UCL or Imperial

[TheProudDad]

My daughter got offers from Imperial and UCL to study Biology.
Interested to know if anyone had any experience with these two Unis and can share which would be the best choice.

my preference is Imperial but she seem to prefer UCL. She seem to think Imperial is extremely intense and difficult while UCL is meant to be more chilled. She’s worried the intensity might be too much to keep up with for 3 years. She’s coming from a highly academic school and is currently doing iB which is a lot of work but she have been coping very well, even if that mean she studies 7 days a week.

I am hoping this thread can help with some actual facts to help her make a decision. I know us parents say its the child’s decision but they are still very young and need guidance IMO

Thanks in advance for your help

Hi, OP -

You should be proud. Those are excellent offers.

I am in STEM, not Biology and not in zLondon, and in my field we rank between the two. I did a stint as an admissions tutor a little while back.

From what I know: yes, Imperial is stronger but the primary difference is at research level. Biology research at Imperial is superb, at UCL it is very good to excellent.

This has no impact on the undergraduate experience.

Imperial barely pips UCL on Employability, UCL offers better Student Satisfaction. In the UK wide Complete University Guide, the best of the league tables, Imperial is No 4 and UCL is No 8. Both fabulous and a hair’s breadth between them. The only real difference is research strength and it isn’t a meaningful one for undergraduates.

We see all the time that students do best when they feel a sense of agency. Students who come to my university feeling like losers because Oxbridge rejected them, or like pawns because their parents pushed them towards the discipline, don’t do as well no matter how bright.

Feeling in charge of your destiny, probably for the first time, is an important part of growing up. If I thought IC offered your DD meaningful advantages, I would be framing them in ways that would, I hope, make it sound attractive to her. But in this case I think being excited, and translating that to making the most of her undergraduate career, is your DD’s best chance for success.

Best wishes to you both

I don’t know about either, but I do know the mistake of not letting your child choose where they want to go. Let them lead the discussion, and ultimately choose where they end up.

My DD has just finished her degree in Biological Sciences at Imperial. It was certainly intense. She found the first year a huge transition from A levels and had a wobble around exam time.

She loved the research and did very well in her dissertation in second year and seemed to settle into the work expected.

She is off to Cambridge to do a Masters.

It was a positive experience overall but she certainly worked hard, even revising for exams on Christmas Day.

I agree with PP: if there isn't a meaningful difference in undergraduate course quality between the two universities (and here I defer to poetryandwine's far greater knowledge), then let your daughter choose where she wants to go.

The only caveat I would have is if your daughter is an overseas student and intends to do a Masters degree in another country where the Imperial brand might hold more weight in the admissions process.

She'll be fine at both. Both are excellent unis. Imperial slightly wins out.

Dd is doing masters at imperial in a biological related field and is thriving

My DS went to UCL and loved it. It is a very diverse university with a wide, international intake. I guess it depends on the course, but it is not dweeby. Some medic friends of DS intercolated at Imperial and found it very dweeby. If she is after a social life at uni and wants to mix with a lively, varied crowd, go for UCL.

Maybe have a look at the locations of undergrad accommodation options for both unis? This could make the greatest difference to the overall experience?

@TheProudDad Imperial only has science & engineering courses whereas UCL has a full range. She may therefore end up with a more diverse friendship group at UCL.

DD had same offers but for medicine & chose UCL. DD is all rounder, not just good at science, and wanted more diverse people to interact with than if she was in an especially science-focus Uni.

DD said that Imperial was the snootiest by far at Open Days which was very attractive to her. But she also wanted artists & humanities in the mix of what her Uni would be like.

If she is interested in medical applications of biology, UCL has strong links to the Crick (genetics) and several hospitals and lots of neuroscience research.

but the most important thing is to let her choose.

UCL has the full range of humanities courses and the students who come with that, Imperial does not. They do have some language courses, but not the usual full spectrum. If this is going to have any influence, it might be worth considering.

I know people who attended both UCL and Imperial. And I would say definitely Imperial has greater intensity about it, generally.

London has lots of intercollegiate halls and private halls (eg Unite) used by both UCL and Imperial students where you would be living with students from a mixture of universities and subjects.

Intercollegiate have no imperial.

Private halls. Yes

Imperial has a lot of new undergrad accommodation in East Acton. It’s fine, quite gritty, and definitely not South Ken!

Imperial left the university of London and thus lost access to University of London Intercollegiate Halls

@TheProudDad do look at what bursaries your DD might be eligible for too - Imperials was about 4k a year more than UCLs which made it a no brainer for my DD.

By all means, discuss the relative merits with your DD but the decision is hers and she has to be happy with it.

FWIW, DC1 graduated from Imperial in another science subject in 2024. They applied for 4 jobs and got one of them and has been doing that job since September of that year.

It was very intense at Imperial. They never had any proper time off at Christmas and Easter because they had to work solidly.

i cannot stress enough how challenging some of
the assignments were. There was one in particular that DC1 did with their friend, who at the end of the degree won a national prize for being the best in the subject across all universities in the Uk, and the pair of them struggled for weeks on this project. And DC1 got a 1st so was also an excellent student.

Dc2 is studying Biology at another good university (not UCL) and is also likely to get a 1st and does not have to work anywhere near as hard as DC1.

DC1 went to an ordinary outer London comprehensive. They were used to being the star pupil (DC1 was the only one ever to get 4 Astars at A Level in their school and the only one ever to go to Imperial). They has major imposter syndrome because virtually everyone at Imperial is a genius, many were at very famous schools (DC1 knew students from Eton and Cheltenham Ladies College), and very very many came from international schools and had studied maths (in particular) but also science beyond A-Level standard so DC1 did have some catching up to do!!!

All that said, DC1 was very happy there, has made friends (probably) for life and was very active in
student societies and even became the treasurer of one of them. They also took part in a paid student exchange programme and spent a very enjoyable summer at the University of Toronto working with a research team. Tbey also got many lucrative temporary jobs within the university- often during the summer holidays. Imperial really is a fantastic place. No experience of UCL.

@Davros East Acton gritty? Really? Not when DD lived in a hall there! Boring, poor shops and nothing much in the area - yes. Good transport links but you need to make friends and enjoy London. IC hall is a tower block like the others there so limited space outside.

@dizzydizzydizzy "It was very intense at Imperial. They never had any proper time off at Christmas and Easter because they had to work solidly."

Tbh this is true of a lot of highly competitive courses - there really is no let up between September and May. Not just an Imperial thing.

I may not have found this remarkable, but I do because DC2 is currently at another very good university and does work very hard through Easter and Christmas but nothing like as hard as DC1, even though DC2 is incredibly conscientious and expected to get a 1st . I can’t easily put into words what the difference is but it is big.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner yeah, I think East Acton is gritty compared to South Kensington! I think it’s a fun, diverse area with good transport but might be an eye opener to someone from a country village

DC1 would agree with you. They were in North Acton and had nothing good to say about the area. They lived in Fulham from y2 onwards which was great.

@Davros DD was from a country village. Are you saying we are bumpkins!? Not knowing anything about London? DD made the mistake of wanting a newish hall. However fun was elsewhere! Where the halls are is not remotely fun. Not even close. I would also think IC students are beavering away in their rooms but I can guarantee they aren’t living it up in North Acton.

I'm not disagreeing that Imperial students work extremely hard - I know a lot of international students at Imperial whose parents are surprised at how hard they are required to work. But I also know students at other universities, in particular in Economics, who work insanely hard throughout the year. I think that the September-May workathon without a let up is quite a recent phenomenon.