Are some Cambridge colleges easier than others to get into?

I am applying for maths, and am very concerned that applying to a very famous college will make a straight rejection more likely. Do more popular colleges tend to have stronger applicants?

Any opinions are welcome!

In the case of maths, yes, almost everyone with a string of BMOs etc applies to Trinity.

Overall, whether some Colleges are easier to get in to depends on whether you think the pooling system is effective or not. If the pooling system works perfectly, then no, if all the best maths applicants applied to Trinity, then all but the ones Trinity kept would be taken up by the other Colleges in the pooling process, and the best of that year would still get in. If you don't think the pooling process is likely to be perfect, then maybe don't apply to Trinity for maths unless you know you are a globally outstanding mathematician, because those are the type that apply there, and 'best in your school year' isn't likely to cut it and the pooling system might fail you.

On the surface, the pooling system does appear to even things out, so statistically, those that apply to famous central colleges might end up with the same rate of acceptance as those that apply to the others, but that can be misleading, as the calibre of applicants to each college is not even. The more confident straight 9s/A* students will gravitate towards the more famous colleges, so if the pool process worked perfectly they would have a higher rate of success than the others, which they don't. I therefore think that you can increases you chances a little by avoiding the more famous ones, although of course you still need to be great to get in, including doing well at interview.

Which colleges would you refer to as 'famous colleges'?

Generally all the old central ones e.g. Trinity, Tit, Johns, Caius, Pem, Clare, Jesus, Corps, Christ. Then there is also Churchill, which is not central, but is very competitive for CS and Sciences.