Is Imperial College London harder to get into than ETH Zurich?

Yes, for most international applicants, Imperial is usually harder to get into in a holistic, competitive sense, while ETH Zurich is often more predictable if you clearly meet its academic entry requirements. The key difference is that Imperial actively selects among many highly qualified applicants for a limited number of places, especially in subjects like engineering, computing, math, and the sciences. ETH Zurich, by contrast, is more rules-based at the undergraduate level, so difficulty depends heavily on whether your school-leaving credential matches its stated standards and whether you must pass additional entrance exams or language requirements.

Imperial tends to suit students who have a very strong academic profile plus subject-specific preparation that stands out within a competitive pool. For UK applicants that can mean top predicted grades and strong performance on any required admissions test or interview. For international students, the bar is also high, and meeting the published requirements does not mean admission is likely because Imperial can still choose among many applicants who all look excellent on paper.

ETH Zurich is a different kind of challenge. It fits students who want a more transparent system and who are comfortable navigating formal credential rules, possible reduced or comprehensive entrance exams, and program language expectations. If your national curriculum or diploma is recognized in the right way, admission can be more straightforward than at Imperial. If it is not, ETH can become harder in a bureaucratic and exam-based way rather than a purely competitive one.

For math and science specifically, both are elite, but the admissions experience feels different. Imperial is usually the tougher one when the question is, “Which school is more selective among already excellent applicants?” ETH can feel harder only when an applicant’s qualification does not map cleanly onto Swiss requirements or when German-language expectations matter for the program.