The Alternative EEE Freshers Guide: Get a Life!
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Believe it or not it is possible to be an Imperial Electrical Engineer without living up to the expected levels of unsociability. Granted you have to be in lectures, labs and study groups at ungodly hours every day of the week, but this does not mean you have to be an Engineer in your spare time.
The key aspect to being successful at Imperial, ensuring that you gain maximum benefit from your time here is to maintain a healthy work and social balance. Strange as it may sound when you are a fresher but employers will look much more favourably upon a 2:1 level student with communication and social skills than a first candidate with the social aptitude of an over-ripe banana. So how do you achieve the seemingly impossible, how do you come out of Electrical Engineering with both a good degree respected the world over and the ability to convey your ideas to the outside world. Put simply, how do you avoid becoming a geek?
First of all you should ensure you expose yourself to all the diversity Imperial has to offer. Whilst in first year halls you have the opportunity to live with people poles apart from anyone who you would ever have considered living with. Try and take this opportunity with an open mind. Granted there will be people you clash with and simply want to avoid but there will be many more who will become good friends. The whole point of exposing yourself to cultural diversity is that in later life you will be better equipped to deal with people from all over the world, all with different perceptions on life. It is skills like this that are not taught in Electrical Engineering but will differentiate yourself from the crowd when it comes to searching for that elusive job after graduation.
So get out there - you live in London, one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the world. Take your newly acquired friends and explore. First port of call is usually the union, which is open every day but has a late licence on Wednesday and Friday nights. Wednesday is historically "Cheesey Wotsits" which is billed as a goo of all things sticky and cheesey, happy party music until 1 am. Assuming you make it through your high voltage laboratory on Thursday morning your next chance to explore the evils of wet glasses is Friday. Imperial Union offers a variety of Friday nights including more cheese, Drum and Bass, R&B and Dance, the idea being that on one week a month everyone's tastes should be met.
Although the union may be a good start point, as you build your army of friends up you will soon want to explore other student unions, such as Kings or LSE. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you could get out and meet some real people. You have two choices. Firstly there are the cheap (i.e. student) specials, which go on weekdays. Drinks are dangerously cheap, starting from as little as 70p a shot, music is cheesy and action is plentiful. But often it's worthwhile waiting for the weekend and going to a proper club such as Fabric or Ministry of Sound. However the entrance fee will set you back about £15 and drinks will be a minimum of £4 each!
There are also thousands of musicals, theatres, comedy clubs, operas and classical, rock and pop concerts to choose from. Many of the more cultural venues do on-the-night student specials. Get dressed up, hit the West End and ask at the box offices.
After a week of being surrounded by Imperial scientists a break can be nice. Who knows you may even meet Mr/Mrs Right on your travels. A good way to avoid becoming a geek is to ensure that you have set aside some time in the week to let your hair down and have some fun. You'll find that if you guarantee yourself one night as party night you will be much more productive during the week as you have something to look forward to.
The union not only provides a cheap drinking and dancing arena but also is the source of a host of clubs and societies. From sports to wine tasting to contemporary music there will be a club that suits you. All clubs are heavily subsidised and people of all levels of experience are welcome to join. This gives you further opportunity to meet more people, potentially from all over London, and vastly increase your network base while having some fun! So during Freshers' Week make sure you check out the freshers' fair and sign up to every club that takes your fancy. University subsidies give you the chance to try things you otherwise would never be able to afford - seize this opportunity with both hands.
Its true to say that the world knows the intellectual capabilities of an Imperial Engineering graduate, what you should develop in your time here is the ability to interact in groups and generally fit into teams. Socialising wherever possible is the key to this.
Also make sure you talk to the people in the years above you. On arrival you will be assigned a buddy, don't feel silly about asking them for advice or help because it is almost inevitable that they will have been in the same situation as you as few years ago. They know how they got through those particular problems and can share this information with you.
The key to not becoming a geek is to regularly socialise with as many different people as possible. Although this may be tricky initially as the work begins to pile on like never before, it is not impossible, take it from an essentially non-geeky fourth year Engineer!
Useful Links
Lastminute.com - Cheap tickets for theatres, concerts etc.Everything going on at the student union
