“Are you REALLY sure you want to apply?” are never the rousing words of encouragement a 17-year old girl wants to hear before submitting her UCAS form. But such were the words of wisdom I received from my head of sixth form. I felt like David, and dreams of leather satchels an vintage bikes were my Goliath.

Admittedly, my head of sixth form was, perhaps, right to be pessimistic. Coming from a state school with only 47% of students achieving an A*-D at GCSE, I would be the second person to get into Oxbridge EVER.. But I am not going to get into a ‘my school was worse that your school’ privilege-and-pride discussion. It doesn’t matter, I got here on merit. Just like you and just like everybody else. We all had to get the same grades to get in, and we all worked our asses off to get those A-levels. Nonetheless, it was still pretty terrifying when I, a state-school kid of the lowest degree from a single-parent family, realised I would be going to the big, scary institution that is Cambridge.

Because, yes, it is an institution and it has got a unfavourable reputation fastened to its monolithic spires. What with Trent What’s-His-Name disrupting the Boat Race; the fact that The Guardian has an entire web section on ‘Oxbridge and Elitism’; and the somewhat disheartening 2012 admission statistics that show 82.8% of the intake were White, 52% male and only 19.6% from a comprehensive school, Cambridge is not portrayed as a pinnacle of egalitarianism. But, if we – as a society - are being honest with ourselves, it shouldn’t be.

Frantically searching ‘Cambridge’ on Google before the dreaded interview day, I was confronted with articles about outlandish interviewers sitting in imposing armchairs and asking you to ‘tell them about a banana’. It all seemed very outdated, very prejudiced and very, very bourgeois. But, after a year of walking the cobbles of King’s Parade, I can confidently say that Cambridge’s reputation is one that is, in most parts, undeserved. Of course, admissions do not look great for combating elitism, but that problem is not with Cambridge, but the education system in general. Oxbridge wants ‘the best’ in the country, and, as harsh and ineloquent as it may sound, ‘the best’ come from the best schools.. I do not hold a grudge against my private-school buddies for their education – after all, it got them to the same place as me and for that, I cannot be envious. I am not saying that just because I broke the state-school stereotype that everybody can – that’s unrealistic. What I would say is that the media, and society, love a good bitch about what they see as unfair treatment. From the lavish matriculation services of Fresher’s Week to the glorious traditions of the antiquated May Week, newspapers are full of articles disparaging the “wealthy scions”.. They treat Cambridge as a barrier to an equal society, blaming the admissions process for failing to admit a proportionate amount of minorities. But it is the inequality in secondary education that produces the disparity  While state-schools, like mine, are trying to get as many kids as they can to the pass level the top independent schools can focus on getting as many kids as they can to the top levels.

So yes, there is an issue with the disproportionate intake. But that is for the politicians to sort out. For now, I can tell you that all that cheesy prospectus spiel about ‘backgrounds do not matter’ is true. I have never felt undermined or unequal, because the primary thing people care about in Cambridge is your brain. It is a meritocracy – just with some quirky remnants of its toff days. Chatting to the world’s best academics at your matriculation, or swigging Pimms at a garden party are some of the traditions that make Cambridge the abnormal yet amazing place you’ll learn to love. Cambridge is an institution with an elite past, and you will have to embrace that. It is changing, conscious of its outdated portrayal. Wherever you’ve come from, remember it, and be proud of it – because it got you to the same place as the person next door to you. And, if I have one piece of departing wisdom it is to be open-minded: I would have hated it for somebody to judge me on my background, so don’t do it to somebody else.