How much difference does choosing a college make for acceptance to cambridge?

Applying to College
1

I’m applying this year to cambridge as an international for comp sci in cambridge. I’ve done some research and I was informed that the only difference colleges make is your accommodation, proximity to lectures, and peers.

Here are my questions:

  1. Considering that colleges do not make a big impact academically and that I am quite adaptable, would it be smarter to apply for a less-competitive college like peterhouse rather than Kings?
  2. I understand theres a pool system, but do colleges look down upon these pooled applicants: e.g. if i were to apply to kings and then get pooled, would my chances of being accepted to say peterhouse be drastically different from applying to peterhouse directly?
  3. Obviously all cambridge applicants are talented and smart, but is there a drastic difference between the level of ease of getting into a popular college compared to a lesser known one, thanks.
2
  1. No
  2. No
  3. There is a difference of opinion about this. Cambridge says no, but some students (including @camstudent?) say that there are some differences in application success for some subjects in some colleges.
3

Personally, I would say “No” to all 3. @collegemom3717 is right, though - you will get different answers, although I don’t think there is any evidence in the public domain which would verify either a yes or no answer.

4

Thanks for the responses, i think I will just apply to the one that I like the best, thanks!