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The Official Cambridge Winter Pool 2012 thread (includes FAQ and daily updates)

Hi just to add my information.
I got pooled by Gonville and Caius for law.
Haven't heard anything over phone yet (did a very stupid thing of putting overseas home address phone number)
I'm an international student who is studying in England.
If considered, would I be called back for interview?
And also has any other lawyers been given offers by other colleges or been fished out for interviews?

Reply 1181

lordvulture

Original post by Tateco

That's very frustrating, just because you go to a posh school why do you feel like that gives you the right to let one of your teachers try to 'pull some strings'?

Cambridge does quota for all private schools and especially international students ( I am one), so I'm starting off from a significant disadvantage before even applying... besides, it most likely won't even make a difference

Reply 1182

jamil78613

1

Original post by leezee

WOWOWOW !! so glad I found someone !!! :smile:

I thougth i was the only one here... so worried... haven't heard anything..

Ahhh don't worry then, they've still got until the 12th to let you know, I have an interview at Girton on the 14th

Reply 1183

oxymoronic

19

Original post by lordvulture

ok I get your point, although I know its not strictly true - someone from my school 2 years ago got rejected (without an interview) by trinity maths, but the director of studies at our school pulled some strings and got him an interview at another college... and he got in in the end (hes a special case because he arrived in sixth form with no prior qualifications - hence the rejection straight away from trinity, but he was an exceptional mathematician - yes he is chinese), I was just wondering if anyone else knew similar stories with the pool

I would be willing to place money on the fact that the student was going to be offered an interview at another college anyway regardless of any intervention from your school. For example, this year the pool is open for colleges to browse between the 3rd and 5th January. By 6th January the colleges need to have interview lists drawn up and will start contacting applicants. By the time this person at your school found out that they were in the pool then a college would have already made a decision that they were going to interview him. Its more of a coincidence that your teacher phoned and then they were asked back to interview. As I said if Cambridge tutors spent their lives on the phone to various schools and actually took note of these things then it would be incredibly unfair and unethical of them to do so not to mention the fact that if this actually were a way to get an interview they would have every single Oxbridge focused school on the phone to them constantly so they couldn't actually administer the pool in the first place. Cambridge will not let this happen simply because they can not afford for it to get into the press and for applicants to think that calling does give them an advantage.

The same thing applies to results day. Every year there are stories flying around that people who missed their firm offer got into their firm choice because their teacher phoned up and persuaded the university to take them. This doesn't happen because universities get the exam results several days before applicants get them. During this time decisions are made on applications but it takes time for the decision to be processed on track. As a result, when the applicant has nothing on track on results day and phones with their massive plea the result they are finally given is the one that the university made several days ago. This is why phoning a choice which says "unsuccessful" on track will result in nothing more than an applicant being told over the phone that yes, they have been unsuccessful.

If you get an offer it will be on your own merits not because you have a teacher who can "pull some strings".

Reply 1184

landy

Got pooled by Gonville and Caius for Mathematics and got a phonecall with an interview from Robinson last night, is it still possible for other colleges to contact me or is that it now? Obviously very happy with what I've got but also very nervous as at Gonville and Caius a test was not necessary so am not sure what to expect

Reply 1185

nma1994

Original post by Georgeof

Guyz question: Are EU applicants considered for a re-interview?

I hope not! I can't travel to Cambridge again :s-smilie:

Reply 1186

lordvulture

He got an interview from another college after rejected without an interview (so he wasn't even interviewed, let alone pooled). I'm unaware of a system that allows other colleges to offer interviews to rejects before interview.

Reply 1187

izzet

Already posted before but just wanted to know where i stand in the pool category i don't understand this A B stuff:
6a* 6A*s gcse 5A'S at AS level average 92% 2A* 2A predictions. Law test was pretty good i thought, first interview was good but the second was horrific :/

Reply 1188

Visions-of-Johanna

1

Original post by mpc1

sorry to hear this.

Were you rejected by your original college that pooled you? From whom did you receive the letter? when did you get the "pooled" letter?

Yep, I haven't read the letter - I don't want to - but my Mum told me in the car that I had a letter from Newnham and that I had been rejected. (I applied to Newnham) I got the pooled letter on the 5th, so at least they haven't kept me waiting too long.

Good luck to you!

Original post by Tateco

Sorry to hear that :frown:

I know how much you wanted it from your posts, hope something works out for you.

I did want it, very much so, especially given it was my second try and I've put so much time and effort into it. And currently it feels like a mixture of numbness and the worst feeling in the world. But hey-ho. Life goes on. :smile:

Thanks! And I hope everything goes well for you too.

Reply 1189

Tateco

14

Original post by lordvulture

Cambridge does quota for all private schools and especially international students ( I am one), so I'm starting off from a significant disadvantage before even applying... besides, it most likely won't even make a difference

Yeah disadvantaged, correct me if I'm wrong but you go to a boarding school right? So for example that quota makes you more disadvantaged than someone from a crappy state school who has never sent anyone to Oxbridge and is given no help or preparation for interviews, awful teachers etc? Get real.

(Not saying I am that person, it's just an example because a lot of people are in that position and people like you saying you got rejected simply because there is a quota against private school applicants (which I'm almost sure there isn't) annoy me :smile:

)

Reply 1190

kirino1

Original post by eyesforeyes

a question for all clare applicants, especially for science subjects, and more specifically for engineering:

My pool letter was worded like this:

"unfortunately we have not been able to make you an offer at the college at this stage. However, we have sufficient confidence in your abilities and potential to recommend you to the inter-collegiate winter pool, wjhere you file will be available for consideration by clare and by other colleges."

was anyone else's letter worded like this, or does it mean something specific?

thanks :smile:

heyyy!! My letter was worded exactly like that!!! (but for christ's college!) does it mean anything?! :smile:

Reply 1191

isp

Original post by Tateco

Yeah disadvantaged, correct me if I'm wrong but you go to a boarding school right? So for example that quota makes you more disadvantaged than someone from a crappy state school who has never sent anyone to Oxbridge and is given no help or preparation for interviews, awful teachers etc? Get real.

(Not saying I am that person, it's just an example because a lot of people are in that position and people like you saying you got rejected simply because there is a quota against private school applicants (which I'm almost sure there isn't) annoy me :smile:

)

Not all private schools have great teachers. Infact some teachers at state schools are better than those at at private schools.

Reply 1192

taylorluce

Original post by rosietheology

Hi! I'm a choral scholar at Fitz, currently. Hmmm I think it should have said in your letter (not sure though), but either your choral scholarship will stay at Clare, and your academic place move, or your choral scholarship can be up for grabs by whatever college picks you out.
Did you originally apply to Clare? Or did you apply somewhere else and were you pooled to clare in the mini-pools during the choral trials earlier in the year? Because if the latter, you can safely say that your choral scholarship is Clare. If not, and you applied to Clare, then as I said, it's hard to tell and could be one or the other. Hope that made sense! GOOD LUCK!

Hi, thanks so much for your help! I was thinking the same as you. No, Clare was my 1st choice at the choral trials, so either I have the scholarship there, or none of the 10 colleges I put down on my list wanted me :s-smilie:

And it didn't say in my letter which doesn't help! Fingers crossed and thanks again for your help!

Reply 1193

xrachelliex

Original post by mamba123

Hi, I was also pooled by Magdalene for History, though the letter said that the college hadn't finished giving out places... Did yours say similar? My interview was the 5th, heard nothing yet!

*Magdalene, gahh, you can see I was tired when I wrote that message haha!

Yep mine did and I happen to know another person who got pooled from Pembroke for MML whose letter explicitly said that there were no more places. Don't know how to feel about that though, would just like an offer now haha! Mine was the 5th as well :smile:

Reply 1194

eprysehawkins

Original post by Tateco

Yeah disadvantaged, correct me if I'm wrong but you go to a boarding school right? So for example that quota makes you more disadvantaged than someone from a crappy state school who has never sent anyone to Oxbridge and is given no help or preparation for interviews, awful teachers etc? Get real.

(Not saying I am that person, it's just an example because a lot of people are in that position and people like you saying you got rejected simply because there is a quota against private school applicants (which I'm almost sure there isn't) annoy me :smile:

)

Completely agree about it most likely being absolutely ridiculous at your personal circumstances making a difference, especially in the pool, but just found this...only skim read it- quite interesting. worth a read?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8317611/University-elite-forced-to-take-fixed-quotas-of-state-pupils.html

Reply 1195

xrachelliex

Original post by ilikepie1993

What subject are you applying for? Still facing the deafening silence.. :frown:

every time my phone vibrates I get a heart attack. And I didn't qualify for auto-pool, cos I'm doing the IB, which means I only have predicteds and no actual grades...

History, like you! I'm not auto-pooled either, my AS %s weren't good enough, but we should take that as a compliment that our interviews must have been pretty good! Hope you hear soon!

Reply 1196

taylorluce

Original post by mat21

In the Winter Pool letter that we got, it says in the end in the statistics section '166 pooled applicants received offers from the College that pooled them'. I've been thinking about since yesterday, trying to figure out why would a college pool someone and then fish them out again. Does anyone see any logic in that sentence?

I read on the Winter Pool info sheet that some colleges pool an applicant, look at other applicants in the pool to compare, and then fish them back out if there is no better applicant!

Reply 1197

alexsasg

15

Original post by lordvulture

Cambridge does quota for all private schools and especially international students ( I am one), so I'm starting off from a significant disadvantage before even applying... besides, it most likely won't even make a difference

As Tateco's said, I don't really claim that's a disadvantage. A real disadvantage is if you go to a terrible state school and if no-one in your family's ever been to uni before so perhaps that's never really been a priority or you've had some really serious health problems or something.

Also, someone at a mediocre state school who achieves 3A*s is far more deserving of a place than someone who goes to a private school with a high Oxbridge application rate and gets the same grades. I'll probably get negged for this but I don't care. If someone's privately educated, they've got absolutely no right to claim that they're "disadvantaged". Quite frankly, they can shut the hell up.

(This isn't aimed at you specifically, sorry if it seems that way. But people claiming that's a disadvantage..that makes me angry).

Reply 1198

rostamax

Original post by Visions-of-Johanna

Hi guys, been rejected by letter. Mum just told me in the car.
Great.

Good luck to the rest of you though!

So sorry to hear - have been following your comments and really hoped you would it make it this year :frown:

Reply 1199

Tateco

14

Original post by isp

Not all private schools have great teachers. Infact some teachers at state schools are better than those at at private schools.

Of course there are some state school teachers better than private school teachers, but I'm sure you can realise that people aren't going to pay to send their child to a private school that is worse than the local state school. A lot of private schools (and very good, selective state schools) probably have a stream of students going off to Oxbridge each year and so it makes sense for them to provide facilities, extra classes, interview preparation just for those people, giving them a significant advantage over students from poor state schools.

The Official Cambridge Winter Pool 2012 thread (includes FAQ and daily updates)

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