Emma wrote:

Hence at my (slightly lower class perception) uni, the first question on meeting an English person at St Andrews uni (particularly if opposing them in debates/sports etc and wanting to wind them up) was often 'I suppose you came through clearing', the subtext being 'you were too thick to get in down south.'

There are southern analogues to this... At Imperial College London (one of the better places to study science/engineering in England) sufficiently many undergrads are failed Oxbridge-ites that the standard fresher put-down question is 'so what [Oxbridge] college did you apply to?'.

4. You might get to snog royalty

You could do this in Cambridge in my time too... Not that I was ever much tempted.

Tavia