Imperial for Mech Eng?

[BeneathTheBoughs]

How much of a difference does it make if you've got a degree from Imperial rather than somewhere like Bristol, Birmingham or Loughborough?

ds currently considering which offers to firm/insure. Wondering how much of a difference it would make to his long-term job prospects if you go to Imperial? How much should he be swayed by uk/world rankings and reputation, given they all have excellent reputations and graduate employability?

Employers are queuing up to come and talk to Imperial students. Not sure about the other unis may be the same or may not.

Has he thought about an apprenticeship? Lots of companies/organisations are doing them so no student debt and often a golden ticket to a job within that organisation. My brother is now doing a funded Masters with BAE and has already been guaranteed a job at the end of it.

Imperial has a very strong international reputation, which does no harm if seeking a job with a multi-national.

If the decision is solely about future employment, which obviously it wont be, go for Imperial.

The first thing to recognise is that many Engineering graduates don’t work in engineering at all after graduating. They work in finance, consultancy, city jobs etc. Therefore graduate employment is not just engineering roles.

Imperial is the highest ranking and world renown. However this university will have a very different “feel” to the other three you mention. If he likes London and all that it offers and Imperial, I would choose it. If he actually prefers one of the others and is not keen on London he could be a bit fish out of water for 4 years. If he relishes a diverse intake, a London life and a top course, then for it.

I would put Bristol second. DD’s former boyfriend did their course and spent a year abroad. Fantastic opportunity.

He likes London but, all things being equal, would have a (slight) preference for being somewhere a bit more 'relaxed' where he'd have more time for things other than study. I'm not sure how realistic this idea is though or if he won't later regret it once somewhere smaller and less challenging has lost its newness and shine... and then he realises that he's thrown away a golden opportunity!

My DD studies at Bristol and has a good friend at Imperial (different courses). There is no doubt that the status is unparalleled compared to the others you mention. It is very international and interestingly a high number of the internationals from her friend’s course dropped out after Xmas as they had reapplied to Oxbridge and got places second time round. My DD visited and found a lot of the students there a bit odd. Some wouldn’t talk to her or continued conversations in their own language making her feel very excluded. They were also quite disparaging about Bristol making her feel very inferior. She did not have this experience with other students when visiting friends at Oxbridge.

I won’t repeat my previous posts about Bristol but it has been a hard university for my DD to settle into. The course and Department are great but Bristol now definitely attracts an alternative, party crowd which is not everyone’s scene. If your DC elects for Bristol, I would suggest avoiding Stoke Bishop unless you want the druggy environment and your DC is happy to be a long ride from the main university with no shops or no facilities nearby.

My DS is in his third year at Imperial studying Joint Maths and Computing and I have nothing but praise for the University. The teaching is fantastic of course and the university has a world class reputation but most importantly in my experience they are extremely supportive of their students. My DS has an anxiety disorder and right from the day of his interview they have gone out of their way to help, even when he needed to take a significant amount of time off through mental health issues

Honestly watching. You have popped up with anecdotal info about Bristol again! Most students are totally normal there. DDs ex boyfriend and most engineers are normal students. It’s not a long bus ride to the engineering faculty from Stoke Bishop. The halls there are also near the sports facilities so no doubt all the druggies are playing sport too! The bus ride is 10-15 minutes. Bristol continues to attract great students and has excellent engineering courses. Please, OP, ignore exaggered angst and party stories that are not true because the bigger picture isn’t like this. Many posters DCs have had a good experience of Bristol but, like everywhere else, some don’t.

The days are long for Engineers everywhere and courses must qualify for Engineering Council exemptions so none have less content. Make sure it’s MEng too. That’s important for post grad qualification and faster track.