This House would accept an offer from Imperial

Proposition: Bruce Weaver

We are all aware of Imperial’s academic reputation. I think the academic benefits of attending Imperial College are not disputed, so I will instead focus on why I think the College is good for us, and how the problems are just as bad at other universities.

If we were not at Imperial we would be at another Russell Group university doing the same hard degrees. If we went anywhere else we would be working just as hard, however unlike at Imperial, most people wouldn’t be. If half of your flat is going out three nights a week while you have to stay in doing work, that is worse for you than if they’re all stuck inside doing problem sheets, because you don’t feel anti-social or lonely. In fact, working at Imperial becomes a social experience. No friend is better than the one you make at 3am in the library, because you have something to bond over.

The other complaint I often hear is how the college does not care about its students. Every university has this problem. I have heard about things happening at other universities that I can’t imagine happening at Imperial: lecturers forbidding students from asking questions, ridiculous rules on transferring between courses. The College may be ineffective but at least it seems like it’s trying, and that’s a damn sight better than most places.

Imperial actually stacks up quite well against other universities. It is no more anti-student than the likes of Manchester, and it’s in a beautiful part of one of the most amazing cities on Earth. The facilities are excellent, and it’s full of brilliant people doing amazing science. The lecturers are as variable as anywhere else, but at least here they know their stuff, even if they’re not great at explaining it.

I have met some of the most interesting and enthusiastic people I have ever met here. There is a genuine sense of community here because we all have so much in common: we’re all nerds, we all love science. Imperial allows us to occupy our weird niche together and we will never get that anywhere else.

Looking back it’s clear that the 17 year old me got four out my five UCAS options completely wrong. The one I definitely got right was Imperial.

Opposition: Kristian Lending

Forget 'Education' – what matters is your ability to get a job, be well paid for it, and what you go through to get it. We're told that Imperial is great for this. That's overstated. What's understated is the unnecessarily laissez-faire process to get there. 87.8% employability? That's inflated by the huge medic population, which, thanks to the NHS, are gifted with 100% employability, both here and at twenty of the other thirty medical schools in the country. In other words, if you're not a medic the figure is lower, and if you are, you gained nothing by coming here.

“Imperial grads get the highest salary”. One word: banking. If you came here with a genuine interest in your subject, you can forget that salary. Sorry. What do I say to those who are looking to shuffle code 12 hours a day for Barclays? You need free time to spend money, so my advice is to find a contract that includes some.

So the idea that 'Imperial degrees are harder to get but it’s worth it in the end,’ quite frankly, dies a death. Given that you don't get anything from your degree unless you pass, it therefore seems futile to choose somewhere that seems so willing to drop you if you can't keep up.

What about societies? Perhaps we can have a great time along the way? It’s great that there's loads of variety, but that doesn't make a difference if you only have time for one. But it’s nice that you can aspire to the top sporting societies who are welcoming to freshers, avoid blatant sexism, and reject the “lad culture”. Oh wait...

And what do we pay for this? Tuition may be capped, but rents sure aren't. Bear in mind that Queen Mary students commuting from Stratford pay on average 40% less rent that you do commuting the same distance from Hammersmith, and that's without leaving Central London. So you pay loads, work hard, and get a degree that is little better than anywhere else. So if we could go back to when we got our offer? This house would not accept.