Imperial College London (UK)
Move over Oxford; Imperial College London is the new number one university in the UK and Europe -- and number two in the world (QS, 2025).
Founded in 1907 with a mission 'to be useful,' Imperial is a unique institution focused on science, engineering, medicine and business (STEMB).
With around 23,000 students (one-third of whom are undergraduates), Imperial is highly, highly selective.
And after seeing its impressive facilities and campus in the heart of South Kensington, it was easy to see why.
Here are some of the highlights from my visit!
London
First things first -- let's talk about what it means to be a student in London.
Sure, it's the most expensive city in the UK, but you get what you pay for -- and that is a vibrant experience surrounded by 400,000 other university students, where there is never nothing to do.
And for the average American, there is more history on one corner of London than there is in many parts of the U.S.; in some ways it's like stepping back in time.
Imperial campus
Imperial has a number of campuses in London, but the main one is in South Kensington, right in the heart of 'Albertopolis.'
This name dates back to Victorian Britain and refers to Prince Albert -- who was heavily involved in the Great Exhibition of 1851 -- and who had the vision that the area where Imperial now stands would be a campus of museums, colleges and educational institutions to promote the arts and sciences.
That's just what it became, with the V&A Museum, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Albert Hall and more.
The Royal College of Music is also located here, which partners with Imperial to apply scientific methods in tackling challenges of human performance across a variety of fields, including the arts, science and sport.
This campus has a huge range of architectural styles, from the Edwardian Royal School of Mines building to the ultra-modern Norman Foster-designed Business School.
The Business School is among just one percent of business schools worldwide to have been accredited by the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations: AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS (the 'Triple Crown').
It's also one of the first business schools to receive a department level Bronze Athena SWAN award from the Equality Challenge Unit in recognition of their commitment to tackling gender inequality in higher education.
For a STEMB-focused university, Imperial does quite well in terms of the gender breakdown, with approximately 43 percent female students.
It's also about 50 percent international, attracting the top students from all across the globe.
After all, so many of its programs are ranked in the top 10 globally!
The Faculty of Engineering is the largest of the four faculties, made up of almost half the college's student body.
This faculty also has some of the most unique facilities for a university, including the Carbon Capture Pilot Plant, which stretches over four floors.
It's the only facility in the world where undergraduate students are able to learn to operate the plant, and it forms a core part of the training Imperial provides to all of its young chemical engineers.
It's also a vital resource in the fight against climate change, demonstrating best practice in capturing and storing carbon dioxide before it can be released into the atmosphere.
The faculty also has a flight simulator and a number of high precision wind tunnels capable of aircraft/air vehicle testing, drag reduction and the testing of sporting equipment (i.e., cycle clothing or helmet drag testing).
In the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial also has the largest physics department in the UK.
The South Kensington campus is also home to a health and dental practice, the Students' Union, a gym and halls of residence.
There is also a free shuttle to the White City and Hammersmith campuses on weekdays.
And bonus - Imperial is right around the corner from the Parent Trap house (the Lindsay Lohan version)!
Summary: Imperial College London
Imperial College London's goal is to use science to try and understand more of the universe to improve people's lives.
It attracts the best and brightest students from all around the world, and thus, the admissions process is more involved than other UK universities.
Many programs will have a test, and the majority of programs even have an interview.
Overall, Imperial averages about 10 applications per undergraduate place, though programs like Computer Science and Mathematics are much more competitive (20 applications per place and 13 applications per place, respectively).
And if admitted, students need to be prepared for a high workload, too.
However, for high-achieving students in the STEMB fields, this is really the place to be.
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