Oxbridge Guide: Candidate Pools

The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge are the most famous universities in the UK; they are both extremely prestigious and notoriously difficult to gain admittance to, resulting in driven, competitive, and aspirational students and graduates.

To support students applying to these universities, we are publishing a series of articles on the admissions and applications process required, the courses available, and the universities themselves. In this article, we discuss the use of pooling for candidate selection and the different ways they are used by the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Oxbridge Pooling System

For strong applicants unable to secure an offer outright after their interview performance, their application will be put into a pool with similar applications. This pool of applicants is then reduced to an appropriate number and is used to supplement course numbers or replace students with offers who failed to secure the grades necessary to meet their offer in their final examinations.

Both Oxbridge pooling systems involve the review of this applicant data by the relevant college and faculty staff. Academic will study applicants’ grades, along with their predicted grades. They will consider contextualised information such as the GCSE school performance compared with the national average and how the individual candidate performed against the average at the school. They will also review the applicant’s personal statement and reference.

However, there are a few key differences between pooling systems at Oxford and Cambridge - the first being that Oxford pooling takes place in December whereas Cambridge pooling takes place in January. Below is a fuller description of the process at each.

The Oxford Pool

The Oxford pool provides a chance for Oxford colleges to interview applicants for other colleges during the December interviews. When invited to interview, applicants will be asked to remain in Oxford for a few days. After the interview with the college of application, applicants may receive a notification to attend an interview at a different college. This means that there is a chance you will be accepted by that college rather than your original choice.

The Cambridge Winter Pool

The Cambridge winter pool (also known as the inter-College pool) takes place in January and is likewise designed to ensure that the best applicants receive an offer of a place regardless of college. If a College is over-subscribed in a particular course, strong applicants are put into the winter pool for other Colleges to consider. In a typical year, around 3,500 applicants are made offers by their preference/original College, and around 900-1000 applicants are made an offer by another College through the pool. As a result of being placed in the winter pool, some applicants may be asked to attend another interview at a different college in January or offered a place at another college without further interview.

For more advice or for a free personalised application plan, contact our team at info@libraeducation.co.uk.

We hope that this article will provide you with greater preparation for your application to study at the University of Cambridge or the University of Oxford. We wish you success in the next stage of your academic career.