I chose this university for the research facilities, reputation, and postgraduate success. In addition, I love London and was excited to be able to continue living there after growing up.
Course Curriculum :
I believe that the curriculum at Imperial for Medical Biosciences is one of the most updated in the world. We are taught by highly successful professors who constantly make the effort to include their own research into the teaching. We have the opportunity to undertake a placement in Year 3 and we have options of either a Lab-Based Project (20 weeks), a Literature-Based Project (14 weeks), or a Work-Based Placement (14 weeks). The course team provided us with over 100 choices, of which we had to rank our top 15 and were assigned a placement at the end of Year 2. In addition, in Year 1 and Year 2 we had laboratory projects which ran throughout the year which allowed us to develop skills such as Western Blotting, Flow Cytometry, CRISPR gene editing, and Tissue Culture. The skills will be extremely important when applying for future internships or jobs that require wet lab skills.
Exams :
For my UCAS application I had to submit a personal statement (with a 'word' limit is 47 lines of text or 4000 characters). This included previous experience, key skills, books, and articles I had read, and my leading reasons for studying the chosen course. Aside from the statement, I had to submit my previous grades, university choices, and a reference written by a member of staff at my school. I was not asked for my CV or any other standardized test scores. I did not have to participate in an interview for Imperial College London or any of the universities that I applied to. I believe for Biomedical Sciences in the UK it is unlikely that you will be asked to complete an interview, aside from at Oxford. From speaking to other students at Imperial in different courses, I have been told that confidence is the most impressive factor in an interview, as well as preparation and passion for the subject of interest.
Placement :
Although I have not yet graduated or taken part in any placement opportunities, I am aware that Imperial provides a lot of support which I have heard from mentors and friends in older years. There are frequent job fairs and the careers service is always on hand to provide assistance and guidance with applications and resumes. One thing that stood out to me was that you are able to send a copy of your resume to the careers service and receive personalized feedback as well as arrange appointments to speak with advisors. In addition, there are recurring online sessions to help with LinkedIn profiles, CVs, and internship opportunities.
Internship :
I have not been successful with an internship application thus far however I have submitted several applications online.
Events :
The facilities on campus are amazing, there are several cafes (at least one in each department's building) and also some central ones. The library has five floors, each for separate studying situations (silent, quiet, group) and there are plenty of rooms for meetings to work on assignments. There are plenty of printing services and textbooks to take out for help with your studies. In addition to this, there are plenty of clubs and societies to take part in, be it sports, music, food or charities. There is WiFi everywhere on campus and an ICT support area on the ground floor of the library. We have our own gym and sports center, called Ethos which is on campus and is open until 10 pm. Many societies meet in Ethos for training.
Fees :
9250 per year.
Scholarship :
I have not received any scholarship.
Faculty :
The staff for Medical Biosciences is willing to given extra support wherever possible, whether it be you need assistance understanding a specific concept or advice on careers and applications. The admin team especially was extremely approachable and in most cases were quick to respond to queries and issues from various students. I believe Dr. Rebecca Salter was an incredible welfare tutor and Dr. Laura Collopy was an excellent professor for both the lab and genetics modules.
Hostel :
I lived in accommodation halls in Year 1, however, these were not on campus. I lived in a building called Xenia which was located in Waterloo and I paid 210 a week for a large ensuite room. There are several other accommodations located across London, for example in North Acton (cheapest) and Paddington and on-campus in South Kensington (most expensive).
