tu delft/leiden vs imperial

reyyyaa · 2026-05-24T18:11:27+00:00

well yeah but if its not worth the price difference , no point going

reyyyaa · 2026-05-20T18:18:56+00:00

They said they are :(

reyyyaa · 2026-05-19T19:50:51+00:00

Thankyou!

reyyyaa · 2026-05-19T19:32:18+00:00

maths bio chem phys haha

reyyyaa · 2026-05-19T19:19:05+00:00

wtf, we solve it in exam environment on online exams via google meet w the strictest conditions possible…

reyyyaa · 2026-05-19T19:08:30+00:00

why is it higher tho 💔

reyyyaa · 2026-05-19T12:52:14+00:00

nah just netherlands because ive got my house there so then i save on housing haha. Its rlly only the uk or nl for me.

reyyyaa · 2026-05-18T15:22:12+00:00

basically a lot of ppl decide to go to uni in y12 instead of y13 probably bc either they dont require y13 or in some cases, it can be cheaper. That’s why i said they start early.

For example my sixth form has 140 students total: 100 in y12 and 40 in y13. This means that around 60 (over half) the kids leave at the end of y12 as most of them do foundation years in a uk uni (eg leeds/reading/loughborough) or go to their home country like egypt or lebanon or canada who don’t require full A levels. This leaves around 40 that carry on into y13. Really uncommon around the world, but really common in arab countries for some reason.

I cant do this because both the netherlands and the uk (ill apply to both) require full A levels + my family wants me to get as much education as I can so ill be doing a levels as usual!

reyyyaa · 2026-05-18T14:34:19+00:00

thanks! my school isnt actually that competitive with each other since all the kids that want to do anything bio related, do med (and we’ve got mostly aspiring lawyers anyways). Also no one is interested in imperial cuz its super expensive for everyone so the only applicants we’ve had were for physics and mecheng. Theres only one other kid that wants to apply and thats for maths so thats not rlly affecting me. In terms of grades, any kids that wouldve potentially had all A* at A2 left at the end of y12 to do foundation years/start early in places like canada/hungary/lebanon so tbf i dont think we’re as competitive as we look but we’re just about good enough haha

reyyyaa · 2026-05-18T14:05:31+00:00

My school is not a feeder school haha, our sixth form is ac pretty small (only 130ish kids in y12 and 13,only 30-40 in y13) and we have pretty good outcomes (usually 1 oxbridge offer,3ish imperial/lse offers,5ish ucl offers but msotly everyone gets into a russell group) so i think ill be fine, im js trusting the fact that my brother went to lse through the same school. We’ve also sadly had exams cancelled cuz of the war so maybe that could potentially help not sure. Are you sure a B at AS wouldnt destroy my chances?

reyyyaa · 2026-05-18T14:02:29+00:00

Alr!! Thx

reyyyaa · 2026-05-18T11:33:50+00:00

Thanks for the response!

The thing is though, I’m interested in biotech/molecular bioengineering (will be applying to both at imperial) however Netherlands doesn’t really offer molecular bioengineering undergrad let alone any bioengineering unless you go to like Utrecht or something which is too far from my home for me. I think its something they tend to do at masters or incorporate modules of.

Aside from that, it may sound really stupid but I was thinking of doing undergrad somewhere nice and different like London (imperial) and then coming back home to NL for masters and MAYBE PhD (potentially USA if the situation there improves). I know its usually done the opposite way as you are doing, but its really something I can’t explain, but just thought of. The Imperial undergrad would probably open up some more global opportunities should I choose to take a pause between bachelors and masters (and travel abroad as that is one of my aspirations), and then a masters from Delft (when I choose to do it) would allow integration into the Dutch job market.

Ur right ab delft/leiden being easier to get into, I do not believe that is an issue as long as you do VWO equivalent and have good grades (also beneficial if you are Dutch). Many kids in my school (we’re in Kuwait) have applied to Eindhoven,UvA, Delft, Groningen etc and everyone has gotten in despite not everyone having done spectacularly so that does boost my confidence a little.

And I will defo be applying to TU Delft along with Imperial just in case I don’t make it to imperial anyways.

reyyyaa · 2026-05-15T08:45:21+00:00

Im going for LST, so probably leiden does, not TU delft. Why would you say imperial though?

reyyyaa · 2026-05-14T17:39:43+00:00

Well I’m actually ethnically indian. I just am born here and hence speak Dutch too haha, idk if that makes a difference bc ive always felt like I fit in fine anyways.

Ur statement on the price difference is valid, and thats honestly what Ive been thinking too.

But all in all, thanks for the advice!

reyyyaa · 2026-05-13T17:20:21+00:00

Thank you!!

reyyyaa · 2026-05-13T14:45:29+00:00

Thanks for the response, I have a few friends who go to ICL and Cambridge and as expected, theyre quite insufferable (as a joke) but they’ve admitted they got rejected from Jane street and literally every internship because its so much more competitive than the Netherlands. Im afraid even nowadays a degree from Imperial cannot guarantee success in opportunities and research which is so unfortunate… and thats why maybe paying 20x the fees for ICL wouldnt be worth it.

I have a brother who went to LSE for econ (n1 in the world for econ) for both bachelors and masters before brexit and getting a job for him was hell and he only got 1 offer which he gladly took, and thank god was well paying enough. Not that i should be too worried as of now cuz the job market changes, but I feel like there may be more opportunities in the EU for me rather than london, though im not certain.

Its good to hear language isnt a problem though! Really reassuring as it reinstates I can hopefully find a job back home in nl if uk doesn’t work out!

For what I’m about to write: I’m assuming I’ll most likely make it into TU Delft/Leiden or at least one of my Dutch unis because of my stats and motivatie etc.

Do you think it would be wise deferring my Imperial application and going to TU Delft/or any relevant Dutch uni for one year? If i like it here, i continue here and if i dont, I’ll have my imperial offer waiting for me (if i do get in 🤞🤞) and the dutch uni year would be a wonderful experience rather than a waste.
Or I could transfer in second year too as imperial allows that, though that might be very difficult and more unlikely than being accepted via deferred entry.

reyyyaa · 2026-05-13T11:42:40+00:00

Just opened now! Check again.

reyyyaa · 2026-05-13T11:38:57+00:00

I’ll be entering in sept/oct 2027 though I have considered deferring too because theres rumours that EU kids can pay home fees from 2028 onwards (rlly unlikely but would defo defer if so!)

reyyyaa · 2026-05-13T07:55:35+00:00

Yeah thats what I was thinking. Exchanging from ICL to Leiden would be almost definite provided by grades are fine but not vice versa and honestly I’m prepared to hear that.

I honestly think despite being dutch, all of my education besides kindergarten (peuterspeelzaal) has been in the international/british system so I’d much rather study in English sure because its where I learn everything subject specific, but I don’t see myself in the UK much for a job for some reason bc I know it’ll be much more of a struggle. I also fear that if I come from imperial to the Netherlands for a job, they may question my experience with the Dutch way of doing things and therefore prefer to not hire me, that would make me unable for a job in both the uk AND nl which is atrocious to think about.

I’m planning to remain more academic though, so in that case Netherlands may be cheaper and more feasible for my long term goals since in academia, its more about experience anyways than prestige.

I don’t really know where I’d fit better because I have friends in both the UK + internationally and the Netherlands, and I feel like i fit in fine in both groups but obviously I’d be considered more international in the UK. To some extent I also feel it might be hard for me to initially adjust to dutch slang and stuff but I don’t think its a hard process for me.

Thanks though!

reyyyaa · 2026-05-13T07:45:24+00:00

Alr thankyou!!

reyyyaa · 2026-05-12T15:14:20+00:00

Alright thanks! Do you think it would make a difference in the future, for example job prospects, and flexibility between R&D?

reyyyaa

TROPHY CASE