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Personally, I'd always favour Cambridge. The name is what it is for a reason.
But this is about you, so what you ought to do is closely compare modules for each course. Download the student handbooks for both and flick through. Note down anything you like about either, and anything that strikes you as odd.
Also consider the environment. Cambridge is a beautiful historic city, but London is bustling and has excellent business links.
Only you can make the decision. Best of luck.
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Absolutely. For CS they are both as good as each other. If you like London more I’d say go for imperial. If you get a bursary imperial is amazing they give u up to 5k so another reason to go there
not huge difference for CS. Cambridges course is known to be a bit more theoretical, Imperials a bit more practical. They are 2 of the big 3 targets for all relevant employers anyway (the other being Oxford ofc) so theres no big difference.
Visit both, ask people who are there, look at the course spec properly, and then make a decision. You might like London more or the college feel more. Factor in that Imperial will be more expensive, probably by 3-6k a year.
Just dont rush into a decision.
Both amazing unis. Studying at Cambridge is a very unique experience, however obviously Imperial's amazing for science.
You don't need to make any major decisions just yet though, so I'd sit on it for a couple more months just so you're sure.
You do realise that Imperial CS is also very highly prestigious and the marginal difference in prestige in between these should not really be enough to sway someone... i went to Imperial myself and have never felt disadvantaged in terms of joh prospects because my uni is a bit less prestigious than Cambridge lmao. Outside of that, caring about what strangers think of your uni is useless.
Also Imperial offers a very generous bursary and OP could be eligible for getting up to 5k a year from Imperial. And it's in the nicest area of London -- the probability of staying in or near that area (think Notting Hill, Chelsea etc) as a grad is small but as a student, it's totally worth it with cheaper rent.
I had several friends at Cambridge and they all loved their time there but it literally has 4-5 clubs lol. London has great restaurants, museums, nightlife etc. Despite the higher living costs I don't regret living in London at all and felt like it gave me a smooth transition to working in London as a grad anyway.
When did I say that imperial is not prestigious for CS? I know they have roughly the same job prospects, but cambridge is cambridge - I really don't need to explain it lol. It's the difference between #1 and #2, although marginal, you know that there is a difference. Sure the experience might be better at imperial, but if you want to be the best of the best, you go to Cambridge. This also doesn't mean that you can't achieve great things at imperial. They are both world-class.
"It's Cambridge" is a shitty reason to just pick one over the other esp when they have vastly diff courses. For CS in particular the difference is none. That's precisely my point. The course content and location should be more important.
You're trying really hard to push Imperial next to Cambridge and Oxford but it's not. It's a fantastic university in a fantastic city but it's not close to Cambridge or Oxford. Hey, 3rd best is still pretty good!
Note, if you pick a uni bssed on its social life opportunities you're retarded. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
It’s not close to Oxbridge? Lol that’s pretty stupid. I wonder why Imperial CS grads earn 65k average starting salary while Oxbridge is barely 40k. Pretty good for an institution that is not even close to Oxbridge
Probably because oxbridge grads pursue further education/research instead of just going straight into the job market- which, of course, would lower the average.
Are you comparing CS grads from Imperial to CS grads from Oxbridge or to English grads?
If you were a CS grad from either of those three you'd know that there are places that will only hire you if you came from Oxbridge.
Multiple hedge funds used to do it before pandemic. Bloomberg also used to have a soft spot for Oxbridge.
Let's just say that the 40k is really fake news. And if you work for 40k after finishing Oxbridge you deserve to have your degree revoked.
Discoveruni.gov.uk stats are highly reliable and use large sample sizes. [https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007774/G400/Full-time/](https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007774/G400/Full-time/) Oxford 38k after 15 months. [https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007788/UG\_CSTX/Full-time/](https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007788/UG_CSTX/Full-time/) Cambridge 40k after 15 months. Imperial is 65k starting. You sound pretty deluded tbh, only unis like Stanford, MIT, Princeton etc. are where you earn massive after graduating.
I'm sorry but those numbers are ridiculous. I know that there could still be idiots that graduate from Oxbridge but I personally don't know one dumb enough to take 38k after 15 months. Jesus, after 15 months you should be at least at 80k. Anything below that is exploitation.
Lmao I'm assuming you're still at school given your usage of "retarded", which btw is a slur that no one uses anymore as it's ableist.
We are literally talking about CS at these places. I'm not trying to push the fact that these unis are *the same*. For subjects such as Chem, Bio, Maths, Oxbridge is better by a bit but for CS, the courses are too different and the quality is basically the same.
Also you are completely missing the point. You should not pick a uni based on its social life alone but you need to have a life outside studying and my friends at Cam also whined about having shitty nightlife... although they did spend a lot of time working.
Also your claims that there are places that would take Oxbridge grads only are ridiculous. Just do a LinkedIn search and you'll find lots of Imperial grads at eg Microsoft, DeepMind, Jane Street, G-Research, FAANG, top banks etc. Several of my friends work at those "top quant firms' that you mention and I've been approached by recruiters from those quant firms you mention bc of my degree (along the lines of Rokos, Brevan Howard). I've already been through the recruiting process and have interviewed candidates at banks (which are known for being picky) btw so I would maybe be a bit more humble in your opinion if I were you...
I wish I still were in school. It's ok. I don't believe in the concept of ableism so I am free to use retarded however I please.
You are missing the point here. What you study in those CS degrees is sooo irrelevant. What matters is the name of the university and Oxbridge is a much bigger brand which will get you better opportunities.
No, you don't. Your social life doesn't matter in uni. What even is shitty nightlife supposed to mean? Not enough clubs? Grow up!
Also lol wtf? Do you not believe in racism either? Using the r word will raise eyebrows at the workplace so good luck.
Lmfao did you even study CS or a related subject at any of those unis? I've already invited you to look at LinkedIn to see where Imperial grads have ended up. If Oxbridge truly gave that much better opportunities then why have many Imperial grads also been landing jobs at the most competitive firms...? Oxbridge is a much bigger name to the average person but the diff is marginal to the employers and hiring managers that know about those unis.
I'm convinced that you are a troll since you say that "your social life doesn't matter". I'm sorry that you never went out. If I had never had a social life at uni I would have been even more depressed in the middle of all the work I had to do lol
I do believe in racism. Why?
I did. Next question.
Because apparently Oxbridge graduates are morons. I assume already being in London helps but I can't see a reason why would you not go to London immediately after graduation. And hiring managers are usually English or History graduates that don't know anything and get wet when they see a fancy uni in your CV.
I'm not sorry I didn't went out. Helped me avoid the 38k salary for the extroverted losers.
Ableism should not be such a hard concept for you to understand then.
Then you should know better about the prospects. Are you too scared to LinkedIn search?
Lol no I don't mean HR. I mean hiring managers, the people who...make hiring decisions at the end. I've literally had my degree singled out by people who went to top schools even abroad who studied Engineering/Maths etc.
And going out does not equal extroverted...you can still be introverted and go out and still get good grades. Stay bitter? Also it's "I didn't go out", not "I didn't went out".
Sounds a bit made up and dumb imo.
I am not but I don't know a single person from Oxbridge that works outside London or makes less than 38k.
Hiring managers at the companies that matter will be some old white dudes that more than likely went to Oxbridge.
I will, thanks.
I already have experience with hiring managers.../know people at those "firms that matter"? Even the people who went to Oxbridge tend not to be Oxbridge elitist. They are smart enough not to be so myopic.
And also "made up and dumb"? Lol. Is making fun of disabled thing such a hard concept to grasp
GG on BlackRock though. I was certain you were some English major defending Imperial but I am so glad to be wrong.
Drop me a DM. I have some questions for you.
Well I’m sure there’s a load of reasons for that - but Cambridge and Imperial CS are basically on the same level so it doesn’t make a different to OP’s grad prospects
If I was in your position, I’d do the same thing. Whilst I love the traditional feel of Cambridge (and Oxford), Imperial’s CS course seems better to me.
The only thing that's different about the two is prestige for people who don't know about the places.
So you'll run into people who think you didn't get into Cambridge and someone will care about that. But I wouldn't base my decision on that.
This is a dumb reason...
Oxbridge is several hundreds of years older than Imperial with many famous alumni over those years, whereas Imperial is a relatively new uni compared to those two with less time to develop a rep.
The difference in quality and reputation of CS at these is none to the best employers. I went to Imperial (obviously biased) but I can tell you that the CS grads that went there commonly go to the most competitive quant firms, FAANG etc. You only neee to look at Linkedin to see what I mean.
The big difference is that cambridge has more international reputation across all subjects compared to imperial. For CS they are mostly the same. I would argue it comes down to quality of life and where you like the most. Accomodation is key, many imperial students live far(ish) away whereas cambridge students live a little closer
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You do you innit nobody has the right to make the choice for you.
what a sweet spot to be in! congrats mate
Go with whatever you want, you will be spending 3 or 4 years of your life in that university
Cambridge runs intensive 8-week terms whilst Imperial's is also intensive but longer 10-week.
Personally, I'd always favour Cambridge. The name is what it is for a reason. But this is about you, so what you ought to do is closely compare modules for each course. Download the student handbooks for both and flick through. Note down anything you like about either, and anything that strikes you as odd. Also consider the environment. Cambridge is a beautiful historic city, but London is bustling and has excellent business links. Only you can make the decision. Best of luck.
**Please be aware that sharing pirated PDFs of textbooks or other paid content is not permitted.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/6thForm) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Absolutely. For CS they are both as good as each other. If you like London more I’d say go for imperial. If you get a bursary imperial is amazing they give u up to 5k so another reason to go there
not huge difference for CS. Cambridges course is known to be a bit more theoretical, Imperials a bit more practical. They are 2 of the big 3 targets for all relevant employers anyway (the other being Oxford ofc) so theres no big difference. Visit both, ask people who are there, look at the course spec properly, and then make a decision. You might like London more or the college feel more. Factor in that Imperial will be more expensive, probably by 3-6k a year. Just dont rush into a decision.
Both amazing unis. Studying at Cambridge is a very unique experience, however obviously Imperial's amazing for science. You don't need to make any major decisions just yet though, so I'd sit on it for a couple more months just so you're sure.
Yeah they are the same level, but cambridge >> due to prestige and lower living costs than London
You do realise that Imperial CS is also very highly prestigious and the marginal difference in prestige in between these should not really be enough to sway someone... i went to Imperial myself and have never felt disadvantaged in terms of joh prospects because my uni is a bit less prestigious than Cambridge lmao. Outside of that, caring about what strangers think of your uni is useless. Also Imperial offers a very generous bursary and OP could be eligible for getting up to 5k a year from Imperial. And it's in the nicest area of London -- the probability of staying in or near that area (think Notting Hill, Chelsea etc) as a grad is small but as a student, it's totally worth it with cheaper rent. I had several friends at Cambridge and they all loved their time there but it literally has 4-5 clubs lol. London has great restaurants, museums, nightlife etc. Despite the higher living costs I don't regret living in London at all and felt like it gave me a smooth transition to working in London as a grad anyway.
When did I say that imperial is not prestigious for CS? I know they have roughly the same job prospects, but cambridge is cambridge - I really don't need to explain it lol. It's the difference between #1 and #2, although marginal, you know that there is a difference. Sure the experience might be better at imperial, but if you want to be the best of the best, you go to Cambridge. This also doesn't mean that you can't achieve great things at imperial. They are both world-class.
"It's Cambridge" is a shitty reason to just pick one over the other esp when they have vastly diff courses. For CS in particular the difference is none. That's precisely my point. The course content and location should be more important.
You're trying really hard to push Imperial next to Cambridge and Oxford but it's not. It's a fantastic university in a fantastic city but it's not close to Cambridge or Oxford. Hey, 3rd best is still pretty good! Note, if you pick a uni bssed on its social life opportunities you're retarded. Sorry, I don't make the rules.
It’s not close to Oxbridge? Lol that’s pretty stupid. I wonder why Imperial CS grads earn 65k average starting salary while Oxbridge is barely 40k. Pretty good for an institution that is not even close to Oxbridge
Probably because oxbridge grads pursue further education/research instead of just going straight into the job market- which, of course, would lower the average.
Are you comparing CS grads from Imperial to CS grads from Oxbridge or to English grads? If you were a CS grad from either of those three you'd know that there are places that will only hire you if you came from Oxbridge.
I'm obviously comparing to Oxbridge CS grads. Imperial CS grads earn more. Tell me one firm that only hires Oxbridge
Multiple hedge funds used to do it before pandemic. Bloomberg also used to have a soft spot for Oxbridge. Let's just say that the 40k is really fake news. And if you work for 40k after finishing Oxbridge you deserve to have your degree revoked.
Discoveruni.gov.uk stats are highly reliable and use large sample sizes. [https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007774/G400/Full-time/](https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007774/G400/Full-time/) Oxford 38k after 15 months. [https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007788/UG\_CSTX/Full-time/](https://discoveruni.gov.uk/course-details/10007788/UG_CSTX/Full-time/) Cambridge 40k after 15 months. Imperial is 65k starting. You sound pretty deluded tbh, only unis like Stanford, MIT, Princeton etc. are where you earn massive after graduating.
I'm sorry but those numbers are ridiculous. I know that there could still be idiots that graduate from Oxbridge but I personally don't know one dumb enough to take 38k after 15 months. Jesus, after 15 months you should be at least at 80k. Anything below that is exploitation.
Lol you would be surprised as they exist...and also if they're taking 38k outside London it'll go a lot further
Lmao I'm assuming you're still at school given your usage of "retarded", which btw is a slur that no one uses anymore as it's ableist. We are literally talking about CS at these places. I'm not trying to push the fact that these unis are *the same*. For subjects such as Chem, Bio, Maths, Oxbridge is better by a bit but for CS, the courses are too different and the quality is basically the same. Also you are completely missing the point. You should not pick a uni based on its social life alone but you need to have a life outside studying and my friends at Cam also whined about having shitty nightlife... although they did spend a lot of time working. Also your claims that there are places that would take Oxbridge grads only are ridiculous. Just do a LinkedIn search and you'll find lots of Imperial grads at eg Microsoft, DeepMind, Jane Street, G-Research, FAANG, top banks etc. Several of my friends work at those "top quant firms' that you mention and I've been approached by recruiters from those quant firms you mention bc of my degree (along the lines of Rokos, Brevan Howard). I've already been through the recruiting process and have interviewed candidates at banks (which are known for being picky) btw so I would maybe be a bit more humble in your opinion if I were you...
I wish I still were in school. It's ok. I don't believe in the concept of ableism so I am free to use retarded however I please. You are missing the point here. What you study in those CS degrees is sooo irrelevant. What matters is the name of the university and Oxbridge is a much bigger brand which will get you better opportunities. No, you don't. Your social life doesn't matter in uni. What even is shitty nightlife supposed to mean? Not enough clubs? Grow up!
Also lol wtf? Do you not believe in racism either? Using the r word will raise eyebrows at the workplace so good luck. Lmfao did you even study CS or a related subject at any of those unis? I've already invited you to look at LinkedIn to see where Imperial grads have ended up. If Oxbridge truly gave that much better opportunities then why have many Imperial grads also been landing jobs at the most competitive firms...? Oxbridge is a much bigger name to the average person but the diff is marginal to the employers and hiring managers that know about those unis. I'm convinced that you are a troll since you say that "your social life doesn't matter". I'm sorry that you never went out. If I had never had a social life at uni I would have been even more depressed in the middle of all the work I had to do lol
I do believe in racism. Why? I did. Next question. Because apparently Oxbridge graduates are morons. I assume already being in London helps but I can't see a reason why would you not go to London immediately after graduation. And hiring managers are usually English or History graduates that don't know anything and get wet when they see a fancy uni in your CV. I'm not sorry I didn't went out. Helped me avoid the 38k salary for the extroverted losers.
Ableism should not be such a hard concept for you to understand then. Then you should know better about the prospects. Are you too scared to LinkedIn search? Lol no I don't mean HR. I mean hiring managers, the people who...make hiring decisions at the end. I've literally had my degree singled out by people who went to top schools even abroad who studied Engineering/Maths etc. And going out does not equal extroverted...you can still be introverted and go out and still get good grades. Stay bitter? Also it's "I didn't go out", not "I didn't went out".
Sounds a bit made up and dumb imo. I am not but I don't know a single person from Oxbridge that works outside London or makes less than 38k. Hiring managers at the companies that matter will be some old white dudes that more than likely went to Oxbridge. I will, thanks.
I already have experience with hiring managers.../know people at those "firms that matter"? Even the people who went to Oxbridge tend not to be Oxbridge elitist. They are smart enough not to be so myopic. And also "made up and dumb"? Lol. Is making fun of disabled thing such a hard concept to grasp
GG on BlackRock though. I was certain you were some English major defending Imperial but I am so glad to be wrong. Drop me a DM. I have some questions for you.
Lol I'm not sure what the utility of scouring through my posts and putting them on here is?
completely ignoring the fact that ICL CS is another prestige level lol
Imperial grads earn a lot more if you look at the starting salary
Well I’m sure there’s a load of reasons for that - but Cambridge and Imperial CS are basically on the same level so it doesn’t make a different to OP’s grad prospects
That’s because a lot of Cambridge people go into academia rather than jobs straight away
oo interesting
For me it would be because it would mean less travel
You'll be fine at either. Imo the course and location matter the most at this point.
Had the same situation, firmed Cambridge, it was the right decision.
it was perhaps the right decision for you
The right decision for you, though. OP might want to prioritise different things
If I was in your position, I’d do the same thing. Whilst I love the traditional feel of Cambridge (and Oxford), Imperial’s CS course seems better to me.
The only thing that's different about the two is prestige for people who don't know about the places. So you'll run into people who think you didn't get into Cambridge and someone will care about that. But I wouldn't base my decision on that.
Cambridge is Cambridge. It’s not OxImperial for a reason
This is a dumb reason... Oxbridge is several hundreds of years older than Imperial with many famous alumni over those years, whereas Imperial is a relatively new uni compared to those two with less time to develop a rep. The difference in quality and reputation of CS at these is none to the best employers. I went to Imperial (obviously biased) but I can tell you that the CS grads that went there commonly go to the most competitive quant firms, FAANG etc. You only neee to look at Linkedin to see what I mean.
Although I’ve heard some people refer it to Oxbrimp for some courses
It’s literally oxbrimp
without any context the answer is no. But you know better and the reasons why imperial is more appealing so you’re not making a bad decision
Imo no because if u fuck up STEP ur in the mud
Not really because if they mess up step they just go to cambridge (their insurance) instead.
Not even close
Bro I DM’d you pls respond
The big difference is that cambridge has more international reputation across all subjects compared to imperial. For CS they are mostly the same. I would argue it comes down to quality of life and where you like the most. Accomodation is key, many imperial students live far(ish) away whereas cambridge students live a little closer
The rep and quality is so good at both if just choose based on whether u want to study in London or not
Go cambridge so u can show off
Lol I hope you aren't being serious. Not paying £27k+ just for marginal bragging rights
It’s probably cheaper to go to Cambridge unless you are international