Choosing between imperial college and Oxford for mech engineering...

engstrom0304 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:18

Hey guys,

I have a scholarship for £1000 per year to imperial college london for mechanical engineering and have an interview at Oxford for "engineering science / general engineering" on Friday.

Obviously there is a good chance ill never have to choose if I don't get into oxford, but I am really struggling to choose between these universities.

What do people think? Are the imperial employment prospects much lower in non related fields? This is with the possibility of going into management etc later in life.

Edit - A poll could be useful for this

Terk · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:20

Ouch, tough one, personally id rather go Oxford, but that's just for a status and to compete with my brother who went Cambridge

, curious what did you get in AS as im doing it atm and what subjects? thanks

OpenToSuggestions · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:21

Afaik Cambridge is the University to go to if you are applying to 'Oxbridge' so I have no idea why you are looking at Oxford for engineering.
Imperial College is right up there at the top of the tables, but prepare to get shafted for room rent - It is so expensive in fact that it destroys your £1000 scholarship several times over.
Personally I would go to Imperial. You will have a lot of debt when you come out the other side either way though.

Or go to another good engineering University, some examples being:
- Sheffield
- Nottingham
- Loughborough
- Bristol
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Southampton
- Edinburgh
If you are considering Oxford then at least make sure you go to a top rate University. You need to make sure you get the best education available for your £50,000!
I am an engineer by the way. A real one

.

trojan698 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:21

IMPERIAL. They're the best in the UK for Mech Eng. And any engineering firm will know that already.

£1000 a year, done. Bite their hand off.

Edit - I'm a mech eng graduate.

[FnG]magnolia · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:24

OpenToSuggestions said:
I am an engineer by the way. A real one .

Three posts in. A new record perhaps.

Strife212 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:24

To be fair it's fairly relevant here

OpenToSuggestions · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:25

[FnG]magnolia;23345306 said:
Three posts in. A new record perhaps.

Who else is better to advise than an engineer who graduated in 2011? I have a brother who applied to 'Oxbridge' too for Chemical Engineering.

Kenai · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:28

I'd take Imperial of the two, personally. Very good rep for Mech Eng.

As said, for Engineering, Cambridge is the preferable choice of the Oxbridge scene, though obviously you're not exactly going to depart Oxford with a poor degree by any stretch of the imagination.

engstrom0304 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:29

Terk said:
Ouch, tough one, personally id rather go Oxford, but that's just for a status and to compete with my brother who went Cambridge , curious what did you get in AS as im doing it atm and what subjects? thanks

I got 4 A's in maths, physics, DT and music.

Am now taking A2's in Maths, Physics, DT and AS further maths (FP1, S1, M3, plus FP2)

Predicted 3 A* and an A in AS further maths (as no A* at AS level)

OpenToSuggestions said:
Afaik Cambridge is the University to go to if you are applying to 'Oxbridge' so I have no idea why you are looking at Oxford for engineering.
Imperial College is right up there at the top of the tables, but prepare to get shafted for room rent - It is so expensive in fact that it destroys your £1000 scholarship several times over.
Personally I would go to Imperial. You will have a lot of debt when you come out the other side either way though.

Or go to another good engineering University, some examples being:
- Sheffield
- Nottingham
- Loughborough
- Bristol
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Southampton
- Edinburgh
If you are considering Oxford then at least make sure you go to a top rate University. You need to make sure you get the best education available for your £50,000!
I am an engineer by the way. A real one .

I have offers from Bristol, Southampton and Bath as well. To be honest I'm not sure really why I didn't choose Cambridge. It's further away, but that shouldn't have been a reason to pick Oxford. I also thought I'd have a better chance getting into Oxford and as i can only pick one or the other so i played it safe.

Does anybody think that employers may see Oxford and think... Why not Cambridge? Whereas imperial doesn't have the same 'reputation' for being the underdog, but rather an alternative.

I'm also stuck on which of the places would offer a better university experience...

OpenToSuggestions · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:29

Kenai said:
I'd take Imperial of the two, personally.

As said, for Engineering, Cambridge is the preferable choice of the Oxbridge scene, though obviously you're not exactly going to depart Oxford with a poor degree by any stretch of the imagination.

I agree with Kenai.

You must be a bright lad, so keep your eyes on the very top Universities as you will walk into those if Oxford is a genuine possibility. If you go to Oxford you will always have the Kudos from going there, which counts for a lot!

engstrom0304 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:31

MeatSack said:
IMPERIAL. They're the best in the UK for Mech Eng. And any engineering firm will know that already.

£1000 a year, done. Bite their hand off.

Edit - I'm a mech eng graduate.

Sorry I mean, £1000 given to me per year rather than me paying £1000 per year

OpenToSuggestions · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:32

engstrom0304 said:
Does anybody think that employers may see Oxford and think... Why not Cambridge? Whereas imperial doesn't have the same 'reputation' for being the underdog, but rather an alternative.

Nobody will ever look at your CV and say he 'only went to Oxford'.
They also would not they say that for Imperial!!
Of those Universities I listed, employers are impressed you went to those, certianly not sneering!

I went to Loughborough and will always be proud I did so as it has a very good name in industry and the course was incredibly hard to do well on, but with the grades you're expected I would aim a touch higher and really go for the absolute best Universities.

engstrom0304 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:35

MeatSack said:
IMPERIAL. They're the best in the UK for Mech Eng. And any engineering firm will know that already.

£1000 a year, done. Bite their hand off.

Edit - I'm a mech eng graduate.

This doesn't worry me. It is in other fields that I feel imperial may be disadvantaged. I want to be able to move into a management role later in life if I want to. My priorities still lie in the engineering profession though of course.

Terk · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:36

Imo id check out the scenary around both places, what you like more, ask current student and check out what they do in their course, what interests you more?

Kenai · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:40

engstrom0304 said:
This doesn't worry me. It is in other fields that I feel imperial may be disadvantaged. I want to be able to move into a management role later in life if I want to. My priorities still lie in the engineering profession though of course.

Don't think it'd really make a huge deal of difference, in 20+ years time people will be paying more attention to your work experience and whether you went to Oxford or Imperial way back isn't going to make much odds IMO.

trojan698 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:47

engstrom0304 said:
This doesn't worry me. It is in other fields that I feel imperial may be disadvantaged. I want to be able to move into a management role later in life if I want to. My priorities still lie in the engineering profession though of course.

As above, I reckon Imperial will set you up better. The fact that Oxford is general engineering in the first yr would concern me too. I assume Imperial is dedicated throughout.

In terms of experience, you're looking at London vs Studentland. I heard Oxfords a good night out and Londons huge. But then London can be a stonking good night out while Oxford is quiet. Big choice. Good luck.

engstrom0304 · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:55

MeatSack said:
As above, I reckon Imperial will set you up better. The fact that Oxford is general engineering in the first yr would concern me too. I assume Imperial is dedicated throughout.

In terms of experience, you're looking at London vs Studentland. I heard Oxfords a good night out and Londons huge. But then London can be a stonking good night out while Oxford is quiet. Big choice. Good luck.

In fact Oxford is general for the first 2 years and even in year 3 and 4 you can only specialise in 2 fields minimum... Eg. Mech and information

AGD · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:57

They both have excellent reputations. I would go where you think you will most enjoy living for 4 years. Central London or Oxford (both are great places to live).

D.P. · 11 Dec 2012 at 21:05

Not a huge difference IMO, oxford stands you in good steed if you wanted to follow an academic path or move abroad, it is just a fact that oxbridge is better recognized and rightly or wrongly more highly praised. Within the UK I don't think anyone gives 2 hoots, both top unis and more important will be what grade you get and if you can brab some work experience/internships.

You should look closely at course materials, how flexible the degrees and how easy it is to change etc.

one of the biggest differences is likely to be living in central london vs oxford.

trojan698 · 11 Dec 2012 at 21:10

engstrom0304 said:
In fact Oxford is general for the first 2 years and even in year 3 and 4 you can only specialise in 2 fields minimum... Eg. Mech and information

There wasn't much flexibility on my degree program either. I was more referring to general engineering, as in would you be wasting your time doing some chem eng? I guess it's not necessarily a waste of time, it depends on how you look at it. We did a bit of electrical in 1st and 2nd year which proved fairly useful.