The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

I was referring to universities, and specifically to Cambridge.

I don't see why that matters?

If they both deserve a place they will both get a place. They're not going to reject someone because another successful applicant is coming from the same school...

Was that really worth it?

As per the title, will this give a disadvantage to the application, especially if they're applying for the same course?

As per the title, will this give a disadvantage to the application, especially if they're applying for the same course?

Actually if you base it on people who applied to those colleges and then got an offer from Cambridge itself the numbers are more like 28% acceptance for Clare versus 30% for Homerton. This is because a lot of the people who got an offer from Homerton were taken from the winter pool (the turquoise bar (79 in 2011)), so didn't actually apply to Homerton, they applied to and were interviewed by a different college who didn't have space for them but thought they were Cambridge material. Meanwhile only 5 of the people Homerton pooled in 2011 were picked up by another college.

Clare on the other hand was the opposite; they only picked up one person from the pool but 74 of the people Clare put into the pool were picked up by another college. Therefore of those who applied directly to Clare in 2011 206/745 (27.7%) of them got an offer from a Cambridge college. For those who applied directly to Homerton (or were allocated there by open application) 206/681 (30.2%) got an offer from Cambridge. In other words if you apply to Clare you are less likely to get into the college you applied to then if you applied to Homerton, but which ever you choose you are almost equally likely to get into Cambridge itself. (I hope that makes sense!)

The pool exists so that people aren't disadvantaged if they apply to a popular college and so that less popular colleges can maintain a high standard even if their direct applicants are not as good (due to lots of people trying to apply tactically).

My point is you may as well apply to Clare if that's the one you really like and even if you don't get an offer there, who knows, you might be pooled and picked up by Homerton! Your college is where you are going to spend a lot of your time at Cambridge so don't throw away your choice by trying to beat statistics, pick somewhere you really love. Personally I applied directly to Homerton because I felt at home there; I loved the Victorian architecture, the larger year group size (as a went to a 6th form with 1600 in my year!), the en-suite bathroom for every fresher and the acres of beautiful open space to walk on away from the hustle and bustle of the town centre, but those were just my criteria. I'm sure yours are very different and if Clare fits the bill then go for it!

P.s- Sorry for the rather long winded post! I just know a lot of people get confused by statistics and the pooling system and I'd hate for people to apply to colleges they're not happy with just because they think they're easier to get into

Sorry, wanted to just jump in quickly I am thinking of applying to Homerton - when you go out, do you go into the city centre to clubs and stuff and walk home or.. ? ha thank you! sorry for the question xx

On nights out most people get a shared taxi which only costs £1-2 each. Also, once you've been in Cambridge a while you'll be able to stay in friends' rooms in other colleges if you can't face going back at 3am!

Okay, though aren't there "scholarships" available at various colleges for getting a first? I'm sure my friend at Trinity has one... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_college_cambridge#Scholarships_and_prizes EDIT: Unless I'm being really thick and you're talking about entry scholarships. In which case, I haven't heard of any "scholarships" for Cambridge. But other unis definitely give them based on A level results, and Emma have an "Award" for high UMS.

It can't affect your application, as the admissions tutors look at each person individually. My school said they didn't want people applying for the same subject and college, but then did allow people when some refused. They can't force your application to change.

I think its because it might cause problems if one gets a place and the other doesn't, since there may be awkwardness in the classroom afterwards.