Another year, another round of university open days. If you had the chance to visit Cambridge before starting here, I’m sure you remember the feelings that you had when you visited. Awe, maybe intimidation, confusion at how big everything seemed. That’s how I felt anyway, visiting in the September of Year 13.

Now, almost three years later, having worked at two sets of open days at John’s, it’s funny how those feelings have mostly gone away. College seems like home and I find myself now on the other side of the table, giving tours and showing people around all the while arguing with school teachers seeking to show me up with their knowledge of the history and workings of the college. Working at the open days, though, surrounded by students and their parents, it’s easy enough to put myself back in the shoes of a seventeen-year-old and tell them what I would’ve liked to know back in the day.

It’s slightly odd in some ways, because during training, as student ambassadors, we are told not to frame anything badly, or mention anything extremely negative or controversial about the college. Being at John’s, a few things might come to mind here. But our job is to choose our words carefully, and filter anything that might come off as a drawback or scare the already overwhelmed Year 12s off.

“Our role is to make the college seem like the most attractive in Cambridge”

It’s fair enough. Our role is to make the college seem like the most attractive in Cambridge and I’m not sure hearing about the scrapping of SJV, peeing in college sanitary kits, or rent increases would help with that. It’s also tricky not to mention things that are more general problems, like the cost of living or the reality of the workload here. These are things that I’m sure the Year 12s and families anticipate, but it’s still a bit awkward to be on the receiving end of the stares of disbelief when reading the termly rent costs off the bit of paper.

Still, setting the filtering and selective information aside, I think student helpers are one of the most important, if not the most important, parts of the open days. Even if we’re not supposed to mention certain things, it’s more likely that you’ll get more honest and relevant information from current students than from admissions tutors or fellows. As students, we can talk about what life is actually like here: social life, sports, nightlife, clubs, mixing between colleges, etcetera. I found that more Year 12s wanted to know about that side of university life and a lot of them left it to the parents and teachers to ask about admissions processes and statistics. Obviously, you can find student accounts and testimonies of the world outside academics on the uni websites and social media, but it’s definitely more interesting to talk to someone one-on-one in person about what life looks like here.

“I don’t think it’s helpful to complain all the time about what we wish could be changed”

Even with regards to the academic side, it’s always nice to talk about something you love with someone else who’s interested in it as well. I study languages which means, in comparison to other bigger subjects maybe, I belong to a fairly small cohort. When I meet someone interested in MML then, it’s always a good time and I don’t really have to pretend or drag up enthusiasm for my subject. I think in this way, it’s as fun for us as students as it is helpful for those awestruck adolescents on the other side of these interactions

Obviously, there are many things that aren’t perfect at John’s, and at Cambridge in general. That’s reality and that’s life and I think we can all agree that nowhere is 100% perfect. It’s very important to acknowledge and address the real problems that do exist here, but I don’t think it’s helpful to complain all the time about what we wish could be changed. The negatives aren’t how I personally would define Cambridge as a whole and the open days, for me, were a reminder of how privileged and lucky I am to be here, receiving a world-class education with so many opportunities on the side, both professionally and developmentally as a person. I often get caught up in the stress that we all experience here, and so it’s nice sometimes to step back to let ourselves put on the rose coloured glasses, take a look around and appreciate our surroundings.