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Does applying to an oversubscribed college limit your chances of success?

I'm applying to Brasenose for Classics I for entry next year. However I am aware that Brasenose is an extremely popular college - would it disadvantage me applying here? Or would it really make no difference as if I am Oxford standard I should surely get pooled anyway?

I'm quite confused & stressed about what to do so if anyone could help it would be great!!!
Original post by _gracelizabethx
if I am Oxford standard I should surely get pooled anyway?


This :yep: Getting pooled is no guarantee of an eventual offer but if you are considered Oxford standard/worthy of a place, they will try and find you one somewhere. Plus sometimes the most popular colleges have more sway with pooling candidates (or at least that's the impression I got from my tutor, regarding the music applicants' pool) :colone:

If you like Brasenose, then go for it. Don't let the competition throw you! :awesome:
Original post by _gracelizabethx
I'm applying to Brasenose for Classics I for entry next year. However I am aware that Brasenose is an extremely popular college - would it disadvantage me applying here? Or would it really make no difference as if I am Oxford standard I should surely get pooled anyway?

I'm quite confused & stressed about what to do so if anyone could help it would be great!!!


I would agree with TLG, applying to a popular college makes you less likely to get an offer at that college but your chances of getting an offer overall shouldn't be affected
Reply 3
Avatar for BJack
BJack
19
You can see overall admissions stats by college here. There's probably some extremely loose trend line to be drawn through the numbers but you can see that colleges with lots of applications are spread pretty well throughout the overall success rate, with Brasenose sitting somewhere in the middle over recent years.

MexicanKeith is right that applying to Brasenose means you're more likely to be pooled to another college – in fact, most successful Brasenose applicants last year didn't end up at Brasenose. That's really the biggest argument against applying to an oversubscribed college, i.e. that you're reducing how likely it is that you'll really get to choose your college. For a particular college/course combination, the numbers change so much every year any way that there's very little playing-the-system that you could try to do.
Original post by BJack
You can see overall admissions stats by college here. There's probably some extremely loose trend line to be drawn through the numbers but you can see that colleges with lots of applications are spread pretty well throughout the overall success rate, with Brasenose sitting somewhere in the middle over recent years.

MexicanKeith is right that applying to Brasenose means you're more likely to be pooled to another college – in fact, most successful Brasenose applicants last year didn't end up at Brasenose. That's really the biggest argument against applying to an oversubscribed college, i.e. that you're reducing how likely it is that you'll really get to choose your college. For a particular college/course combination, the numbers change so much every year any way that there's very little playing-the-system that you could try to do.


We received 19 applications for Classics sole last year and 7 candidates achieved places, 3 with us and 4 at other colleges.

Across the whole University, there were 225 applications and a total of 92 offers were made.

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