OFFICIAL: Cambridge offer-holders results & confirmation questions

Hi again everyone! We're back to help answer any questions about results, the summer pool, confirmation of places and starting at Cambridge. This thread will run through A level results week and until the 23rd August. We've put together a short FAQ below to help answer some of the most common questions at this time of year.

We know how stressful and emotional it can all be. We all get quite invested too, particularly in cases where we have applicants who we've seen in school, have come to our events/open days then the offer-holders open day or applicants who we know have had to overcome some seriously tough times. There's honestly quite a bit of air punching and excitement or swearing and disappointment when the results come in. It isn't us spouting clichés, we really do view each applicant as an individual and we're rooting for them!

If your question is along the lines of 'I think I missed my offer, what are my chances' then I'm afraid that nobody on TSR can help as all decisions on missed offers are made individually on case-by-case basis and there's really no point in engaging in long hypotheticals or trying to learn from previous cases. All our offer-holders are individuals and we treat them as such.

Experience also shows that few students are actually clairvoyant – you may think you know exactly what mark you got but you really have to wait and see on results day.

FAQ
More general information, an FAQ about results day and a flowchart is here– thanks to @PQ!

When do you get the results and make decisions?
We have the results now and will aim to make and enter decisions for the majority of applicants ready for them to go live on results day. However, there will be cases where a decision cannot be made yet (Summer Pool, we want to know marks, results are missing from the information we got sent etc.) where it won't be confirmed until after we have heard from you on the 17th.

What could happen?
Accepted if you meet the offer conditions
Accepted even though you missed (this may require you to send your marks)
Still under consideration by you preference College or the Summer Pool (send your marks)
Rejected and released to your insurance choice or clearing if you miss the offer and are not thought to be of interest in the Summer Pool (the University has clear guidelines for this)

If you miss your offer and are still pending on the 18th, the Summer Pool takes place and you may:
Be accepted by your preference College
Be accepted by another College
Be rejected and released to your insurance choice or clearing

You won't be accepted by another College on the 17th. There's a slight chance you may still be pending after the 18th and once again you may:
Be accepted by your preference College
Be accepted by another College
Be rejected and released to your insurance choice or clearing

How will I know if I’m in?
You will know via UCAS track, from the results you have achieved (if you meet or exceed your offer, your place is certain) and you should also hear from the College by post (hopefully on results day but possibly the next day if the post doesn't behave).

When will UCAS Track update?
Track updates by 8 am on the 17th. Don't read too much into things if your Track doesn't update - go and get your results before contacting us. There may just be a delay in the news getting from Cambridge to UCAS (we don’t update Track, UCAS do).

I’ve missed my offer – what now?
If you have missed your offer conditions then you could still end up at Cambridge if Track is showing ‘conditional.’ Your preference College may decide to relax your conditions if you have just fallen short of your offer. All decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis taking all available information into account. This includes your personal statement, AS results, submitted written work, teacher’s reference, interview reports, how close the missing grade was, how many other people missed their offer in your subject, how many other people miss their offer because of the same exam etc.

The important thing if you miss your offer is to tell the College your marks in every subject and arrange for any remarks as soon as possible. We’re happy for you to snap a picture on your phone and email it in the first instance but this should be followed up with a proper scan, ideally certified by a teacher, later on in the day.

If your preference College isn’t willing to relax your conditions then you may be either rejected or put into the Summer Pool (see below)

I’ve missed the grades but have asked for a remark – what do I need to do?
We will make decisions using the grades we have, but will make a note on your file in the pool that you have requested a remark. If you do miss the offer it is very important that you email your UMS results to your College as soon as possible. We can take you back from your insurance choice if you meet the conditions of your offer by 31st August. We aim to act quickly so that you don’t miss out on accommodation etc. at your insurance choice or miss the opportunity to get a place in clearing.

What should(n’t) I do?
DO: Make a plan ahead of time for what you will do in case you miss your conditions. Are you happy with your insurance? Do you want to go into clearing?

DO: Take a charged smartphone if you have one, along with the relevant email addresses and phone numbers you might need.

DO: Stay calm! If you don’t get the results you were hoping for then it is probably best to get on top of sorting out remarks (once you’ve checked Track) before getting in touch with us as they are time-sensitive.

DON’T: Inform us of extenuating circumstances on results day – we can’t take them into account unless we know about them in advance.

DON’T: Phone to check if you’re really in or that there’s not a mistake on Track or you’ve not been sent the wrong letter – if you’re in then you’re in – congratulations!

DON’T: Phone around colleges hoping to be accepted – that isn’t how the Summer Pool works. If you weren’t made an offer in January then I’m afraid there’s no way to be accepted now. If you’re thinking of reapplying then there’ll be another thread for you along shortly . Please note that Cambridge does not take part in adjustment.

DON’T: Get your teacher/parent/carer/supporter/friend to call up for you. We can only discuss the details with the candidate themselves.

The Summer Pool
It is much smaller than the Winter Pool (a few hundred rather than 900ish) and about 25% of this is Maths. There isn't a set number of places - this depends on how many colleges are looking, how short of students they are (in all subjects) and who is in the pool. Colleges and the University can vary the number of students taken overall and taken in most subjects in response to the strength of candidates. Colleges would rather end up with a smaller year group than take a weak candidate* but success rates are generally higher than in the Winter Pool as colleges only Pool candidates who are realistic prospects for a place.

*So if you are fished you are meant to be at Cambridge - students from the Summer Pool or with waived conditions get the same results (no significant difference statistically) as those who met their offers.

How do I get put in the Summer Pool?
The College you hold an offer at decides whether they want to relax your offer or not and whether they think you're of interest in the Summer Pool (but there are strong guidelines as to what counts as a realistic Summer Pool candidate and there are some compulsory pooling criteria, just like at the Winter Pool). Only a minority of those candidates who miss their offer are put in the Pool.

THE PROCESS IS DIFFERENT IF YOU ARE AN OPEN OFFER HOLDER – SEE BELOW

How will I know if I am being put in the Pool?
Your preference College will tell you on the 17th that you are being put in the Pool and check that you’re happy with this. If you’d rather be released to your insurance or into clearing then let them know at this point.

When is it?
The Pool happens on the Friday after results day (18th).

When will I find out?
You should hear by the Friday evening but there is a chance that a small number of people won’t hear until the Monday. You’ll hear whether you are successful or not but please be reactive and don’t chase us – the more time we spend answering phones or emails then the less time we have to do what needs doing.

What are my chances?
Very roughly and with approximate fractions:

Overall about 2 in 3 offer-holders with conditional offers meet their offer (3 out of 4 excluding maths where only about 50% meet their offer). Of those who miss the offer about 1 in 3 are relaxed (nearer 40% excluding maths). Of those not relaxed, about 1 in 5 are pooled (nearer 1 in 6 for maths). Summer Pool pick rates vary way too much to make any statement about - everything is case-by-case. Overall about 4 in 5 of our offer holders end up at Cambridge (5 in 6 excluding maths).

Of those in the Summer Pool, there were 290 in the 2014 pool and 85 were taken.

Open offers
I have an open offer – what does this mean?
If you have an open offer and meet your conditions then your place at Cambridge is guaranteed. However, which college you’ll be at won’t be determined until the Summer Pool on the 18th. We would then aim to communicate decisions as quickly as possible via email and UCAS track, to be followed up by full details in the post exactly as for others offered places in the summer pool. If you are an open offer holder and you miss your conditions, you may still be put in the Summer Pool but you wouldn’t be guaranteed a place.

Freshers information
How do I get my university email address?
You don't have to wait until you get here but you do have to wait for an email from Student Registry. This will have instructions on what to do. There's a leaflet from the University with information which is sent to all our incoming students but it can also be found at http://www.uis.cam.ac.uk/for-students/gettingstarted

Is there any preliminary reading?
Glad to hear you’re keen! There might be or there might not be, depending on your course and College. If there is anything your Director of Studies would like you to do then they will be in touch but please don’t chase us - there might not be any and make sure you’re taking a break!

Depending on your course you might also be registered for Moodle before you arrive so you can access reading lists and preliminary work. This can be done using the email address you gave on your application (which I hope you all kept up to date and isn't an expired school email!).

How come you have results now? I thought you didn't get them until the weekend?

Wait, you already have our results???? And why is 25% of the summer pool maths?

All decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis taking all available information into account. This includes [...] how many other people miss their offer because of the same exam

We will make decisions using the grades we have, but will make a note on your file in the pool that you have requested a remark. If you do miss the offer it is very important that you email your UMS results to your College as soon as possible. We can take you back from your insurance choice if you meet the conditions of your offer by 31st August. We aim to act quickly so that you don’t miss out on accommodation etc. at your insurance choice or miss the opportunity to get a place in clearing.

This is interesting (and somewhat reassuring). Is this something done manually, or is it a university-wide system which identifies common mishaps in certain exams/subjects on certain exam boards?

What about if the subject we have missed a grade in is linear? It won't have UMS - are raw scores present on the results sheet? Do we send these over?

Further to this: are colleges aware of the loss of a safety-net from last year? For example: I did really well (in terms of raw score) in one of my linear subjects last year, but because I have no UMS to carry forward, and because this year's exams for that subject were quite challenging, it's quite demoralising to see all of my hard work last year "go to waste", as the only exams that "counted" were this year's. Had I been applying before these reforms, my very high mark last year may have ensured I got the desired grade overall. As such, I feel at somewhat of a disadvantage compared to previous years' applicants, if you catch my drift.

Thanks!

Thank you Peterhouse Admissions, comprehensive and extremely useful.

I have a question as it relates to Open Offers only. Your FAQ reads "Your preference College will tell you on the 17th that you are being put in the Pool.."

By '... preference College..." do you mean the college originally applied too (eg Trinity) or the one that 'underwrote' the Open Offer itself (eg Pembroke)?

Thanks again

Thank you so much (as always) for doing this! You've mentioned remark protocol, but I just wanted to clarify something: if an offer holder got, say, A*A*D (with the D being a massive fluke/a mismarked script), then they would get automatically rejected and left to their insurance choice, but if the remark came in before Aug. 31 with the script being an A or something, the College would 'take them back'? Or would they be left on conditional until the remark, because it would be evidence of a fluke or a mismark? Just asking to clarify, thank you so much!

If you miss your offer, one of three things can happen:
Accepted with relaxed conditions
Put into Summer Pool (with your permission)
Released to insurance or Clearing

None of these is automatic, everything involves several people considering things on a holistic and case-by-case basis.

After the Pool you can be accepted or again released to insurance or clearing.

If you are released to your insurance or into clearing and a remark means that you meet your original offer by the 31st August then we can take you back. We wouldn't leave someone conditional, we would make a decision as quickly as we could - keeping you as conditional would mean that you wouldn't be able to 'belong' to another university and might miss out on accommodation etc.

If you are released to your insurance or into clearing and a remark means that you meet your original offer by the 31st August then we can take you back.

Of those not relaxed, about 1 in 5 are pooled (nearer 1 in 6 for maths). Summer Pool pick rates vary way too much to make any statement about - everything is case-by-case.

Am I right that such a place might need to be deferred to the following year?

Should that be "(nearer 1 in 6 excluding maths)" or is it really the case that a smaller proportion of mathmos pooled despite being the largest summer pool subject?

No, if you meet your conditions by 31st August you have fulfilled the offer as made and the contract between the student and the college has to be honoured. You may be asked if you might like to defer but you can say no. If you meet the conditions after 31st August, you may be given a deferred offer, but you might not be taken.

No, if you meet your conditions by 31st August you have fulfilled the offer as made and the contract between the student and the college has to be honoured. You may be asked if you might like to defer but you can say no. If you meet the conditions after 31st August, you may be given a deferred offer, but you might not be taken.