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Which college in Cambridge is easiest to get into if wishing to study economics?

greenwaytph

10

Which college is easiest to get accepted into, and why?

Reply 1

username20359

Girton...because it's ages away so less 'high quality' candidates apply there; they get a lot of their economists from the pool.

That said, it's still VERY difficult to get into Cambridge for Economics and no college is particularly easy, and there are ultra-tough ones like Trinity.

Reply 2

rnshan

13

All of them are equally easy if you have the right qualifications :biggrin:

Reply 3

cookiedoughmonster

6

FizFazFoz

Girton...because it's ages away so less 'high quality' candidates apply there; they get a lot of their economists from the pool.

SURELY that's not true!

Reply 4

Andy H

6

If Girton thinks you are below the standard of the universiry - they will reject you even if you are the best applicant they had....

So in that respect, to get into Cambridge, it makes no matter what college you are applying to.

If you are asking this question - it makes me wonder whether you want to be at Cambridge, because getting in doesn't mean automatic degree. You do have do some work you know...

Reply 5

Rudrax

12

greenwaytph

Which college is easiest to get accepted into, and why?

Oxford

Reply 6

username20359

cookiedoughmonster

SURELY that's not true!

Clearly certain colleges are going to attract more and stronger candidates thatn others (Trinity, for example, massively oversubscribed this year, they pool more people who on average are very strong). Girton seem to give lots of their offers in the pool, indicating that their original applicants weren't up to standard.

In the end, the standard of entry is the same - that's what the pooling system is there for.

Reply 7

X123

Even the fact that Girton has recently taken more people from the pool does not necessarily work to your advantage in that they are therefore clearly willing to not accept people who apply directly to Girton and instead will just look in the pool for students...

If anything you could look at Trinity in that sense as being positive in that they have a habit of often pooling decent candidates and so if you are very good then applying to a difficult/well subscribed college could possibly be a good choice as there may be more opportunity of being pooled....
Some colleges have not in the past pooled as many applicants as other colleges, though reasons for this are always speculative...they may be against the pooling system, only pool the very best candidates not getting a place or they just have not had any candidates that they feel deem being placed in the pool.

Reply 8

wazzup

there are no easy colleges. girton actually got one of the best eco results last year. results of different colleges are pretty similar.

Reply 9

username20359

wazzup

there are no easy colleges. girton actually got one of the best eco results last year. results of different colleges are pretty similar.

From application point of view, i still think Girton is (slightly) easier. Yes, results are the same throughout all colleges in the end because of the pool acting as standard equilibrator if you like. The pooled candidates are obviously of a very high standard anyway.

xander12345678

Even the fact that Girton has recently taken more people from the pool does not necessarily work to your advantage in that they are therefore clearly willing to not accept people who apply directly to Girton and instead will just look in the pool for students...

True. But if you ARE good enough it will be (slightly) easier 1st time...

If anything you could look at Trinity in that sense as being positive in that they have a habit of often pooling decent candidates and so if you are very good then applying to a difficult/well subscribed college could possibly be a good choice as there may be more opportunity of being pooled....

But it is still extremely difficult to get an offer in the pool regardless of whether you're from Girton or Trinity. There will be few places left in the Economists pool at Cambridge as it is so highly competitive. This year's TSR pool thread said as much. (The pool is also a horrible situation to be in come January). That's why i'd say to maximise one's chances - if all you care about is getting into Cambridge, the university - then opting for one of the lesser colleges may not be such a bad idea. Economics is such a competitive course nowadays, there's clearly an element of luck involved.

Having said that, i would highly recommend choosing a college you like and want to be in for 3 years rather than to play the system.

But i also don't want to say 'if you're Cambridge material, you'll get in definitely wherever you apply' because that might not be the case. They reject brilliant people all the time.

Reply 10

Chewwy

17

greenwaytph, stop asking ******ed questions and search. failing that, take rudrax's advice and apply to oxford.

Reply 11

generalebriety

16

cookiedoughmonster

SURELY that's not true!

Fewer high-quality candidates, not candidates of a less high quality.

Reply 12

the_alba

12

Andy H

Do I need to say any more than John Prescott?

Yes, you do. Funnily enough, a whole city and / or university is greater than, not equal to, one of its members. If you really are doing Maths at Cambridge, you'll know that.

Reply 13

Andy H

6

the_alba

Yes, you do. Funnily enough, a whole city and / or university is greater than, not equal to, one of its members. If you really are doing Maths at Cambridge, you'll know that.

And I guess this highlights how sarcastic comments don't really work on forums

Reply 14

*pitseleh*

20

Andy H

And I guess this highlights how sarcastic comments don't really work on forums

Given who you're quoting there, I think she's more than capable of understanding sarcasm. I think she had a problem with the continued bashing of a certain uni, rather than the specific tone of your post. Doesn't really make a difference if it was sarcastic or not; you said yourself that sarcasm doesn't "work" on forums, so there's still a fair chance that it's going to offend students who might come across it.

The previous posts have been deleted for a reason - so it's probably best if this gets dropped now, yes? :s-smilie:

Reply 15

Andy H

6

All I think is that it should have been a harmless joke but obviously it didn't work as it hard to decipher the tone of a message from just the text.

But delete these new posts away if you wish! :smile:

Reply 16

whats_its_face

2

Reviving a dead topic, but I could put in some insight.

I got pooled from Robinson for economics, to be reinterviewed by them for deferred entry (I am underage), where in my interview, I said a few things which I shouldnt have and they turned me down. I didnt want a gap year, so decided to take the gamble - I shot myself in the foot...

Anyway, Robinson has 4 places for economics, and I suspect it interviewed 30+ candidates.

It interviewed other candidates from the pool as well - infact 10 candidates. So, from its initial interviews, they might have picked 2 candidates, but they still interviewed 10 people for 2 more spaces.

They also told me there were over 200 candidates in the pool. I guess this number is pretty constant. Only 30 or so candidates are taken from the pool by colleges (and I suspect around 100 are interviewed).

Not the nicest of odds. Just hope you have a nice interview and get in straight away...

Reply 17

Eyes Wide Shut

You can download the application statistics from here:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/statistics/

You could try calculating percentages of admissions, but I think the number of applications tends to be cyclical and unpredictable since many people tend to go for the percentage method.

Over all, I think there isn't much difference, but perhaps you should consider the way they evaluate your application - For example, some tend to make you write an essay before you go in for the interview or send them some essays you wrote for school. In my case (Peterhouse Economics), my marks were not stellar, so I think I got in because of the essay. Whichever suits you best, really.

You should also consider which college you like most - they have different characteristics. If you don't care about these, you might prefer to go for an open application which will automatically put you in a less demanded college which would definitely give you the slight advantage, if there is such a thing.

Reply 18

leah12341

Original post by rnshan

All of them are equally easy if you have the right qualifications :biggrin:

Not true, I got A*A*A in my A-levels and am still unable to get in to Cambridge

Reply 19

Peterhouse Admissions

Official Rep

13

Don't even try to play this game. If it's occurred to you, think how many other applicants have thought of it. Do a bit of research (check which colleges you can apply do/offer your course) and then apply to the college you'd most like to live at.

The Colleges with the reputation as being 'easier' to get into (some of them named in this thread) reject the highest proportion of applicants before interview of any college - they would much rather take strong applicants who applied elsewhere than weaker applicants who applied directly.

Which college in Cambridge is easiest to get into if wishing to study economics?

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