In my third year of Neuroscience at Bristol, I started to think about what to do after uni. I knew that I didn't want to be a scientist or a professor, which narrowed down my career options using my Neuroscience degree; I had also had internships in a law firm and at a hospital, and they were enough to put me off law and medicine too. I was strongly considering a gap year, but I love to be productive and I felt that a year was too long to take off (especially when most of the travelling would be within a few months), and I had travelled avidly throughout my degree and knew I would still be able to make time for it without taking a whole year out. What I did know was that I wanted to work in the city in London for a global corporation (preferably on a graduate scheme) eventually, but I didn't want to rush into my ideal career so early on in life, and I didn't know exactly what I wanted to go into, as I had no interest in a career in Finance, and no experience in other fields, such as Consulting. Nonetheless, that didn't stop me from applying (with a two-page CV). Suffice to say, I got rejected from the majority, however I did attend an Assessment Centre at IBM and fell in love with the company's culture. Admittedly, I am not interested in working for a technology company, however this allowed me to look further into Consulting as a career, and I thought this could be perfect for me. In order to gain some experience in the field, and see if I actually enjoyed business, I looked into Master's programmes that would enable me to use my scientific background whilst learning about business and management. This was quite a challenge as most graduate business degrees require related undergraduate degrees, and although I'd have loved to study abroad, one of my criteria was that the university was world-renowned (preferably a top-10 global university), and in a major city, which narrowed the options down greatly; this is when I found the perfect Master's degree for my interests: Imperial's International Health Management.
I applied (with a gap year as my back-up plan) and when I got the acceptance letter I was ecstatic. I moved back to my favourite city in the world (and where I call home), ready to embark on a new chapter. Admittedly, moving back in with my parents after living with friends for the past three years was quite a shock to the system, but it meant that my meals were a lot nicer, the heating was always on during Winter, and the house was always clean, so I couldn't complain. I'd gotten quite bored of living in Bristol as I felt like I'd seen everything there was to see and I was ready for a change; on top of this, most of my school friends were moving back home as they'd finished university too, and some university friends were moving to London. Even some of my mates from the LSE summer course lived in London, meaning I had most of my friends and family all in one place.
Studying in London was completely different to anything I'd experienced, as despite having lived in the city for 18 years, I had spent most of my time in zones 2 & 3 and would mostly drive everywhere, so I never had to commute into the city centre. The commute took me an hour each way, consisting of two 15 minute walks, a 20 minute train ride, and a 10 minute tube journey - I was definitely living the commuter lifestyle. Having lived less than 5 minutes away from campus at Bristol, the prospect of this commute seemed quite daunting, however I got used to it very quickly. I won't pretend that being crammed on the tube during rush hour and having frequently cancelled trains is all fun-and-games, but I will say that this commute meant that each day I got at least 1 hour of exercise, 40 minutes of reading, and the time to listen to podcasts. This meant that (when everything was running on time), I actually enjoyed my commute and it always flew by. A travel card is a MUST for commuters, and the student travel discounts were very worthwhile for me, and meant that I'd constantly see friends around London as my travel was already pre-paid.
So far I've enjoyed studying at Imperial College London, but it's very different to my undergraduate experience at University of Bristol. Firstly, the vibe is a lot more studious and professional; on my course the average age is 24, so most course mates have worked previously and some are married, which is very different to my undergrad, where the vast majority of people were straight out of school and my age. Nonetheless, I've found the class discussions to be much more valuable, as the cohort is very diverse in age, professions, and nationalities, meaning everyone's knowledge varies considerably, and I have learnt a lot more through these discussions (it helps that I find the topics more interesting and engaging too). People are also extremely ambitious; everyone seems to be learning a language or coding course, starting a business, training for a marathon et cetera at all times, whereas throughout my undergrad the emphasis was much more on socialising and having fun. I am very much in the middle of these two extremes and like the 'work hard, play hard' mantra, which both universities do allow for. One similarity between both degrees is that I have a lot of free time, meaning I can easily work part-time, travel, or occupy myself however I choose. Both universities offer a wide array of societies, however in Bristol the societies were advertised much more prominently to the students, but one thing I love about Imperial is the £30 annual gym membership (compared to Bristol's £200+ fee). This was a real game-changer and has meant that I've actually kept up regular exercise for longer than 3 months!
One of the most praiseworthy things at Imperial is the Business School's career service - throughout my undergrad we had one lecture on how to create a CV, which was tailored solely to scientific careers (hence my two-page CV). Before my Master's even began, we had to achieve a score of at least 80% on the University's CV algorithm, and I had three 1-to-1 meetings solely for improving my CV. We also had compulsory career workshops, including how to perform well in interviews and assessment centres, and there have been a wide range of networking events and career fairs to get involved in (including sector-specific events!). A strong emphasis was made on our LinkedIn profiles, and the careers service ensured that we knew exactly what we had to be doing to get ahead, leading to job interviews and offers that I wouldn't have dreamed of last year. A big benefit of studying in London is the ease of job interviews and networking, as London is filled with opportunities everywhere you look. Imperial's platform (The Hub) is excellent too, allowing lectures to be rewatched with subtitles and time-tags. Furthermore, 99% of the professors have been very engaging which has led to me enjoying modules such as Accounting, which I'd never have thought I'd enjoy. There are also many opportunities and services available at Imperial, including subscriptions to the Financial Times and The Economist and free coding and language courses. One of my favourite things about Imperial is the calibre of guest speakers and lecturers that they provide, alongside the unimaginable opportunities; for example, one of my module's allows a group of us to work with Qatar's Ministry of Health in improving their healthcare system! Graduating in The Royal Albert Hall is pretty unique too. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has meant that the Summer term is online, but a safety net has been implemented, which is likely to be beneficial on our course. To state the obvious, my experience at each university can't be compared accurately, as the cohorts, degree level, and cities are very different to each other.
I mentioned previously that the social life is not as pronounced at Imperial compared to Bristol, however it's very much up to you. I know people who rarely socialise outside of their course, and others who are constantly going out - the thing about London is that you have to make it happen. Personally, I am very happy with the friends I've made at Imperial and the cohort has organised many events, such as a Christmas meal and a ball, however I think that it is a lot harder to make new friends in London compared to student cities, and so wouldn't recommend London for an undergraduate degree. For me, it's perfect as I have most of my friends in London and I love the big city life and the productive vibe.
London is my favourite city and I am never, ever bored here. There are countless comedy gigs, music concerts, West End productions, restaurants, bars, and (free) museums to explore and it feels like you can do anything here. Of course, it is an expensive place to live in, but just making small changes such as bringing lunch to work rather than buying it out, and using a travel card rather than pay-as-you-go can save a lot of money in the long run. I think central London is beautiful, especially in the sun, and the sunsets are highly under-rated. The location is also perfect for those like me who love to travel abroad often, but also so get around the UK; Bristol, Canterbury, Oxford, and Brighton are all within a 3 hour drive!
Some of my top recommendations in London include:
For the view: Sky Garden, Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park
For a drink: Bar Elba, Frank's Café (only open in Summer), Aqua Shard (for an additional free view from the Shard), Pop Brixton, Dirty Martini, Southbank (in Summer)
For brunch: Greenery Café (Primrose Hill), Granger & Co (Sloane Square), The Botanist (Sloane Square)
For a day out: Rooftop Cinema Club (Bussey Building in Summer), Notting Hill, Chinatown, Winter Wonderland (in Winter), Puttshack
For a night out: The Roxy (always).
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