• Question: during your application process for imperial college london what kind of supper-curricular things did you do to get into the uni?

    Asked by anon-257478 to Jessica, Tiffany on 19 Jun 2020.
    • Photo: Tiffany Chan

      Tiffany Chan answered on 19 Jun 2020:

      Hi! Choice of extracurriculars will depend a little bit on which subject you’re planning on applying for (e.g. for medicine, you will obviously want to have gotten in some medical work experience if possible). I studied Chemistry at Imperial, and I don’t think extracurriculars matter *too much* (as they know it’s really difficult for anyone to get experience in a lab). I mainly did piano as an extracurricular whilst I was at school – nothing that exciting/unusual!

Comments

  • Photo: Sabrina

    Sabrina commented on :

    Hey Abeera!
    The main thing Imperial and pretty much all other universities is not so much WHAT you did but what you got out of it 🙂 I did a few bits of work experience for my degree in Biochemistry, some completely irrelevant (worked in an optician), some related (worked in a couple of labs). They just want to see you’re interested enough to have read and done things that have allowed you to reflect on the subject you’re applying for, even if it’s in a really abstract way! What subject are you applying for? Perhaps we can suggest some easy things for you to check out during the lockdown to boost your application 😀
    Other thing to mention is Imperial is a pretty unique university experience. Some subjects don’t have a great social scene and the teaching for some subjects has been criticised. This is the trade off we Imperialites make for the privilege of repping Imperial on our CVs and working at the cutting edge of science. Make sure you’re ready for that! If you can, get in touch with someone who did your subject and have a little chat with them about their personal statement and their uni experience.

  • Photo: Tiffany

    Tiffany commented on :

    I disagree a bit with what Sabrina said re. the social aspects – no matter which university you go to, there will always be people that are more sociable and those that are less. There are plenty of social people at Imperial, you just have to find people that you vibe with! 🙂 (I personally had a great time)
    I agree with the advice to talk to as many current undergraduates as possible though. They’ll be able to give you a honest insight into what it’s like to study that particular subject at that particular university. Good luck! Feel free to message again if you have any further questions.