The "I've been pooled" thread

It would be better to be still considered by your original college than rejected intirely obviously. If they're still considering you then they think you might be good enough for an offer, whereas if you'd already been rejected then they DON'T think you're good enough for an offer.

Judging by last year - if you are still under active consideration by your college as well as in the Pool you have a pretty good chance of being fished out, possibly by the college that pooled you.

Most people will know where they are, one way or the other, by the end of next week, unless they are being interviewed. In general the colleges are pretty good about letting their applicants know quickly if they weren't fished by another college. What does happen - just occasionally - is that someone can hear nothing for two or three weeks and then suddenly get an offer out of the blue. There were examples of this last year and the year before, so no reason why it shouldn't happen this year too. The explanation is that there are people, whose applications were strong but don't need reinterviewing, where the colleges wanted to see other candidates first before deciding. If those interviewed candidates don't come up to scratch for some reason, the 'pending' candidate gets the offer having heard nothing at all for some time! I emphasise - this is relatively rare, but it does happen. The great majority of those who drowned in the Pool will know it within the next week or so.

The other thing to add is that although the Pool was set up just before Christmas, the actual horse-trading doesn't happen until the dates they gave - so it's not that anyone's sitting on decisions and not telling you!

No, the reason for pooling you is precisely because they do think you might be good enough for an offer, but they haven't got room for you themselves. This is what happens with very over-subscribed colleges. The people who are still being considered by their first choice/allocated college are being benchmarked against the rest, which is why 93 of them got fished back out of the Pool again last year.

My King's letter said "We are unable to make you an offer." Yes - Full stop. Period. End of. So it doesn't look like I will be reconsidered for King's at all. Fingers crossed I get pulled out by another college.

Mine didn't sound too promising in my letter if I'm honest, but there IS life beyond Cambridge! Warwick for me, then.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what happens to UCAS Track now? The specific college I applied to has turned me down but theoretically if another college offered me a place what would it do on UCAS, seeing as the 'Campus Code' is college specific?

Edit: Missed out a question mark. xD

Yeah my King's letter said the exact same thing - none of the 'we will still be considering your application but have decided to maximise your chances by putting you in the pool'. I have zero chance of getting fished out by king's again
What course did you apply for?
Fingers and toes crossed and then double-crossed for everyone who's been pooled!

Um, so I just got an offer from Homerton. AAAAAAH.

Um, so I just got an offer from Homerton. AAAAAAH.

Um, so I just got an offer from Homerton. AAAAAAH.

Well I've been pooled for Engineering by Jesus and they said "we cannot make you an offer at this college but believe you are a realistic applicant for Cambridge so have placed you in the pool"

That doesn't sound too good really, because I won't be fished out by them and it looks like ive only be pooled because I have to be.

by the way, one of my friends who was pooled by st. johns for nat sci got a call about an hour ago with an offer from Homerton so it looks as though Homerton and fitzwilliam have made their offers. I can cross those off the list of possible colleges that may take me.

Congrats!

How, by phone?

Um, so I just got an offer from Homerton. AAAAAAH.