Category: First Year Funsies

The Limit Does Not Exist!

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

First weekend back after a long first week at Imperial! I’m actually exceptionally lucky to have reading weeks at the moment before my exams at the beginning of Feb so it’s been a reasonably gentle but also quite full on ease back in to uni life. Social life is obviously a really important part of your university experience and I did worry before I came to Imperial that I’d spend my weekends locked in to my room either studying or staring at the wall because I had no friends. Luckily I don’t do either of those (at least not every weekend haha) so this is a post to dispel any myths that you’ve heard about the Imperial social life.

Friends?!

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

The age old question. How does one acquire friends at university? It was definitely what I worried about the most before I came to Imperial and everyone tells you not to worry and that friendships will just happen but THAT IS NOT HELPFUL. That is obviously the last thing you want to hear when you’re already worried about moving to the busiest city in the UK, possibly thousands of miles away from home, to live with strangers, adjust to being totally independent and also, y’know, obtain a decent degree from an internationally renowned university. So here I’m going to do my best to advise you about the friend-making process at university: 1.

‘I Feel Like a Turkey’

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

HAPPY 2014! For many of you, this is going to be a year fraught with stress, revising, the occasional tear and maybe an Imperial interview! I’d really like to be able to offer interview tips but I’m a jammy dodger who didn’t have to interview so I’d suggest checking out a few of the other bloggers, as I know some of them have posted about interview technique. The whole process of applying, interviewing and waiting with baited breath for your offer is stressful, drawn out and time consuming but hang in there – your offers will come, and when you’re preparing to go back to London this time next year after your first Imperial Christmas holiday, you’ll look back on this time and wonder why you were so worried in the first place.

An Imperial FAQ

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

I’M FINALLY AT HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! As absolutely fabulous as it to not have to pay £3 every time I do a wash and experience my mum’s home cooking once more, it’s a bit surreal to sleep in my room and walk around my area again… I know I’ve only been away for ten weeks but it’s almost like everything that came before uni is a bit of a blur… Did I ever really live here?? Anyway, crises aside, I probably won’t have anything exciting to blog about over the festive season (unless you’re interested in biology of organisms and general crying about lab arithmetic) so I thought I would do a fun-filled Imperial Fresher FAQ

Is the Imperial Ratio as bad as people say it is?

Things Which Will Surprise You About Coming to University

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

How tired you will be and how unembarrassed you will become about taking naps in public. I’m talking lectures, the library, computer rooms, and in my building (Sir Alexander Fleming Building or SAF as we affectionately term it) there are lots of grotty looking sofas on the ground floor. If you study biology or medicine I almost guarantee that will you attempt to nap on the SAF sofas before your time at Imperial is out.

How much you will just not care about your appearance. I mean, everyone likes to make an effort for certain events and occasions, but whereas at home I would never go to college without having washed my hair and thought about my outfit, I am pretty happy here to just put on anything and go.

IT’S THE MOST! WONDERFUL TIME! OF THE YEEEAR!

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

You guessed it folks, the festive season is upon us. The massive Christmas lights are up in Westfields, the red cups are back in Starbucks and Oxford street is heaving with tourists. (On a side note, I frequently find myself getting angry with tourists despite the fact that I have literally lived in London for nine weeks so I basically still am one. Is this allowed??)

I like a good list so thus commences the first list of the blog:

Reasons Why London at Christmas is Aces

Christmas lights everywhere. I was in Westfield Shopping Centre in Shepherd’s Bush today and there are some seriously impressive Christmas lights up in there. 

An Intro to Izzie

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

Welcome to my shiny new Imperial College Student Blog!  I guess I’ll start by elaborating on my About Me page.

So HI *waves frantically* I’m Izzie and I’m a first year biology student. So far, this means I spend quite a lot of time pippetting stuff from Universal tubes into test tubes and hacking up  dissecting unusual things like squids. When I’m not in labs, I’m learning about cool stuff such as primate evolution and how everything you learnt about electrons in A Level chemistry was a lie. That’s one of the hardest things about science… the deeper you go, the more you realise that everything you learnt at a previous level does not quite work as you think it does.

Learn more about life at Imperial

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