Cambridge college choice 2022app

Anyone know how reliable the pooling system is? I really want to maximise my chance of getting in)

What I mean by reliable is will they actually make put me in the pool system if they think I am good enough but they dont have space or do they usually reject directly. I am worried that st Cath will have many geo applicants so they might compare me to others and think I am not good enough e.t.c

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The point of the Pool is to even out applications from good candidates between over and undersubscribed colleges. If you're considered a strong candidate, but your college doesn't want to take you initially, then in all likelihood you'll be put in the pool. You can then be fished from the pool by another college and made an offer (with or without a further interview), your original college could still make you an offer or no-one fishes you and you're rejected.

This 'numbers game' thing with colleges is a misunderstanding of how Cambridge works. If you're still worried about it, then the best thing would be not to apply to a college which you 'know' is popular for that subject. But the pooling system seems to have worked fairly well for quite some time now in allocating the best students to a college. If you're a strong candidate, then you're a strong candidate: it's always relative to the overall strength of that year's cohort, so the fact that College A might have 'lots' of strong candidates is irrelevant as a consideration on whether or not you'll be pooled.

Thank you so much!!!! It helps so muchhhhh