The Big 'Which Cambridge College?' Thread

Don't try and play the admissions numbers game - the number of application fluctuates so much year on year that there's basically no point. My college (one of the two you like!) took huge numbers of people from the pool compared to normal in my year and then the next was the most popular college by application and took barely any.

You have a solid UMS profile and should be pretty much guaranteed an interview unless something else in your application is really bad for some reason, so just choose which one you prefer of the two and go for it!

Exactly this.

do those colleges attract a higher quality of students though? surely some colleges are easier to get into than others?

do those colleges attract a higher quality of students though? surely some colleges are easier to get into than others?

considering i really can't make up my mind should i make an open application?

i still a little unsure how this works so could someone explain it to me with the pros/cons

Hey,

I'm applying to study Geography but I wasn't able to attend the open day and I'm really not sure how to go about choosing my college. I like the look of St. Johns, St. Catharines, Kings, Christ's and Trinity but I'm really not basing this on anything substantial, and I've heard some of them only take people with 3 sciences, of which I only have 2.

Could anyone give me any pointers? I think distance to lectures & city centre is something of importance, I'm not sure if the tourist nature of Kings would bother me too much. Any help is appreciated

Touristy inside too. I've lost count of how many Japanese photos I've wandered through. It's also a way through for students and people who live in Cambridge. But i believe a lot of King's is off-limits to non-Kings students.

considering i really can't make up my mind should i make an open application?

i still a little unsure how this works so could someone explain it to me with the pros/cons

Some applicants have reported being asked why they picked a college in their interview. They shouldn't have been but it's hard to do anything once they ask you. Unless you're a quick thinker, this might catch you out.

Hmm they really shouldn't have been because it's explicitly ruled out in the admissions handbook. Although in all likelihood the question carried no material value and an answer such as "I didn't" would suffice with no ill effect.

I've heard too many stories of this happening for me to think people are making it up. And I've heard one student say they heard a fellow say they asked because it showed basic research. I agree it shouldn't happen but it does anyway. Besides, imagine you're a fellow and a student says they didn't pick you: you're not going to be that inclined to take them.

But the thing is they are telling the truth, and you not "inclined" to picking them would be punishing them for that fact. People pick open applications for various reasons and it seems like the university at least wants to maintain that all applications are equal regardless of college choice.

Well I can show you basic research - if I were an interviewee and they asked me it I would just shoot back "you are not supposed to ask me that"

But the thing is they are telling the truth, and you not "inclined" to picking them would be punishing them for that fact. People pick open applications for various reasons and it seems like the university at least wants to maintain that all applications are equal regardless of college choice.

Well I can show you basic research - if I were an interviewee and they asked me it I would just shoot back "you are not supposed to ask me that"

Surely even with an open application, you find out what college you will be interviewed at far enough in advance to allow you to go onto the college website and think of one or two things to say about it. It would only take a few minutes.

This is all nice in theory but in reality I would expect that many interviewers would (subconsciously or otherwise) prefer candidates that had some enthusiasm for the college. Beyond the obvious laziness and indecisiveness, I'm finding it difficult to think of reasons why you would opt for an open application.

But the thing is they are telling the truth, and you not "inclined" to picking them would be punishing them for that fact. People pick open applications for various reasons and it seems like the university at least wants to maintain that all applications are equal regardless of college choice.

Well I can show you basic research - if I were an interviewee and they asked me it I would just shoot back "you are not supposed to ask me that"

But I'm just answering the question that is asked. The question is "why did you choose college X" rather than "what do you like about college X" (pedantic, I know ). I take more of an issue with the fact that it is something which is explicitly outlawed in the admissions manual, and for it to carry material weight on someone's application would be against the goal of achieving college-choice equality in applications. In other words, the fact that an applicant is applying to a college should only be a side effect (and nothing more) of the applicant wishing to apply to Cambridge.

But you shouldn't automatically label someone as either lazy or indecisive just because they have no preference. If a candidate just wants to study at Cambridge and only sees a college as a hall of residence (which he doesn't mind being chosen through luck of the draw) then who's to deny him?

Someone from said college who may want them to see the college as more than just a cheap hotel.

I agree, but if there's a risk of the question coming up, it seems sensible for an applicant to have a quick think about it.

Not all interviewees know that. The reason I didn't apply to Gonville and Caius? I was worried that they would ask me why I applied there (as my reason was liking the name). One of the reasons I applied to Christ's was because I could think of an answer to that question. I had no idea I couldn't be asked that. It's not exactly made explicitly clear.

Besides, as Alex said, it's a subconcious thing.

This is all nice in theory but in reality I would expect that many interviewers would (subconsciously or otherwise) prefer candidates that had some enthusiasm for the college. Beyond the obvious laziness and indecisiveness, I'm finding it difficult to think of reasons why you would opt for an open application.