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.

These are the direct offer / pooled offer stats for 2022.

I agree with the previous poster who says college choice matters far more for applicants from the independent sector.

You can see that the direct offer ratio (ie. from the college applied to / allocated to) is broadly similar for the maintained and independent sectors (around 17%).

If an applicant is deemed to meet the required standard for Cambridge they will be pooled (if no space at the college applied to). Roughly 1 in 4 applicants from the independent sector were winter pooled, compared to approx 1 in 5 from the maintained sector.

However, only about 1 in 10 of those applying from independent schools were 'fished' from the winter pool, compared to 1 in 5 from the maintained sector.

This is probably because all colleges have to publish ratios for offers / acceptances to the independent and maintained sectors and will use the winter pool to 'balance' their WP stats.

I'm not saying this is 'unfair', but it is something to bear in mind if applying from the independent sector because the odds of being accepted via the winter pool are less.

Just to clarify, the lower section is for deferred entry. I was just talking about the upper section (applications for 2022).

Don't even think of applying to Kings unless he is a minority state school pupil. They are well known for being extremists in terms of political bias. Try one of the modern colleges or an open application.

Just because the terms might confuse, the tutor in Cambridge is pastoral and not subject specific. The Director of Studies is the one who leads the subject within the college, and will almost always interview. For that reason, if nothing else, a student would be wise not to apply to a college with a DoS they didn’t like.

But roles can change very quickly so don’t make a choice purely based on the people.

They asked to understand the background of the applicant and understand how diverse the intake was - I was one of the very rare breed in the 90s to have had neither parent go to university. I’d have hoped it didn’t work the other way but suspect it could well have done - back then my college always announced in the college magazine when children and grandchildren of alumni arrived. (They don’t now.)

If you look at the stats, the less popular colleges take more candidates from the pool. This means that it doesn’t really work for weaker candidates to try to increase their chances by applying to these colleges.

Also I would be very sceptical about some of these anecdotes on the Student Room. Lots are made up.

Anecdotally, the offers set are higher if picked from pool and from a private school. We know 2 girls who were plucked from the pool this year for Cam and set 4 A star offers including in FM. Also, private schoolers are not eligible for the summer pool, only state.

Interesting given that P’house has had its fair share of Nobel Prize winners in science.

These days they have a fair few profs and lecturers that are not products of the independent school system. I think the new Master is one, in fact. He’s a physicist.

A 4A* offer? Wowza. I

do you have insider info??

Yes. They both got the grades too with a lot of hard work.

It’s just Girton is a schlep up a steep hill out of town and used to be an all- women’s college

I would look at those that take a higher percentage from the pool and then pick the one that appeals most, with the idea of avoiding being pooled for somewhere you don’t like.

You also can't really predict what you'll like or not, unless you have any real deal breakers like location or new/old (and you think that will really matter to you as many people realise once they arrive that it doesn't). The richer colleges have cheaper rents and more financial assistance which is worth thinking about. My personal experience is so dated to be worthless but when I was there some colleges were considered quite 'rah' and public school, and that may well have changed since given the shift in state school intake percentages. Conversely some were more left wing - I see King's is accused upthread of being ;extremist' 😂so I assume that's still in play too.

Would people say Oxbridge is still elitist?

Definitely choose tactically - my ex bf's daughter tried to get into a big Oxf college (of course she didn't get in) and got pooled into a modern one. If she'd chosen a less salubrious one she'd have got a place I'm sure

Yes. By extremist I mean super woke and extremely left wing!

I don't think the woke issue is only discernible at Kings. Although I'm told by many current students that Kings does have reputation for a certain type of students who bang on about being more 'deserving' because they went to state schools, with no flicker of recognition that actually their schools were top grammars or high performing schools in the Home Counties! It's champagne socialism galore apparently. Meanwhile, the students who actually met WP criteria are just getting on with it, across all the various colleges, without a song and dance.

Also, don't assume that the big traditional colleges are going to be more competitive. It really does depend on the subject.

I'm not sure that Girton is less competitive either. I've seen years where they've taken absolutely none of their direct applicants (in DC subject at least) and taken them all from the pool.

DC applied to a college that had a quite favourable and stable ratio of applicants to places. It seems that many had the same idea because when the stats came out for his year, the usual 25 for about 6 places had shot up to over 50. They had also pooled 3 elsewhere.

All I would say though, is that some courses at some colleges do seem to take from the pool every year. It's unclear as to whether this is anything to do with 'weaker' candidates on average, or just the style / working practice of the admissions people (ie. some tutors are simply less inclined / bothered to trawl through the pool than others). Who knows?

@septembersunrise yes that's what we've been told. If any college doesn't attract the right calibre candidates they will just take from either the open candidates that they are allocated or the winter pool. Just because a college doesn't have many direct applicants does not make it easier to get into?

It's a pretty flat bike ride... but it is 2.5 miles from the city centre and it's a 40 minute bus ride. Buses are only once an hour in the evenings and stop around 10.30pm. There isn't much nearby - a Sainsburys in Eddington and a Co op in Girton village, a couple of pubs about a mile away. Fine if you enjoy being out in a village and college life, not so great if you like going out on the town in the evening or want to be involved in things like drama or debating or most of your friends are at other colleges or struggle to get up in the morning...

Well, bring on Friday then.
Daughter has a shortlist and we'll try and get round to them all.
Is there a central meet and greet point or you just wander over to X college and there'll be people there?

30 years ago I applied to a college which a/ had a reputation of being posh/private school and b/ had only recently started taking women, on the assumption that being a female state school pupil they'd be looking for more like me. I got in - whether I would have done anyway, I don't know of course.

Depends what you mean by elitist. Socio-economically no. Intellectually absolutely!

As a state school pupil and the first in my family to go to university, I felt judged occasionally by a tiny number of fellow students but never ever by staff