Cambridge student intake

Hello, in regards to how Cambridge makes offers, I was wondering if the number of students taken in during any given admissions cycle is different between the colleges. As I have gone to a few of them, and I would love to apply for Trinity Hall for maths, but I have looked on their website and have seen that they only take in around 5 or 6 mathematicians a year, whereas the numbers are far greater in some of the other colleges. I was wondering whether this meant that applying for certain subjects is more likely to net you the offer if you apply for certain universities

Reply 1

davros

16

Original post by MathsEnjoyer

Hello, in regards to how Cambridge makes offers, I was wondering if the number of students taken in during any given admissions cycle is different between the colleges. As I have gone to a few of them, and I would love to apply for Trinity Hall for maths, but I have looked on their website and have seen that they only take in around 5 or 6 mathematicians a year, whereas the numbers are far greater in some of the other colleges. I was wondering whether this meant that applying for certain subjects is more likely to net you the offer if you apply for certain universities

Well the obvious consideration is the size of the respective college - Trinity Hall is one of the smaller ones, so won't have as big a cohort as some of the larger colleges! Having said that, 5 or 6 sounds a bit low - I'd have expected about 8-12 typically. Have you looked at previous years admissions stats to see if there's a trend? Sometimes these things just go round in cycles so there's no specific reason.

As far as application goes, just go for the college you fancy most - check out location, accommodation, facilities etc. Of course if you'd rather be part of a "big" college as opposed to a "small" one then that is a valid factor too :smile:

Reply 2

thegeek888

18

Original post by MathsEnjoyer

Hello, in regards to how Cambridge makes offers, I was wondering if the number of students taken in during any given admissions cycle is different between the colleges. As I have gone to a few of them, and I would love to apply for Trinity Hall for maths, but I have looked on their website and have seen that they only take in around 5 or 6 mathematicians a year, whereas the numbers are far greater in some of the other colleges. I was wondering whether this meant that applying for certain subjects is more likely to net you the offer if you apply for certain universities

Apply to Pembroke College, Cambridge University!!! :smile:

https://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate/courses/mathematics

Original post by MathsEnjoyer

Hello, in regards to how Cambridge makes offers, I was wondering if the number of students taken in during any given admissions cycle is different between the colleges. As I have gone to a few of them, and I would love to apply for Trinity Hall for maths, but I have looked on their website and have seen that they only take in around 5 or 6 mathematicians a year, whereas the numbers are far greater in some of the other colleges. I was wondering whether this meant that applying for certain subjects is more likely to net you the offer if you apply for certain universities

Hello! The number of students taken by each College depends on the size of the College, as mentioned by @davros. Most Colleges guarantee accommodation, so they are only able to take as many students as they have beds for! However, your College choice doesn't impact your chance of gaining at place at the University. The University runs a Winter Pool in January, where students are "shared" between Colleges, to ensure the best students get in regardless of their College choice. Around 1 in 5 students at Cambridge are at a College different to the one they originally applied to. Some more information is available here: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/decisions

But basically, try not to make your College choice based on "how likely" you are to get in. You should choose a College you would be happy to spend 3/4 years at. And don't worry if you end up being pooled - students at every College will tell you theirs is the best!

Cambridge student intake

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