Imperial College

Student Lounge International Students
41

<p>I really am not in a postion to comment on UK admissions...hehehe</p>

<p>But, I think u have a real good chance.</p>

42

<p>Regarding doing an MBA in London. Imperial has it's own business school called Tanaka. Not sure if UCL has an MBA program. The london Business School (LBS) which is consideared the best in the UK is also part of the University of London. LSE does not offer an MBA. it does however have an Executive MBA called Trium offeared togheter with NYU stern and Hec Paris. But it is a program for people in mid carres (around 40 something years old). The closest thing to an MBA at LSE is a masters of management. You should also not forget that many (not all) MBAs in the UK/Ireland are ussualy for people who have an undergraduate education in Business you can however do conversion courses that last one year that would allow you to be eligible for a MBA in the UK (This would probably make it the same lenght as a USA MBA - 2 years).</p>

43

<p>Arjun,</p>

<p>I'm very curious - you must have had exceptional academic circumstances to have been accepted at Imperial, being only 16 years old and without having gained your GCE O/A Levels or other higher school certificate. Did Imperial not request you fulfil O/A Level requirements? SAT I/IIs are normally not considered sufficient.</p>

<p>Also just a note, unless you were an EU national with 3 years' residence in the EEC tuition at Imperial for BioEngineering would be 16 350 GBP/year (about $28 000), general engineering is 17 500/year. Living in Central London add another 5-10 000 GBP per year.</p>

44

<p>rums,</p>

<p>Here's my admission letter:

[quote]
Mr. Arjun Prakash
3B Swastika Residency
14-Cross Indiranagar 2 Stg
BANGALORE560038
INDIA</p>

<p>10th May 2006</p>

<p>Dear Mr. Prakash</p>

<p>Congratulations on your offer of a place at Imperial College London, details of which can be accessed via UCAS Track. </p>

<p>You will receive your formal offer from UCAS and should read it carefully, paying particular attention to any conditions which you must fulfil in order to take up a place. All conditions must be fulfilled by 31 August 2006.</p>

<p>Please note: If you are offered a place on more than one course at Imperial College, you will receive this communication only once.</p>

<p>If you have applied for entry in October 2007, please be aware that the following information will be updated next year.</p>

<p>Tuition Fees
If you have been classified as a 'home' or 'EU' student your tuition fees will be £3,000 this year (to increase annually in line with inflation). If you have been classified as an overseas student then the cost of your degree will depend on the course you are taking. A full list of overseas tuition fees can be found on the Student Finance website <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/sfo%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.imperial.ac.uk/sfo&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Living Expenses
Living expenses will vary according to the individual. However, if you live away from home the main cost will be your accommodation. Halls of Residence fees range from £65 to £145 per week. All Hall fees include utilities and some include breakfast and an evening meal. If you choose to live in private accommodation you should allow up to £10 per week for utility bills and up to £30 for food in addition to your rent. You will also need to allow sufficient funds for entertainment and leisure, travel and trips to and from your parental home. We estimate that books and equipment costs will be between £250 and £400 a year, depending on your course.</p>

<p>Grants and Loans
For further information on financial support available from the government for home students, please go to the Student Support page of the DfES website <a href="http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/students%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/students&lt;/a>. If you are an EU student please go the EU Student Support page <a href="http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/eustudents%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/eustudents&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Study Support Bursaries
Students classified as 'home' may be entitled to a Study Support Bursary from Imperial College. If you receive an HE Maintenance Grant from your Local Education Authority (LEA) you will be eligible for a Study Support Bursary. If your LEA awards you the maximum £2,700 Grant, you will qualify for a £2,700 Bursary. If you receive a smaller grant you will still be eligible for a Bursary, but at a lower value.</p>

<p>There will also be an A-Level top up available to students who receive a Study Support Bursary. If you receive the maximum HE Maintenance Grant, gain three 'A' grades at A-Level and firmly accept an offer of a place by the UCAS deadline in May you will see your Bursary rise from £2,700 to £4,000 a year. If you are in receipt of a partial HE Maintenance Grant and gain 3 grades 'A' at A-Level then you will be eligible for an additional £200 on top of your Bursary.</p>

<p>If you wish to apply for a Study Support Bursary please complete an application form available at <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bursaries%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.imperial.ac.uk/bursaries&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Further details regarding the Study Support Bursary, including information on how students from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will qualify, can also be found at <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bursaries%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.imperial.ac.uk/bursaries&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Fee classification
If you have been classified as an overseas student but can provide material evidence to show that this classification is incorrect, you have the right of appeal. Please see our website www3.imperial.ac.uk/registry/admission/classifyingstudents for guidance on fee classification and details of the appeals procedure.</p>

<p>If you decide to accept our offer, either firmly or as an insurance, you will receive further information from us. In the meantime, if you wish to find out more about the College, please access our website at <a href="http://www.imperial.ac.uk%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.imperial.ac.uk&lt;/a>. If you have any general enquiries, you can access our Ask a Question service at www3.imperial.ac.uk/registry/askaquestion. </p>

<p>If you have any specific enquiries about your application, or need to change your address or other contact details, you should get in touch with the relevant Admissions Team directly. Please include your application number 060655639 and details of the course for which you have applied in any communication which you send to us.</p>

<p>Yours sincerely</p>

<p>Ruth Ellis
Assistant Registrar (Undergraduate Admissions)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yeah...I was bloody surprised myself as everyone had told me that CBSE students (especially 16yr olds) have no chance.
And, I just realised that I have to pay more.</p>

<p>Any suggestions on Cornell vs IC?
(I think i'll be mostly goping to Cornell tho)</p>

45

<p>that my friend is a sexy ass letter!! I turned in my SIR for Cornell myself for CAS but if I get that I will be in London in October of 06</p>

46

<p>pardon me, but whats SIR?</p>

<p>so, KING IS HERE, ur advising me to choose IC over Cornell?</p>

47

<p>SIR is when u pay ur bill to attend a college and I wasn't advising anyone I was just telling my side.</p>

48

<p>


</a></p>

<p>3000 pounds is for UK/EU students.</p>

49

<p>Hey Arjun,</p>

<p>I'm quite confused here, you said that you'll be only paying GBP3k per year at Imperial but will pay significantly more at Cambridge. Why is it so? If you're a UK/EU national, the universties in Britain will charge you a flat rate of GBP3k starting from this fall.</p>

<p>I take that you're an Indian national, as such, international rates apply to you. If I am not mistaken, it would be GBP16k+ for bioengineering for 06/07. Living cost for an international is about GBP8-9k for one academic year.</p>

<p>If I am correct, Cornell, Cambridge and Imperial will cost roughly the same, with Imperial a few thousand pounds more.</p>

50

<p>Yes elmy. I realised that just the day-before. I assumed I would have to pay just 3K initially.
Yes...So, all the 3 cost the same.</p>

51

<p>So where are you heading to?</p>

52

<p>Arjun, if I were you Cambridge would be my first choice, without a shadow of a doubt. Plus you said that you got an offer from Caius which is arguably one of the best colleges in Cambridge! The quality of the undergrad education at Cambridge should be valued above that of Cornell and Imperial...but then its up to you...what's your conditional offer to Cambridge anyway?</p>

53

<p>Saying that the undergraduate education at Cambridge is valued above to that of Cornell's and Imperial's is a baseless and an unsubstantiated claim. </p>

<p>Cambridge might be better in terms of rankings(THES), but it doesn't imply in any way that universities in the same league as Cambridge, who appeared below Cambridge in the table are inferior. I believe that a good and sound undergraduate education can still be obtained at both Cornell and Imperial. Hence, I would only go as far as to say that education at these institutions are comparable to each other and excellent in their own ways.</p>

54

<p>Which college in the US offers tutorial style education like Cambridge...? The class sizes at Cambridge are also much smaller than those at Cornell, which has a considerably larger student population...that is an important factor. Basing college decisions on published rankings is dim. If you would survey the uni applications of Imperial students, the vast majority would have oxbridge on their list, no question.</p>

55

<p>All universities in fact do offer tutorials to students, the only difference over the Atlantic is that the tutors are usually postgrad students or research assistant or whatnot.</p>

<p>Cambridge and Cornell have roughly the same number of undergraduate population. Imperial is the lowest among the three. (Source: wikipedia)
Not really, lectures in Cambridge is a university affair, Which means, students who take the same subject will attend the same lecture. Only the tutorials are 1:1 or at most 1:3. Tutorials are times for students to clear their doubts on a subject matter, times for students to exchange ideas with the tutor, it's not so much of a 'class' where a direct imparting of knowledge occurs, it's more like a discussion, an intellectual exchange session. So it's wrong to say class sizes at Cornell is bigger than Cambridge. </p>

<p>Yes, we know that. But what has it got to do with your claim that undergraduate education at Cambridge is valued above Cornell and Imperial?</p>

56

<p>If I had that choice, I would pick Cambridge. For someone who seems so sure of his major, there is no other better option than the UK. I live in London and though I recommend Imperial as a great college, there is no dispute about Cambridge as a more international and academically superior university.</p>

<p>1:1 or 1:3 tutorial is one of the greatest strengths of an oxbridge education; ask any students. Many Ivy students wish they had such a system. I really don't see how u can play that down elmy</p>

57

<p>Thanks for those views. Really appreciate it. :D</p>

<p>Well, I'm choosing which university i'm going to attend based on its departmental strengh, not reputation. And, I have a feeling Cornell and IC's Engineering departments are stronger than Cambridge's.
I also plan to do more than just studying at college. I want some research experience and activities like RoboCup and SAE, which among the 3, Cornell would provide me the best.
In terms of plain academics, after checking out the course contents, I found I liked ICs the most.
But, UK education doesn't offer me the flexibility Cornell would offer.</p>

<p>So, its pretty much IC vs Cornell (tho i'm leaning towards Cornell)</p>

58

<p>Does any one know if the tutorial system takes palce in Postgraduate programs at Cambridge? In my case a MPhil.</p>

59

<p>I disagree, saying that one university is academically superior than the other is a misleading statement.</p>

<p>Without a doubt, Cambridge is one of the best universities in the world. However, assigning numbers to rank universities in the same league is something unreliable. Number 1 is always better than number 2 although in the real world, number 1 has standards which are comparable to number 2. I favour groupings rather than individual rankings.</p>

<p>Contrary to what you have claimed, LSE has a more international atmosphere than any other British university.</p>

<p>The tutorial system isn't exclusively an Oxbridge thing anymore,it was in the past but not now. Many universities have that amount of resources to conduct such small-group tutorials. Imperial for one has a maximum of 1:4 and that was in place since the 60s. Check out LACs in the US, if I am not mistaken, The class of 2010 at Swarthmore is just 270 strong and that gives room for personal attention.</p>

60

<p>hey...i go to imperial and am currently studying chemical engineering. Every department at imperial is ranked among the best in the uk, it is a specialised university so it is able to do this easier than other universities. In my department, EVERY WEEK, there is an engineering firm or bank giving a lecture, trying to recruit imperial graduates or even just interns for the summer (this is common in each department). You have an advantage over graduates from other uk universities, im not sure about US uni's. In my opinion imperial is alot of work and not much play. Life at other universities would be more laid back and i believe i would be round more 'normal' ppl (alot of nerds at ic). The male:female ( approx 67:33, i think ) ratio is also a problem unless you are a medic. I would say cornell seems to be the best choice in terms of cost, as london has an extremly high cost of living. And from what my friends have told me about cornell, it would be my choice.</p>