(upbeat guitar music)
- Chemistry is actually the oldest subject at Imperial.
Important to note.
So we have approximately 160 to 170 people
in first year and second year right now,
which I'd say is relatively popular.
Hi I'm Ali, I'm a second year student
at Imperial College London.
I study chemistry, and I'm also
involved with the rugby team.
My typical day, I'll wake up at 7:00.
I'll usually do some stretches, maybe some rehab,
particularly if I've got a match coming up.
Then I'll brush my teeth, get ready for uni,
and then have a nice big breakfast,
and then cycle into uni.
And then usually from 9:00 til 12:00, I'll have lectures.
And if I have labs, then that'll be
in the second half of the day.
Labs usually run on a weekly cycle,
so I either have them for a whole week or not.
And depending on the kind of labs,
it'll be from about 1:00 til 6:00,
and then usually library or some work at home,
dinner, and then bed.
The average A stats in my year is three.
There is always the thought that Oxbridge is
a totally removed level from everything else in the UK.
So you come to another uni,
you perhaps don't expect the standard to be as high
as you thought it was when you didn't get into Oxbridge.
And then suddenly you're surrounded by people,
and you begin to wonder how these people
didn't get into Oxbridge,
or you're shocked by how intelligent everyone is
and you're trying to feel out your depth.
I think prizes for academic success
are definitely something that people are focused on.
There's something called the Dean's List
for every subject in every year,
which is the top 10% at the end of the year exam-wise.
And everyone here is very competitive,
so I think a lot of people are aiming for them.
Having all science people around
can be great if you're stuck on something,
because quite often all of us, for example,
pretty much regardless of the degree,
everyone's studying thermodynamics,
everyone's doing maths, basic principles.
So if you have a question, or a programming question,
you can always chat with someone
and they'll probably be able to help you out,
so that's a big plus.
I think the best thing about Imperial
is probably the friends I've made here.
Definitely I've got a very close-knit group of friends,
some of the people that I live with,
some of the people that I study with.
And I think they're exactly the kind of people
that you do meet at Imperial.
Realistically, I think everyone arrives
with different levels of preparation,
because Imperial's very international.
Some people have done A-levels,
some people have done International Baccalaureate,
some people are coming from
totally different educational backgrounds,
so the point of first term is to get everyone up to speed,
and I don't think that there's too much
prior preparation that needs to be done.
My course is a four year course
as an integrated master's degree.
So the first three years in terms of lectures
are a bachelor's chemistry degree.
We study very similar things to
the people not on the master's course,
and even as late as second year
you can switch between bachelor's and master's.
And then if you're doing bachelor's,
in terms of your lab work, you'll do
a final year project in third year.
Whereas if you're on the master's course,
you would do that in fourth year.
That's the main difference.
I didn't really expect chemistry
to be so compartmentalized at university.
When you study at school it all seems like a single subject,
whereas you arrive at uni and it's almost instantly
split up into physical, organic, and inorganic chemistry.
And only now in second year,
we're finally beginning to kind of
blend all of the fields together,
and some of the courses are beginning to overlap.
So in our first few years, we cover a lot of basic modules,
so in terms of inorganic chemistry we'll be looking at
major trends in the periodic table,
kind of looking at different aspects
of the periodic table separately.
So for example, your transition metals.
There's a big course, kind of organometallic chemistry.
And you'll be looking at why
certain trends occur and how to predict them.
Then with physical chemistry,
you'll be looking at all of your basic principles.
So you'll have several thermodynamics courses
where you're looking at why certain processes happen,
how that's kind of driven energetically.
And then with organic chemistry,
you'll be looking at all the basic structures
and building groups in organic molecules,
looking at how they react together and the reasons for that.
I'd say that there's a pretty significant
difference between first and second year.
Chemistry itself is quite a contact-heavy course,
so you'll have a lot of hours regardless,
but it's really just about the level that you start at.
So you have a lot more assessed labs in second year.
It's very heavy on the coursework front,
and that makes it more difficult to keep up with lectures.
The reason a lot of people take chemistry
is the practical side of it.
And if that is why you're taking chemistry,
then Imperial does a lot of practical labs.
Labs are fun but very intense,
and they're not what you expect
labs at chemistry at university are gonna be like.
You don't have any Bunsen burners, you don't work with fire.
Sometimes it's a bit underwhelming,
and sometimes it's a bit overwhelming when you start
working with chemicals that are quite dangerous.
I guess the best thing about labs
is definitely making crystals.
So we're regularly making crystals.
And when you get a batch of really nice,
really long, needle-like crystals,
there is no better feeling in the world.
I just love making good crystals!
No, no, please don't put that in!
Something that I didn't really expect at Imperial
which I've definitely been pleased about
is the fact that we have programming courses.
So you don't necessarily expect to be doing
a whole lot of programming
when you come to uni to study chemistry,
but Imperial does put a focus on making sure that
everyone knows how to code,
even if it's just a bit of elementary coding.
And I for one am going to pursue that further
by kind of tailoring my options to that in third year.
So in first and second year you have
compulsory labs for all three sects,
and then as you get into third year,
you begin to tailor your labs to what your preferences are.
I would definitely spend
quite a few hours in the library, yeah.
So every Saturday and Sunday I usually
end up spending a few hours in the library.
And then on weekdays if I don't have labs,
I'll spend three, four, or five hours there.
Today for lunch I had what I have for lunch every day.
I prepare Tupperwares in advance,
so today that was rice, chicken, veg,
with some kind of stir fry sauce.
So I played rugby at school for seven years.
Slightly before school I started playing at a club.
So when I came to Imperial I didn't really hesitate,
I just joined the rugby club and stuck with them since then.
My rugby and my academics work hand in hand,
because I'm at uni obviously for the academic side of it,
but if I didn't do sport, if I didn't get out,
I'm not sure I'd be able to focus on my work.
I've always played sports,
so I feel like it's something that I need to do.
I'd say the sports facilities at Imperial are pretty good,
they're very accessible to everyone.
We've got a gym membership which is very cheap
for the whole time whilst you're there,
so everyone who wants to do a sport can do.
For me I'd say the rugby club is like a second family,
it gives you a layer of support when you need it
regardless of what's going on.
You've always got people you can ask for advice.
Everyone's been where you are,
everyone's studying at similar workload.
So it's just very helpful in that respect.
(crowd chanting)
That's not what they're gonna be chanting
when we're playing, alright?
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