For anyone interested this is the feedback that they gave me, international ex-poolee reject from pembroke for NatSci Bio:
Thank you for your request for feedback on your application to Pembroke College. I hope you will find the following information, which gives you a sense of the general picture of applications to Pembroke College, and your own application in that context, useful. This year, we received 870 applications for entry to Pembroke College in 2013 or 2014 and made 160 offers including 10 for 2014; of these 11 went to students from the inter-collegiate ‘Pool’ who had originally applied to other Cambridge Colleges. On paper the field was extremely well qualified and strong. Applicants who had sat AS Levels averaged, for example, 90% across their three best or three most relevant AS/A2 Level subjects; those doing IB were usually predicted overall scores in excess of 40 points; and those doing Scottish qualifications had regularly achieved several A1s at Higher Level. Where they sat GCSEs, the average candidate had achieved 7A*s. A relatively large number of students also had outstanding references: in some subjects, a significant number of the places this year went to applicants who were described as being academically among the best students teachers/lecturers had taught. The top group of candidates performed extremely well in tests and in interviews. Applicants who received offers averaged 95% at AS Level and several A*s at GCSE. The exceptional quality of this field meant that, to our very great regret, many excellent applicants were squeezed out at the margins by others who we judged to be stronger overall.
I now write with specific reference to NSB and to your own application. We received 190 applications for the Natural Sciences tripos and made 31 offers in the subject this year. The high number of applications per offer requires us to place a significant emphasis both on existing exam results and performance at each individual interview. In the context of our overall field, your GCSE results were above average but your AS results were slightly below average and did not place you in the top group of our applicants in advance of interview. It is worth noting that the very strongest applicants tended to achieve results that are well above 90%s in all of their relevant subjects. At interview, you performed very creditably. You showed yourself to be mathematically able and you had some very good ideas surrounding some of the problems being discussed. For example, you spoke very well on the differences between compound eyes and simple eyes and worked methodically through the advantages and disadvantages. However, you did slightly less well in other elements of the interview. Your interviewer noted that you had difficulty recalling some key facts and your scientific knowledge was not as good as the very best candidates this year. For example, you lacked a detailed understanding on the question on depth perception and were not able to provide clear scientific insight. Overall, your performance was thought strong enough to merit inclusion in the Pool but not strong enough to lift you into our very top group of applicants following the interview. We should again stress the importance of the exacting standards across all existing exam results and interviews. This is an inevitable consequence of the strength of competition for places and our decision does not mean that we in any way doubt your clear academic ability.
I hope this helps to explain our decision. We refine and improve our processes every year, but the choices remain extraordinarily difficult. Indeed, depending upon subject, we believe that around two-thirds of the applicants we assessed this year would have done well at Cambridge had we been able to admit them. We sent rejection letters to a large number of candidates who were, by any reasonable standard, very strong, and we realise that, when such applicants are unsuccessful in applying to Cambridge, it can often be very disappointing for them. We know how much students invest in their applications and are very grateful to have received yours. We wish you the very best for the future.