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‘Bristol felt like a prep school reunion ... for everyone but me’ Imposter syndrome as a state schooler during freshers Maddy Richards MtG Column Editor
I
n an elite university setting it is easy for state-schoolers to find themselves out of the loop and unable to relate to their flatmates’ upbringings. Many battle an unshakable feeling that they are destined to fail: imposter syndrome.
Feelings of inadequacy, heightened by being around uncharacteristically large groups of privately educated peers, makes these students more vulnerable to these anxieties. Two years ago, Daisy* moved into leafy Stoke Bishop, a student village renowned for its expensive accommodation and private school reputation. Coming from a state school
in the north of England, settling into Stoke Bishop was a shock to Daisy’s system. Faced with a new crowd who she felt little in common with, her first year was a rude awakening to the realities of how boarding school networks dominate the Bristol fresher experience.
reotypes’, revealing how, out of 10 people on her corridor, over half were from private schools, and not any old private schools, but what she describes as ‘the top public schools in the country such as Marlborough, Eton and Stowe.‘
Daisy told Epigram how ‘Badock lived up to the private school ste-
‘I often felt out of my depth and like I had to pretend to be someone else - someone more affluent’
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Although closing the private school gap has become central to conversations for universities in recent years, Bristol University continues to fall behind its counterparts. In 2021, Times Higher Education ranked Bristol 104 out of 115 universities for social inclusion. This ranking > Continue reading on Pg. 8
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