Importance of First Year

The date of our final exams is coming very fast. We are stressed, working our asses off in the library midst the Easter holiday or you are just relaxing, thinking that the content you have learnt is fathomable and comprehensible.

What I have noticed is that first year students do not think that the final exam is important, but I would like to convince the otherwise. When you are in your second year, you would require a recommendation from your personal tutor for various applications and what would your personal tutor base the recommendation on? Your achievements made in the first year. If you fail your first year, you are likely to get a recommendation that isn’t so nice or the recommendation that you want. This recommendation could decide whether you get an internship that could leave to a full-time job. Moreover, your achievements in the first year are what your employees will look at when you apply for an internship in the second year.

Therefore, first year students shouldn’t look at the first year so lightly. I know it only counts for about 5% to 10% of the whole degree, but it is not the overall score that is important, but it is the possible consequences as a result of not working during your first year that is important. Do not take your education in first year too lightly!

Chapter 19 Living in Hall

For prospective students, I have written about picking your hall. I want to expend on the subject and write about living in hall. My experience will be based on living in Linstead Hall, one of the Eastside Halls.

There are several disadvantages living in the hall. The disadvantages are the following:

1. Your food and your cutlery will be stolen.
2. People will often go for clubbing, return at 5am drunk, bang on your doors and shout loudly while you are asleep.
3. In fact, some people will vomit in front of your door, so every time you take a step outside of your room, you will be disgusted.
4. Another disadvantage may be that you cannot throw parties. Some sub-wardens will stop you because the kitchen is getting too messy. It is a party for god sakes.

Other than these disadvantages, living in hall provides numerous advantages:

1. It will allow you to meet people from various backgrounds and from these people; you will learn new skills and techniques.
2. As you are living independently from your parents, you will be forced to learn cooking, a craftsmanship that will become handy for you in the future.
3. If you are living in an en-suite room, you will be able to enjoy the luxury of having a bathroom by yourself.
4. The Kitchen and Hall would be cleaned by janitors and hence saves you time for you to exercise, study or just enjoy.
5. Halls also provide numerous activities such as trip to Paris, Brunch, theater, ice skating, etc. Events in Halls abound.

I would definitely recommend first year students to live in Hall. It provides you with opportunity to meet and interact with various people. However, I would not recommend people to stay in halls during second and third year as you will require more flexibility and independent time.

Picking Your Hall

Many high school students would have now received offers from Imperial College and may be wondering which hall to choose and go to. Many students would wonder which hall is the closest to the central campus and is most convenient, and I would like to help you with this problem.

The most convenient and comfortable halls would be Eastside and Southside halls; eastside halls include Linstead, Gabor and Wilkinson. Southside halls include Selkirk, Tizard and Falmouth Hall. These halls have been refurbished and are brand new. They are the nearest to college; 5 minute walk to campus. These halls have Prince’s Gardens, an enjoyable place especially during spring! ETHOS, the school gym, is only 5 minutes away. For a person who enjoys running in the morning and evening like me, Hyde Park is also 5 minutes away. This convenience and comfort comes at a cost.

The next best bets are Weeks and Beit Hall. Weeks Hall is not brand new, but located very near (1 minute walk) from Eastside and Southside halls. It is also cheaper than Eastside and Southside Halls.

Beit Hall is a little further from Eastside and Southside hall, but in the vicinity of the main campus. It is only 8 minutes away from the main campus. Because it is not brand new, the cost of living in Beit Hall is cheaper than that of other halls. The benefit of living in Beit Hall is that it is near Union Pub and Metric, the Union Club, so if you are a partier or a drinker, you can get your drinks with ease. This comes at a disadvantage though. If you are an early sleeper and if party is going downstairs, you won’t be able to sleep.

I have covered 5 halls that are nearest to College. Other nearest halls are Fisher, Bernard-Sunley, Southwell, Holbein, Wills Jackson. It takes about 15 minutes to 20 minutes to come to campus. I cannot comment further on these halls as I have no information on them.

Other halls that you want to avoid are Wilson House, Pembridge and Orient, especially Orient. To come to campus from Wilson House and Pembridge, it would approximately take 30 minutes. This really is a disincentive to come to Campus to attend lectures and can be really discouraging for students. Orient is just horrible. It sometimes even takes an  hour to simply come to Campus. Two hours are wasted simply to come to campus and go back to hall.

Note that pictures are from Linstead Hall.

I think that is a sufficient summary of all the halls in Imperial College. If you have any further comments or questions free to add!

Lessons from a Hangover

On Friday night or at the end of term, I would often get drunk, vomit and suffer from a hangover. Through such experiences, I have learnt some lessons and I would like to share them.

Lesson 1: Do not down a pint of beer in seven seconds.

This will make you feel full and if you do it too often in a short period of time, you will feel sick. In short, you will definitely vomit. If you want to do it for a show, do it once.

Lesson 2: Do not vomit in the sink or on the bed

I recommend vomiting in the toilet. This way you will keep everything clean and tidy. You do not want to wake up the next morning and start wiping vomit off the floor. Make an effort to vomit in the toilet or you will suffer the consequences.

Lesson 3: Do not go to gym after a hangover

You will suffer a massive headache if you do any weight training and that is not recommended instead you should rest, drink plenty of water and sleep.

Lesson 4: Do not get too drunk or you will reveal your secrets.

I downed twelve shots in one minute and guess what happened. I lost my consciousness and started to reveal my secrets, which I regret to this day. Be careful!

I think that is all the lessons I have learnt. Feel free to add any other lessons from drinking!