Who throws the most extravagant parties? Whose bridge is prettiest? Whose munch is pengest? Your classic Cambridge student debates this kind of question inexhaustibly.

Spanning centuries, our colleges have found themselves riven by rivalries over the pettiest issues. Now, though, the age of technology is upon us, and with it comes arguably the most pressing problem of all: who has the best Snapchat filter?

The competition was fierce and the research process arduous. As you might imagine, traipsing around the city taking selfies in the name of investigative journalism was exhausting. After extensive deliberation, however, Violet can now reveal to you, our ever-anticipative and selfie-craving readers, the final six…

6) Emmanuel

Quite frankly, the only aesthetically pleasing aspect of this photo is the chic fur coat modelled by Violet fashion columnist and my first Snapchat target, Ellie Mullett, gloriously matching this decidedly mediocre filter. Oh, come on, Emmanuel, get it together. More creativity is required.

5) St John’s

Naturally, the John’s filter oozes ostentation. The grandiose backdrop of the college grounds perfectly offsets the images in the foreground: a pretentious swan and burly rugby player (perhaps not-so-subtle references to their drinking societies) which embody their notorious stereotype. Originality needed. Also, a serif font? Please. It’s 2017.

4) King’s

Even the less hardened Snapchatters among you will recognise the University-wide geofilters that accompany the college designs. If you ask me, though, this is the inferior of the two.

Some good parallelism and a moody B&W filter enhance this snap, yet the dynamic of the design is somewhat lacking.

3) University of Cambridge

This nifty filter, on the other hand, is much more like it. A variety of colours give life to a carefully composed Camscape, featuring must-see landmarks such as Senate House and the Fitzwilliam Museum to satisfy trigger-happy tourists and students alike. Snaptastic!

2) Murray Edwards

It seemed only natural that I ranked this one reasonably highly, since I myself am the star of the snap. The rating is not completely narcissism-fuelled, however, and it is the lively assortment of colourful flowers adorning an otherwise bland titular banner which ensure that Medwards clinches that coveted second place.

1) Selwyn

And so it’s a Sel-win!

This intricate emblem depicting a sunny Selwyn College, embellished with a banner of an almost regal quality, would alone be enough to guarantee the victory of this fancy filter. Violet editor Danny Wittenberg gazing wistfully into the distance (more specifically practising his ‘thousand-yard stare’) is merely an added bonus to the snap.

And so we are brought to the end of our odyssey of the colleges of Cambridge, filtered through the eyes of a happy snapper. Maybe your opinions on this critical matter vary greatly to mine – does your college have a better filter than those rated above? It is possible that I might have missed it. (Being chased out of a college by a sour-faced porter on the grounds that you look like a tourist is somewhat degrading.)

I must admit, on undertaking the weighty task of unearthing our local filters and ruthlessly pitting them against one another, I was in fact dismayed to discover that the number of colleges with their own geofilters are disappointingly few. According to the Snapchat website, creating a community-based filter is free. So if you ever find that you’ve exhausted your miscellany of usual procrastination methods and are looking for a new way to avoid your workload, get designing!