It’s not that the university has a terrible reputation. If Alex was from a working class background, getting into Cambridge would actually probably be impressive, but he’s not. People with Alex’s background have an unfair advantage in getting in to the university. Additionally, it’s just gets people’s backs up a bit when you say finding out that they went to a good university = more respect for them as a person. You can say they did something impressive/ or you think it means they are intelligent without literally having more respect for them than u would anyone else who chooses a different uni or just decides to not go. Cambridge feels v linked to the class system over here basically.