Cancer Sci vs biochemistry

Hi,
I'm currently in Yr 12 and exploring degree options and I have managed to narrow it down! I wanted to ask from others personal experience what they would do in this situation?
I'm currently stuck in picking between the 2 I'm aware I still have half a year to go but I would like to be prepared then make an uninformed choice.
The ultimate decider is if later I'm still interested in cancer and this post I guess? I'm leaning to different modules from different unis who offer these courses but I'm afraid that if won't line up well in my personal statement. If I do a mix of degrees. Additionally my worst fear is specialising and regretting it because it's too specific and I would like to explore something else or biochemistry that I still find rather broad in some aspects.
E.g ICL biochem I like but for University of Nottingham I prefer their cancer sci over their biochem
Any help is appreciated thank you!

Imperial is much more highly regarded academically than Nottingham, even though Nottingham is an excellent Russell Group university with outstanding campuses. Biochemistry and Cancer Science are rather different courses. The latter is much more molecular biology and genetics based, whereas Biochemistry is exactly what it suggests it is, the chemistry of living cells. Have a look at some degree level Biochemistry text books, as well as Molecular Cell Biology ones. If you want to go down the pharmaceutical job route later on, then Biochemistry is the way to go. If you want to go into university research via a PhD, then Cancer Science is perhaps the better option. Just remember that people in academia will pigeon hole you as a Cancer Sciences student when you come to apply for PhD studentships, and they are highly competitive to get. But you may not want to study for a PhD, and plenty of students only study upto MSc or MRes level before going out to work for a few years at least.
Study at Imperial is going to be more intense and serious right from the off, whereas Nottingham will be more relaxed until you get to the third year. If you want to party and have fun for two of the three years of BSc study, Nottingham is the right choice. If you are looking to be challenged with a massive and demanding workload from the off, Imperial will offer you that. Just don't expect too much fun at Imperial.
Imperial strikes me as the place to be if you are doing an MSc / MRes or PhD. At BSc level, large campus universities like Nottingham offer a much more rounded university experience.

Thank you very much for the comparison! I am quite aware of the differences between the 2 unis. I will do some more wider reading like you suggested to see if the shoe fits. I'm currently leaning towards research route but I'm remaining quite open and I would like to get atleast a masters degree😊

When you said you were well aware of the differences between the two unis, how did you go about learning this? YouTube is a decent source of knowledge, but nothing beats visiting both universities when they are full of students to get a vibe for what is to come. Seeing what is there may be more useful than just reading extensively about them.

The student culture at Nottingham couldn't be more different than at Imperial. At least half of the students at Imperial are international, whereas at Nottingham about 80% of students are from the UK. The students at Imperial are generally much better behaved, and much more studious and geeky, as well as introverted. At Nottingham the opposite is generally true.

One is from students experience themselves - and I have gone to the virtual tours (due to transport reasons) - so yes in person is one of the best but for me personally that is impractical😅

That is still only a tiny bit of experience. A lot of prospective students THINK they know of what to expect at a given uni, based on what they read on TSR, UK league tables, and conversations with friends, teachers and families, as well as going on open days. But nothing really prepares you for what you will experience at unis like Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham etc., where many students are living away from home for the first time (unless they went to boarding school previously), and have money to spend, and having lots of freedom. The student culture at these city universities is so different to that of the prestigious London universities, where most UK students commute from home in and around London.

That's true - I still have some time to think but I'm planning to put 2 London unis out of the 5 to be safe and because I'm not keen on living in London as I don't really like the commuting and the high living cost (which is also in other parts of the UK as well).

My advice is to go for ICL, UCL or KCL if you are quite introverted and studious. At unis outside of London a lot of students will be more extroverted. This is a generalisation, but there is truth to it.

Thanks I was thinking abt ICL and UCL

If you go for Nottingham, my advice is to go self catered flats if you are introverted, and catered if you are extroverted. It will all make sense when you start uni! I was introverted whilst at Nottingham, but l became extroverted over the years since graduating.

Hi,
I'm currently in Yr 12 and exploring degree options and I have managed to narrow it down! I wanted to ask from others personal experience what they would do in this situation?
I'm currently stuck in picking between the 2 I'm aware I still have half a year to go but I would like to be prepared then make an uninformed choice.
The ultimate decider is if later I'm still interested in cancer and this post I guess? I'm leaning to different modules from different unis who offer these courses but I'm afraid that if won't line up well in my personal statement. If I do a mix of degrees. Additionally my worst fear is specialising and regretting it because it's too specific and I would like to explore something else or biochemistry that I still find rather broad in some aspects.
E.g ICL biochem I like but for University of Nottingham I prefer their cancer sci over their biochem
Any help is appreciated thank you!

Hi Trickia,
I know choosing what to study for your undergraduate degree can be a daunting process, but hopefully I can help to ease your mind a little bit by sharing my experiences. When I was doing my A levels I liked biology, but found myself really interested in chemistry in year 13. Therefore, I applied to do Biochemistry at the University of Sheffield. During my biochemistry degree I became increasingly interested in the science behind disease, especially cancer. Therefore, once I graduated I stayed on at Sheffield to do an MSc in Cancer Biology and Therapeutics. So I was able to study both Biochemistry and Cancer Biology during my time at university.
Both the courses and universities you have mentioned are brilliant, my advice would be to list the pros and cons of each. This could include the city, the accommodation and the module choices. Try and attend open days and speak to current students to see if they can share any useful advice. This is especially useful if you are considering different modules!
I wish you all the best with your university journey
I hope this helped,
Sofia (BSc Biochemistry/ MSc Cancer Biology and Therapeutics at Sheffield)

Ohh yes that sounds good thank you so much! Coincidentally I know someone who went to Sheffield and did biochem too. 😊

Sheffield is way nicer than Nottingham as a city, and safer, but Nottingham has far nicer campuses, and is more popular with graduate employers.

Thank you very much for the comparison! I am quite aware of the differences between the 2 unis. I will do some more wider reading like you suggested to see if the shoe fits. I'm currently leaning towards research route but I'm remaining quite open and I would like to get atleast a masters degree😊

Are you aware that large parts of Imperial look ragged and old, whilst Nottingham is beautiful and state of the art?

I really wouldn't make a uni choice based on this tbh

Are you aware that large parts of Imperial look ragged and old, whilst Nottingham is beautiful and state of the art?

You could always focus your PS around course similarities eg genetics and drug design. I would guess, though I don't know, that you could specialise in cancer science after a biochem degree because there is a fair bit of linked material even if in biochem it is more generally focused than in cancer science. It's also worth looking at acceptance rates and how important your PS is to different unis. For example, if Nottingham has really good acceptance rates for cancer science then tailor your PS to ICL a bit more because It's more competitive, whereas Nottingham might not be as bothered as long as you get the grades. I don't actually know how acceptance rates or policies regarding applications are for these unis, but it might be looking into.