Cambridge Decisions 2015 - info and FAQ

The Christ's Admissions Tutor confirmed auto-pooling is still in place for all. Except medics and maths.

With the new pool system will we be told if we were pooled but ultimately unsuccessful (which in the pars looked like it was some sort of recognition) or just rejected - sorry you probably explained that!

Yes, you will be told if you were pooled but not fished.

The Christ's Admissions Tutor confirmed auto-pooling is still in place for all. Except medics and maths.

*cries* Mathematician here :'( Whyyyy!

Are you sure? I thought you would only know you were pooled if you were also called for an extra interview. Or you were fished and offered.

So does your original college tell you if you've been unsuccessful and that you were pooled but not fished?

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*cries* Mathematician here :'( Whyyyy!

Yes - see the OP.

Don't worry. More mathmos get offers anyway without autopooling because you still have to achieve the STEP requirement anyway.

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Medic here - it has always been that way. Presumably because everyone applied for maths/ medicine has high UMS so auto pooling becomes a bit pointless :/

Medic here - it has always been that way. Presumably because everyone applied for maths/ medicine has high UMS so auto pooling becomes a bit pointless :/

**** **** **** guys guys.

You know the deferred entry option on the SAQ form? If you ticked that do they ONLY consider you for deferred entry?


Please someone answer this I think I've done something stupid

Don't worry! These are the two questions you will have answered:

1.7 Have you applied, or are you applying, for any gap year schemes that might lead you to ask to defer entry to
October 2016 after being offered a place for entry in October 2015?
If you have applied for entry in 2015 but are considering taking a gap year, please provide details of the scheme and when you
expect to know if you have been accepted onto it. We ask for this information simply to help us plan student numbers. You will
not be disadvantaged by answering 'Yes' to this question. Your answer can be a maximum of 120 characters including spaces.
If you are applying for deferred entry in 2016, answer this question ‘N/A’ (not applicable).

1.8 If you were unsuccessful in gaining a place for entry in October 2015, would you consider an offer for entry in
October 2016?
If you have applied for entry in 2015, please indicate if you would consider an offer of a place for entry in October 2016. If you
answer ‘Yes’ and your application is placed in the Winter Pool, it will be considered by other Colleges for direct entry in 2015
before being considered for deferred entry. Your preference/allocated College will have the first opportunity to make a deferred
entry offer. Please note that indicating ‘No’ will not disadvantage your application for 2015 entry in any way.
If you are applying for 2016 entry, answer this question ‘N/A’ (not applicable).

Perhaps, but I personally believe it would be due to the fact that, for mathematics, A-level UMS really isn't a very good indicator for future Tripos achievement, whereas STEP (and presumably to an extent interview performance) is a much better discriminator. Therefore, it wouldn't make sense for a candidate to be automatically pooled due to their A-level UMS, as it may not necessarily reflect how good they are at mathematics. It would effectively clog up the pooling process and potentially crowd out decent mathematicians from otherwise being offered places. Sure, plenty of hard-working candidates will be denied offers, but being hard-working probably isn't sufficient for the mathematical Tripos.