University of Cambridge vs Imperial College London: Admission, Deadlines, Fees Compared

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Cambridge and Imperial are both selective UK universities but organised very differently. Cambridge is a collegiate university: every undergraduate belongs to a constituent college as well as an academic department, and most courses ask for an admissions test, submitted written work, or an interview alongside the standard UCAS application, due on an earlier October deadline than most UK universities. Imperial teaches only science, engineering, medicine and business, with almost every course priced in the higher, laboratory based fee band; its Faculty of Medicine charges the highest fee on campus for its six year MBBS/BSc course. Cambridge's published tuition runs from GBP 29,052 to 70,554 a year and asks for IELTS 7.5; Imperial runs from GBP 42,700 to 58,600 a year and needs IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 100. A student who wants a broad subject range with a collegiate structure fits Cambridge better; one set on lab based science, engineering or medicine in central London fits Imperial. Check each one's own course pages for the exact fee and English score for the specific subject applied to.