Cambridge college choice - tactical

[eggsbenedict23]

Is there any point looking at admission statistics for Cambridge colleges to see where is more likely to get in?

Is it worth choosing colleges tactically or does the pooling system eliminate this need?

My idea is that for Economics Trinity and Kings would be very very popular choices.

It's TSR. Are they always truthful there?

That OP who got rejected is an international student. My DS is a home student.

What they are ‘trying’ to do is identify real merit and not just award the advantaged without a critical review of those that may not have quite the same record, but achieved with more challenging circumstances and less advantage.

I know that it’s my job!!!!

It is likely he will get an interview but occasionally Oxbridge applications throw up surprises. As a PP, we had our strongest candidate 10 grade 9s at gcse, 4 x Astar predictions, pilot license, loads of super curricular etc… didn’t get an interview.

Just be excited about all 5 options in the UCAS form.

In answer to the original question, I don’t think going though College stats makes that much of a difference. But it is quite fun to do and can help if you are swithering between a few options.

Well the way you frame it makes it sound like you’re one of the woe is me independent school parents bitching about the system.

I appreciate texting on threads from a professional standpoint can be a lot of work, but declaring your interest helps.

Yes, do. But because it's a great college. Not because it's any easier to get in!

I am sure he will get an interview. But just be aware it’s not a dead cert. Lots and lots of kids have four a star predictions.

It definitely doesn’t make me sound like that and being balanced is a work of continuous commitment. Thousands more apply than there are places and that is the thing all applicants need to bear in mind

I’d think that would be the aim. Do remember that non Oxbridge hardly interview at all. At one open day for a Russel Group Mon Oxbridge my DC was told that ‘the Faculty has little or no input on who gets an offer’.

Well it definitely read like that to me, so you’re definitely incorrect, even if it is just me. It was a bit off hand, but that is what I took it for having listened to these exact laments.

I am fully aware that balance is a serious commitment, and one I’m very pleased you strive for.

Unifrog has every college listed (at least they do for Cambridge, and I assume Oxford), and stats from wealth, percentage they take from the pool, percentage from private and state, and you can do it by subject for how many applicants to offers. And if bursaries are important they have the average stats per college on that too.
So an applicant can try and give themselves as much of a statistical chance as possible, but there are no guarantees for anything! Seems for as many four A stars candidates that didn't get an interview there are those who can hardly believe they got in.

I don’t want anyone to feel they are discriminated against and it’s definitely not designed to disadvantage anyone. In this City the best 6th is a state one, we also have 2 outstanding private schools and one minor public school

Bear in mind that choice of college dictates who your tutor will be. This is really important as you spend so much time with them. I thought I had chosen a college but when I visited it on an open day and met the tutor for my subject I really didn't like them. I visited some other colleges and applied for the one where I felt welcome and liked the tutors.

My brother left college choice open and ended up at a college where he just didn't click with the tutor. It really affected his first year and he nearly dropped out.

Credentials - see username - undergrad, post-grad, plus worked in a different college's admissions office

My advice would be visit colleges, work out where you would thrive or be happiest, apply there. Be authentic

It's usually possible to tell when an applicant is trying to game the system by applying to an "easy" college. None of the colleges appreciate the insinuation that they are am "easy" college. The system goes through much consideration and revision by some pretty bright people to ensure it's about as fair as possible

Also statistics lie. That college that took a high %of state school in x subject? Could be a small number of students, could be natural variation (e.g. flipping five tails in a row), could be a "human" explanation (ex student of said college becomes famous/becomes inspirational teacher etc)

Also I second apply to Girton. If it was meant in good faith. There's a swimming pool!

Definitely agree about visiting and getting a feel for places. Dd decided on Pembroke for her number one choice as she felt they were welcoming, they talked about supporting students with special needs and quite importantly for her they are coeliac society validated! 😁

It's TSR. Are they always truthful there?

Completely agree with this. It would be unusual for a 17 year old who achieved S in STEP, notionally a year earlier to not have an interview.

I think college choice can be incredibly important, some colleges are hugely oversubscribed and the pool system only works to a point. An undersubscribed college will not take anybody to make up the numbers, but they probably will be more favourably inclined to a less impressive candidate – I’ve seen it happen. However, it is quite a hard thing to game because as ppl pointed out if you’re in with a fighting Cambridge chance you can analyse those statistics and everyone else will be analysing them too and applying strategically. Your son should get an interview OP but others are right - not everyone with his background does. And an interview is very far from a guaranteed place.

Girton is fab, my only thing would be to say that it is waaaaay out of town. An enormous plus can be made of that so long as it’s what you want as a vibe. A lovely vibe, but a different one from some of the more obvious trad colleges. DHs PHD supervisor was one of the first make fellows. A left wing, Oxford Ruskin maverick and they honoured his memory with a conference and a tree planting in the orchard. So a truly lovely vibe if you can handle the outskirts setting 💕

Apply to Trinity if he has no real preference and you would have a chance of a bursary. Even if he's pooled and gets into another college (but no reason to think he would be -- it's a huge college and not always one of the most oversubscribed) he would still get the extra Trinity maintenance grant of over 4k a year. But you have to put Trinity down as the original first choice. www.trin.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/finance/financial-support/

Otherwise I would recommend applying to whichever he most likes when you walk around. The system is too variable year-on-year to be gameable.

My brother went to Robinson college (years ago) which he chose because they took more state school students than other colleges and he was from a grammar. Others applied with similar predictions but didn’t get interviews. My dad thinks it was his job that swung it - who did they even ask parent’s occupation on the application form?! But they did. No idea if that’s still the case.

If you look at the Cambridge statistics you'll see the pooling is a bit of a sop - there are 20 pooled offers a year for 20,000 applications.

My son got rejected last year with 3 A Star predictions. We looked closely at the statistics but actually I don't think it makes much difference. A big college like Churchill might offer 20 places for engineering, Girton might offer 12. You look at the offer rate Churchill might be more favourable, but maybe the quality of candidates is less strong at Girton.

You'll also notice fluctuations in admissions statistics where candidates try to game the system. No point, I think, your son might as well just follow his heart and hope he's lucky.

The most important thing is be the kind of person who would successfully add to the research of an august and ancient institution. Not the sort of person who pisses around in GCSE German because he doesn't like the teacher and gets a 7 (= my son...so glad he didn't get a place, it wouldn't have worked).

I knew someone who works in admissions for maths snd science at Peterhouse, he used to complain about their lack of strong applicants.

Not sure that's still the case, and P'houee IS fusty. But statistically, his chances of getting in there may be relatively good.

Broader point: look at the college league tables and consider some of the colleges with weaker results in his subject.

OP,

TMUA is cool maths. The formal knowledge is A level maths but to say ‘TMUA is just A level maths’ is to say ‘Shakespeare was just a popular playwright’. It misses the point entirely.

I think your DS probably has the same chances as anyone, but minimising TMUA and similar won’t help him.

Every year this board fills with mums whose DC had 4 A star at PG and got rejected from Cambridge, Warwick, UCL and LSE. Now they add Imperial to the list.

Yes, TSR is quite reliable.

Is it not 20% that are pooled??