Is the Imperial stereotype true?

So it’s two weeks in, and things aren’t going as you planned. It isn’t exactly how it was sold to you. Sure, you’ve been out most nights, met a million people you can’t remember, been a bit of a tourist and burnt a few meals. But you’ve also missed more 9am lectures than you made it to, piled up a mountain of work, and have come to realise that you are no longer one of the elite. Yes, you, the geek extraordinaire with a billion A levels, are average. You’ve finally met a group of like-minded people, and all it’s done is deflate your ego. You’re just a fish in a very large pond, more like a lake actually, maybe the Serpentine in Hyde Park now you mention it.

You’ve walked past the library (to find something to eat after you’ve somehow burnt your spag bol), and noticed the pale, hopeless faces of the masses already stacked inside. Why are they all still working at 1am? Do they know something you don’t? Why didn’t they tell you it would be so hard? Suddenly, you miss your mum, the dog and even the batty old neighbour next door.

Relax. In two more weeks you won’t remember this freak out. You’ll feel like you’ve known your new friends your whole life, and won’t know how you ever lived without them. The library will become your new haunting ground – so many floors to socialise on, it’s a good job it’s open twenty-four hours. Right now, everything is new. You’re settling in. Hold off on that tuition fee refund request. Look just a little closer, and you’ll see things differently. Those people stacked in there? They’re on Facebook; their flat-mate forgot to call for Sky Broadband. Their faces are hopeless because they’re more hung-over than they ever imagined possible. It was their society social last night, and the night before that it was a house party of an acquaintance. Everyone eats in the library café, not because they’re chained to the library, but because in the middle of South Ken, it’s a pretty cheap option. See how easily that dreary image dissolves? Now it seems Imperial really is just like any other Uni.

Sure I probably shouldn’t write anything disparaging about Imperial; you’ve only just started and it’s intimidating enough without listening to a disillusioned third year. But I decided, as with most things in life, that honesty is the best policy. University is overwhelming, but it’s also the best thing you will ever do in your life. Yes we’ve all heard the myths about Imperial. We all know the stereotype. Let’s take a moment to look at it anyway. Imagine him:

1. He’s painfully introverted. Then why is everyone walking around in groups? Surely they’d all be friendless? Why is Queen’s Lawn always humming with chatter? Even in summer term when exam timetables demand we are our most anti-social?
2. He’s Einstein bright. That Keeno from the front row of your lectures won’t get grades any higher than yours. Promise. It’s just how he rolls.
3. He’s definitely male. You’re not really reading this article then, because I can’t be from Imperial if I’m a girl, and I can’t be a girl if I’m from Imperial. Obviously.

Imperial-schmerial. The stereotype is largely myth, but that won’t stop us all from propagating it. The truth though, is that Imperial is up there with the best. It’s going to work as hard for you over your lifetime as you do for it in those four short undergraduate years. It’s worth working hard at having fun here. Congratulations on arriving/returning for 2011/2012. Make it count!