[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] The College is part of University of London and students are [PARA]entitled to use its facilities.[EBOLD][PARA]Jam sandwiched between The Natural History Museum and The [PARA]Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, just 11/2 miles from [PARA]Trafalgar Square, is Imperial College. Imperial was formed when[PARA]in 1907 The Royal School of Mines, City and Guilds College and [PARA]The Royal College of Science merged. They have since been [PARA]joined by St Mary's Hospital Medical School which is based at [PARA]Paddington. [ITAL]The main building is what Prince Chas would call a [PARA]'carbuncle'[EITAL] - a towering, oversized portakabin of aluminium, [PARA]smoked glass and concrete. Inside it's well ordered - echoing [PARA]walkways with glass displays and cabinets full of scientific [PARA]paraphernalia which all adds to [ITAL]the sense of awesome scientific [PARA]knowledge[EITAL]. Overshadowing all this is the Queen's Tower, which [PARA]has now been locked off. [ITAL]Allegedly, too many frustrated finalists[PARA]were flinging themselves from the parapet, knowing at least [PARA]enough physics to realise it was a sure fire way of getting out of [PARA]exams. [EITAL]Apart from the buildings at South Kensington and the [PARA]hospital at Paddington, Imperial has a mine at Truro in Cornwall [PARA]and a 260 acre site at Silwood Park, near Ascot, mainly for [PARA]scientific field work.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Being A Student In London: [EBOLD]see [ULNE]University of London[EULNE].[BOLD] [EBOLD][ITAL]All the [PARA]students at Imperial are studying sciences. Most are male and [PARA]between the ages of 18 and 23. Now, what does that tell you? [PARA]Yup, anoraks and what mothers call 'sensible' shoes abound. [PARA]The College claims their students are well known for their [PARA]'healthy conceit' (obviously not that well known), which [PARA]presumably results from the high reputation and the fact that [PARA]academic loiterers might as well give up immediately. [PARA]Resemblances to Beavis and Butthead are only superficial. The [PARA]place buzzes with activity, but it's a lot of going somewhere [PARA]without ever seeming to be where it's at. As for Mary's, the tone [PARA]is intensely studious and after just a while there we fancied [PARA]tackling a few heart bypasses ourselves.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]LIFE IN LONDON:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Samuel Johnson wrote 'When a man is tired of London, he is [PARA]tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.' [PARA]Obviously, he wasn't living on a student grant at the time; for there[PARA]is only a certain amount in London that a student can afford. SJ [PARA]was right in that London is second to none in its diversity, but you [PARA]can't do it all. It's easy to feel that you're not making the most of [PARA]London if you're not spending every waking minute at the theatre,[PARA]ballet, opera or cinema, in clubs or fashionable markets, and in [PARA]museums and galleries, sports grounds and parks. However, if [PARA]the truth be known, even taking advantage of the many freebies [PARA]you can dig up if you try, you'd be broke within a week if you tried[PARA]to keep up with the tearaway pace. When it comes to [PARA]opportunity, choice and life in the fast lane, London is the [PARA]turbo-boosted Porsche. London is supposed to be the city that [PARA]never sleeps, leaving the bright lights burning all night long. In fact,[PARA]as international metropolises go, this one tends to shut down [PARA]when the pubs close. Getting more than a cheeseburger after [PARA]midnight can be as difficult in London as it is in a Turkish jail. Not [PARA]everyone likes the pace or the impersonal atmosphere that many[PARA]find in London. Whilst it's hard to be alone, it's easy to be lonely, [PARA]and most students in London find this at some time. London can [PARA]be oppressive and if you're not streetwise, or at least street [PARA]sensible, it can be a dangerous place. Bomb scares are usually [PARA]just that, but violent crime is on the up. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] There are a number of responses to the high cost of living in [PARA]London: (1) burst into tears; (2) mug someone; (3) live on credit; (4)[PARA]ask daddy for lashings of cash. Alternatively, if these don't [PARA]appeal, you can always use the following methods: (1) Limit your [PARA]spending by only going out when and where you can afford it [PARA](ULU fits the bill, offering cheap events for students). (2) Buy [PARA]second hand - for books, there's ULU, Charing Cross Road and [PARA]Waterloo and, for clothes, try Camden Market, Greenwich, Brick[PARA]Lane and Portobello Road. (Many a London student falls prey to [PARA]fashion, but not always at vast expense.) (3) Get a job - [EITAL]more [PARA]London students have part time jobs than anywhere else.[ITAL] [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] London also has more overseas students than almost [PARA]anywhere else, which, in Britain's most international city, is an [PARA]appropriate addition to the already spicy variety of life. The extent[PARA]of London's cosmopolitanism is unique. Nowhere else are there [PARA]as many students of every different shape, colour, vintage, creed[PARA]and flavour.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] To be young in London and have flexible demands on your [PARA]time is an ideal recipe. The daily downers such as the time spent[PARA]travelling have a minimal effect, whereas the opportunities are all [PARA]there. If you happen to live in London, it's good to be a student, [PARA]but if you're a student, London isn't necessarily a good place to [PARA]happen to live.[EITAL][HDNG]SOUTH KENSINGTON:[EHDNG][PARA]The area immediately surrounding the College is a [ITAL]prim [EITAL]quad with[PARA]privet hedges in the relative peace of South Kensington. [PARA]Kensington itself, is a [ITAL]well to do area[EITAL] with Harrods just round the [PARA]corner in Knightsbridge [ITAL](although we don't recommend students [PARA]use it for their weekly shop). It's full of expensive boutiques and [PARA]swish delicatessens. Even the kebab joints have French names [PARA]round here. It's also an erudite part of London,[EITAL] brimming with [PARA]museums and libraries and obscure educational institutions. [ITAL]It's [PARA]pricey to live in South Kensington itself; Notting Hill or Earl's Court[PARA]is a likelier bet. However, it's well connected for the West End [PARA]and [EITAL]ULU takes 20mins by tube or slightly longer by bus.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains: [EBOLD]London is the centre of the network: Bristol (1:40hrs, 1/hr); [PARA]Birmingham (1:40hrs, 3/hr); Manchester (2:30hrs, 1/hr); Glasgow [PARA](5:20hrs, 12/day); Edinburgh ( 4:20hrs, 1/hr); Newcastle (2:45hrs, [PARA]2/hr); Leeds (2:30hrs, 1/hr); Norwich (1:49hrs, 1/hr). Trains come [PARA]into the 8 mainline termini and if passing through London (for [PARA]example from Canterbury (Kent) to Manchester), it is often [PARA]necessary to travel by tube (at extra expense) between mainline [PARA]stations .[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] London is also the centre of the National Express [PARA]system and a whole variety of other national bus services (Green[PARA]Line, Blue Line and so on). Some example National Express [PARA]journeys: Birmingham (ú9.50, 2:30hrs, 1/hr); Bristol (ú12.50, [PARA]2:15hrs, 1/hr); Edinburgh (ú25, 7:50hrs, 3/day); Glasgow (ú25, [PARA]7hrs, 7/day); Manchester (ú16, 3:30hrs, 7/day); Newcastle [PARA](ú17.50, 5:10hrs, 7/day).[PARA][BOLD]Local Trains: [EBOLD]Network SouthEast operates local overground [PARA]trains [ITAL]which are a speedy and sometimes pleasant way to travel [PARA]and are moderately efficient. The main problems are the ease of[PARA]use (a fair level of understanding is necessary), the high fares [PARA]and the early closing[EITAL] (last trains between 11pm and 1am).[PARA][BOLD]Underground:[EBOLD] The 'tube' is the largest underground train system [PARA]in the world and generally,[ITAL] it is fast, easy to use, efficient (well, [PARA]maybe not the Northern Line) and takes you just about anywhere [PARA]you want to go, although South-East London is a bit hard done by.[PARA]However, it is often crowded,[EITAL] shuts down at midnight,[ITAL] it's often [PARA]disrupted by bomb scares[EITAL] and the minimum fare is 90p. [ITAL]Talking [PARA]to other tube passengers is tantamount to threatening their [PARA]mother - the only people who do it are tourists and people who [PARA]want to talk to you about Jesus.[EITAL] Nearest tube to Senate [PARA]House/ULU Building: Goodge St (Northern Line).[PARA][BOLD]Local Buses: [EBOLD][ITAL]In the tube you can't see the real sights, so why not [PARA]take the buses which are just as efficient,[EITAL] offer even more [PARA]destinations and are slightly cheaper (50p minimum). [ITAL]But buses [PARA]are slow and, until you know your way around, it's difficult to [PARA]know which ones take you where.[EITAL] After midnight, buses come [PARA]into their own - Night Buses are London's only form of all-night [PARA]public transport and[ITAL] if you don't mind how long it takes,[EITAL] you can [PARA]go almost anywhere within 10 miles of the centre.[PARA][BOLD]Travelcards:[EBOLD] For a legal way of dodging the expense of tubes, [PARA]buses and trains, Travelcards are available at ú2.60 for a daily [PARA]pass for the central 2 zones of the network.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis: [EBOLD]There are 2 types:[ITAL] the classic black cabs which are well [PARA]regulated and enormously expensive, and dodgy merchants in [PARA]Ford Escorts which are almost as expensive. There are now [PARA]also some run by and for women. Basically though, forget all [PARA]taxis, except late at night when all else fails and/or you're in a [PARA]party of 4 or more.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Parking in Central London is impossible, and, although there[PARA]is only one rush hour every day it lasts from 6 in the morning to [PARA]midnight. Driving in London is excellent training for being a [PARA]volcano.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Air: [EBOLD]Served by 4 airports, including Heathrow, the world's [PARA]busiest. Regular flights to anywhere and back.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[ITAL] [EBOLD]Not possible from Central London, but get out a little [PARA]way on to the city's escape routes or beyond the M25 and a [PARA]thumb's a first class ticket.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles: [EBOLD][ITAL] A popular form of student travel given the pros: it's [PARA]cheap and you can get through traffic. But there are the cons: [PARA]London is big, full of exhaust fumes, lacking in cycle lanes and a [PARA]Houdini-proof lock is advisable. It's also an easy way to die.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] The nearest mainline BR station - Victoria - is just under [PARA]11/2 miles away.[PARA][BOLD]Buses:[EBOLD] 9; 10; 51; 74; and C1. Night buses: N14; and N97.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Very limited parking[EITAL].[PARA][BOLD]Underground:[EBOLD] Gloucester Road and South Kensington (both on [PARA]the District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines)[HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]City and Guilds[EBOLD] 2,006 22-24pts[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 1,726 20-22pts[BOLD][PARA]Mines[EBOLD] 370 20-22pts[BOLD][PARA]Medicine[EBOLD] 638 24pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 650,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 4,000 [BULL] Study places: 1,000[PARA][BULL] Computer workstations: 800[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]There are 15 libraries in all, including the Medical School and [PARA]departmental libraries[ITAL].[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 6full/1part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 8.1%[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]Students are made to feel wanted at Imperial where potential [PARA]employers advertise careers at every turn and take a willing [PARA]commercial interest in goings on. Each department has its own [PARA]careers advisor.[HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Imperial's mascot is a 185lbs micrometer, which deters the [PARA]trend amongst London colleges of stealing each other's mascots.[PARA][BULL]99% of Imperial's staff have PhDs, and 20% of students get [PARA]1st class degrees.[ITAL][HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]Mary Archer (Lord Jeff's wife); Sir Roger Bannister (4 minute [PARA]miler); Rajiv Gandhi (former Indian Prime Minister); Sunetra Gupta[PARA](writer); Brian May (large-haired Queen guitar hero); H G Wells [PARA](writer); J P R Williams (rugby player); Francis Wilson [PARA](weatherman and heart-throb).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads, and alternative [PARA]prospectus from SU.[PARA][PARA]
