the option of a year in industry (something which oxford doesn't, Imperial allows you to do a year in industry but I'm not sure if there is much support with it).
Sorry for the super long essay but I would really appreciate any advice that anyone could give to me on this. Thank you!!

If your concerned about social life at imperial, how did you find the interview day? We got given lunch and during the group task I found it really easy to speak to people, an I'm usually very bad at that. If people are as friendly as that during my time at imperial I think I'll have a good time. Also a reason for the group task on the interview day was to see if people were social and willing to listen and contribute to a group. Also I know that imperial will work me hard, probably just as much as Oxford (perhaps more at Oxford). But that was just my experience at the interview day. Did you find the department an inviting place?

Hi did you get an interview for this course as well? Please could you answer these questions if you dont mind, please could you share your alevels, predicted grades, super-curriculars you have completed and have you mentioned your love and interest in materials, or in engineering? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions!

Predicted A*A*A* in chemistry, physics and maths. Did work experience at a satellite company in the materials control department and won an essay competition. I think the book stuff matters got me interested (like everyone that does materials science) . Also just found all the interesting videos I was watching on YouTube could be linked to materials science.

Thank you so much! So you just talked about your interest in materials , nothing related to engineering?

Hi,
I currently have an offer from St Anne's College at Oxford (A*AA), Imperial (AAA) and Loughborough (AAA) for Materials Science and Engineering (MEng). I am having a really hard time choosing what should be my firm between the three.
I know that many people would probably choose Oxford due to its prestige and name but I was wondering how much of a difference it actually makes career wise (i.e. is it significantly easier to get a good job if you have Oxford in your CV?) When I visited Oxford on the open day I felt like Oxford's materials science department looked really old so I'm not sure how great the facilities are and how great of an experience it would be to study materials science there. Is the learning purely theory based or is there an equal practical/engineering component involving projects and group work? Also how friendly are the lecturers - are they willing to explain things if you don't understand and do they genuinely want to help you out or do they more so just expect you to get on with it and expect you to understand things the first time?
I really like the course at Imperial as it seems more hands on and seems to involve a lot of the engineering aspect. I know that in the first year everyone works on a big group project and there are lots of smaller projects throughout the course. I also like that you can specialise in biomaterials and nuclear engineering as this is something I would be interested in. The department seems quite big and experienced and the facilities also seem quite great. However, I'm not sure how much of a social life there is and how easy it is to make friends.
For Loughborough, I really liked the STEM lab that they have there and everyone seemed so friendly. The campus is beautiful and I feel like people will socialise and try new things as the uni is so big on sports (not really a sporty person myself but I think it would be good to try something new). I don't know a lot about their materials department specifically but their engineering department in general seems really good. They also offer the option of a year in industry (something which oxford doesn't, Imperial allows you to do a year in industry but I'm not sure if there is much support with it).
Sorry for the super long essay but I would really appreciate any advice that anyone could give to me on this. Thank you!!

Not really, except from the engineering of bikes. Yeah, a bit random. Are you looking to studdy materials science?

yes, however i am going to be applying for engineering courses as well, so i am unsure how to link materilas and engineering in my personal statement... Any advice?

Hello,
I am currently a 2nd year materials student at Loughborough and I am genuinely so happy with where i ended up. The department is somewhat small (around 40-50 in my year), but I like that. I had no issue securing a good placement with a 2:1 from first year. Employers really value that experience, and there are many good companies looking for materials specifically.
I think the culture at Loughborough is unique, the lack of city makes it feel like a closer community, the campus is beautiful and theres lots of nice walks around the town. I also am not particularly sporty, but you really dont have to be. There is opportunity to be active non competitively or not at all.
Oxford and imperial I imagine are more prestigious titles, so my advice would be to weigh up the importance of your happiness/comfort vs university name. For me, london would be too much and I imagine oxford comes with its own unique level of pressure.
Loughborough is a really good uni, but alot of (older) people aren't aware of how high it actually ranks compared to older unis.
If you have any questions feel free to reply <3

Hi,
I currently have an offer from St Anne's College at Oxford (A*AA), Imperial (AAA) and Loughborough (AAA) for Materials Science and Engineering (MEng). I am having a really hard time choosing what should be my firm between the three.
I know that many people would probably choose Oxford due to its prestige and name but I was wondering how much of a difference it actually makes career wise (i.e. is it significantly easier to get a good job if you have Oxford in your CV?) When I visited Oxford on the open day I felt like Oxford's materials science department looked really old so I'm not sure how great the facilities are and how great of an experience it would be to study materials science there. Is the learning purely theory based or is there an equal practical/engineering component involving projects and group work? Also how friendly are the lecturers - are they willing to explain things if you don't understand and do they genuinely want to help you out or do they more so just expect you to get on with it and expect you to understand things the first time?
I really like the course at Imperial as it seems more hands on and seems to involve a lot of the engineering aspect. I know that in the first year everyone works on a big group project and there are lots of smaller projects throughout the course. I also like that you can specialise in biomaterials and nuclear engineering as this is something I would be interested in. The department seems quite big and experienced and the facilities also seem quite great. However, I'm not sure how much of a social life there is and how easy it is to make friends.
For Loughborough, I really liked the STEM lab that they have there and everyone seemed so friendly. The campus is beautiful and I feel like people will socialise and try new things as the uni is so big on sports (not really a sporty person myself but I think it would be good to try something new). I don't know a lot about their materials department specifically but their engineering department in general seems really good. They also offer the option of a year in industry (something which oxford doesn't, Imperial allows you to do a year in industry but I'm not sure if there is much support with it).
Sorry for the super long essay but I would really appreciate any advice that anyone could give to me on this. Thank you!!

If your concerned about social life at imperial, how did you find the interview day? We got given lunch and during the group task I found it really easy to speak to people, an I'm usually very bad at that. If people are as friendly as that during my time at imperial I think I'll have a good time. Also a reason for the group task on the interview day was to see if people were social and willing to listen and contribute to a group. Also I know that imperial will work me hard, probably just as much as Oxford (perhaps more at Oxford). But that was just my experience at the interview day. Did you find the department an inviting place?

Hello,
I am currently a 2nd year materials student at Loughborough and I am genuinely so happy with where i ended up. The department is somewhat small (around 40-50 in my year), but I like that. I had no issue securing a good placement with a 2:1 from first year. Employers really value that experience, and there are many good companies looking for materials specifically.
I think the culture at Loughborough is unique, the lack of city makes it feel like a closer community, the campus is beautiful and theres lots of nice walks around the town. I also am not particularly sporty, but you really dont have to be. There is opportunity to be active non competitively or not at all.
Oxford and imperial I imagine are more prestigious titles, so my advice would be to weigh up the importance of your happiness/comfort vs university name. For me, london would be too much and I imagine oxford comes with its own unique level of pressure.
Loughborough is a really good uni, but alot of (older) people aren't aware of how high it actually ranks compared to older unis.
If you have any questions feel free to reply <3

Loughborough will get you the balance between theory and hands-on experience you need to get a job.
The year in indsutry gets you an additional qualification too.

Would the year in industry be more valued by employers than having a degree from imperial/oxford. This is what I'm struggling with because I feel Loughborough will provide me with lots of other skills that maybe oxford or imperial will be unable to but I am also aware of the prestige and importance of their titles.

Would the year in industry be more valued by employers than having a degree from imperial/oxford. This is what I'm struggling with because I feel Loughborough will provide me with lots of other skills that maybe oxford or imperial will be unable to but I am also aware of the prestige and importance of their titles.

Would the year in industry be more valued by employers than having a degree from imperial/oxford. This is what I'm struggling with because I feel Loughborough will provide me with lots of other skills that maybe oxford or imperial will be unable to but I am also aware of the prestige and importance of their titles.