Blog posts

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.

Catch up!

Mala Mawkin profile

MBBS Medicine

I haven’t blogged all year so I thought I would have a bit of a catch up (that was definitely funnier in my head). The oven in ground floor kitchen has been fixed! Wahey! In other “new year news” that only I probably care about, my last (“Beyoncé-minded”) post got me up to a total of over 2,500 page views. Shout out to my mum for refreshing the page a few thousand times. A great cup of tea is heading your way.

Of course, a lot of those views were probably accidental clicks. Apologies to those of you that have stumbled onto my blog by accident and are a few seconds away from clicking the “x” button on your top right.

Uni Vacations

Jelle profile

BSc Biochemistry

I’m nearing the end of my first ever uni vacation and I thought I’d share a few thoughts. Clearly you prospective applicants are basing your applications on the quality of the uni vacations.

For one thing, they’re ridiculously long and there’s a lot less build-up. I remember “the week before Christmas break” being a massive thing every year in secondary and elementary school–you’d start counting down the month before and fiiiiinally you’d get your break. The whole school cheers as the last bell rings, etc.

And for what? You get a miserable little week off, maybe two if you’re in a fancy, padded private school or indeed anywhere in civilised Europe, but then you’re back on the treadmill.

Survival Guide for Imperial Girls

Mala Mawkin profile

MBBS Medicine

I joke a lot about the ratio here at Imperial. However, this week I caught up with a friend from Imperial who has given me permission to discuss her story in this blog. We will call this girl Amy for the purpose of the article.

Amy told me about how hard she was finding it adjusting to University life. I agreed with her that it had been quite an adjustment for me too and we chatted about what she was finding quite difficult in particular. She was getting quite down due to all the work and little free time she had. But, in particular, she missed having a central girl group that she could rely on for anything.

Imperial Interview Tips

MSCi Physics

For anyone reading these blogs who has or hopes to get an Imperial interview, I thought I’d share my experience. Mine was obviously for Physics, so I’m not sure how relevant it will be to other subjects, but hopefully hearing about someone else’s experience will help to put your mind a little bit at rest!

In the build-up to it, my Imperial interview seemed like it was going to be the worst, most terrifying thing—ever. It was the first interview I was invited to, and though my school had promised me that they would try and find someone to practice with, I was called before they had a chance, so my preparation consisted of stressing and searching the internet for tips.

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?

End of term :D

MSCi Physics

Last week over! It was a pretty busy one- I finally got my essay in, after changing my mind about its ending five hundred times, saw The Hobbit 2, made some mince pies and went to see Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People, which is a science-comedy show. It was actually pretty disappointing- a lot of the acts were a bit terrible, although the ones that were funny were hilarious.

Beautiful mince decoration…

On Thursday we made a house Christmas dinner, with two chickens, stuffing, Yorkshires, gravy, sprouts and everything. It was a great end to the term, and required a lot of team peeling and chopping.

Why Christmas isn’t for a Student Budget…

Mala Mawkin profile

MBBS Medicine

The Christmas holidays are indeed a well needed break for everyone that has been working so hard this term. Coming home has given me the TLC I didn’t realise I had needed and the food my body has craved. However, I have come home absolutely broke.

I have zero money. These last few weeks of Christmas events have officially ruined my bank account. I have spent an excessive amount on Christmas presents for my family and I have splashed out on my “Secret Santa” presents. I guess this is something you would be expecting living in the richest area of London (Thanks Imperial!).

A typical fresher night out at Imperial

Mala Mawkin profile

MBBS Medicine

Sometimes life can get a bit hard…like when you are told that you have to pay £45 for a halls dinner, or when you check the night bus times and see that you have to wait another 17 minutes for one to come in the freezing cold. Life can get especially hard when you have had a bit too much of the happy juice. Getting happy and then suffering certain problems has been quite common here and I thought I would give you all a template of a typical night out at Imperial as a fresher:

Start the evening. Happy juice is flowing in the common room or kitchen.

Learn more about life at Imperial

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