Halfway through my final year as an undergraduate, I panicked: I had chosen a degree in a subject I loved, but said subject did not equal leaving university with a plethora of job offers to peruse at my fancy. So, like many graduates unsure of what to do, I prolonged my education by applying to study for the PGCE at the University of Cambridge.

As a graduate entering Cambridge from another university, I didn’t come with the expectation of living the typical ‘uni lifestyle’. I knew that my chosen course would be intense and I was unsure what to expect from life at Cambridge too. I was wary of branching out into the clandestine club of elite Cambridge University students, who, articles proclaimed, partied and worked harder than students anywhere else. 

Arriving in Cambridge, you can't help but fall in love with the city; it's big enough not to be boring, yet small enough that, after a month, you can't imagine getting lost here. I lived in graduate halls of residence, something which I approached with much trepidation, assuming (wrongly) that it would be full of dull,  middle-aged PhD students. Instead, it was a complete mix of students, with mature undergraduates, trainee teachers, medics, Masters and post-graduate students. What surprised me most of all was the attitude of the people with whom I lived; they still wanted to go out, experience new things and enjoy Cambridge life. It wasn’t the blow-out partying of teenage undergraduates, but we still had a lot of fun.

The collegiate system and the college pride it inspires was something I found surprisingly enjoyable. When you join a Cambridge college, you become part of a community; something one does not experience at most universities, where anonymity is often a defining feature. My advice to graduates arriving to study at Cambridge is to relish the chance to prolong your student life: throw yourself into your studies, be open-minded about trying new things and make the time to meet new people and forge new friendships, as ultimately, they are the ones who will make or break your time here.