Cambridge safer with good UMS?

I had planned on applying to Oxford for History, but since my AS results I'm not sure where I would have the best chance of acceptance. I got 97% UMS across my top three, and 94% overall, but obviously Oxford don't worry care so much about this.

Can anyone explain automatic pooling to me? I read that if you have a certain UMS then you are automatically pooled. But does this mean you are just sure to be pooled if you are not accepted as a 'first pick' anyway?

Do high UMS scores make up for, say, a weaker interview or reference or whatever?

It's kind if frustrating to feel I did well in my exams, but that maybe Oxford wouldn't recognise that. Maybe somebody here could even tell me if that is even true, though?

Whereas it seems I already have something down that Cambridge will definitely value, and therefore I could, for arguments sake, have a bit more leeway somewhere else in the application.

Any advice on at all much appreciated! Thanks.

I had planned on applying to Oxford for History, but since my AS results I'm not sure where I would have the best chance of acceptance. I got 97% UMS across my top three, and 94% overall, but obviously Oxford don't worry care so much about this.

Can anyone explain automatic pooling to me? I read that if you have a certain UMS then you are automatically pooled. But does this mean you are just sure to be pooled if you are not accepted as a 'first pick' anyway?

Do high UMS scores make up for, say, a weaker interview or reference or whatever?

It's kind if frustrating to feel I did well in my exams, but that maybe Oxford wouldn't recognise that. Maybe somebody here could even tell me if that is even true, though?

Whereas it seems I already have something down that Cambridge will definitely value, and therefore I could, for arguments sake, have a bit more leeway somewhere else in the application.

Any advice on at all much appreciated! Thanks.

Thanks both.....as I think I know really, I should just go for the course I really want, at the uni I really want, and give it my best whether it's 'harder' or not to get in.

Keep it simple!

Thanks.

This is true and as somebody who has scored so highly you will probably also interview well & have a high chance of an offer at either place.

However I do have some sympathy for those who wish to maximise their Oxbridge chances. They say many NatSci end up taking completely different options and even swap between thinking they wanted biological or physical emphasis. So it doesn't seem unlikely to me that spotting which course you will enjoy most is not as easy as it is made out to be. Then there is the question do you prefer your "second choice" Oxbridge course and teaching method (where you may have a higher chance of an offer) to your second UCAS choice-Durham or Bristol's course or whatever?