What is the ESAT? Format, modules, scores and how to prepare

Each module is timed separately, so finishing one early doesn't give you extra time for the next. You get an erasable booklet for working.

The ESAT is used for selected engineering and science courses. For 2027 entry these include courses at Cambridge, Imperial, Oxford and UCL, and the required modules can differ between universities even for similar subjects (for example, one engineering course may want Mathematics 2 and Physics, while a natural sciences course may want Chemistry or Biology).

Always check two places before you book:

1. The UAT-UK course list for 2027 entry, which lists every course that needs the test.
2. The course page at each university you're applying to, which says which modules and which test window it expects.

If two of your courses ask for different modules, contact UAT-UK before booking.

• Mathematics 1: GCSE Higher-level maths: number, algebra, ratio and proportion, geometry and measures, statistics and probability. Expect surds, indices, quadratics, simultaneous equations, similar shapes, circle theorems and probability without replacement.
• Mathematics 2: AS and A-level pure maths: algebra and functions, sequences and series, coordinate geometry, trigonometry, exponentials and logarithms, differentiation and integration.
• Physics: electricity, magnetism, mechanics (motion, forces, energy, momentum), thermal physics, matter, waves and radioactivity.
• Chemistry: atomic structure, the periodic table, bonding, moles and quantitative chemistry, energetics, rates and equilibria, redox and electrolysis, acids and organic chemistry.
• Biology: cells, movement across membranes, cell division, inheritance and DNA, enzymes and respiration, animal and plant physiology, and ecosystems.

The full topic lists are in the official ESAT content specification. Use it as a checklist.

Every correct answer earns one mark and wrong answers lose nothing, so answer every question. Your raw marks for each module are converted to a score from 1.0 to 9.0. There's no pass mark: universities compare scores with other applicants' and use them alongside your predicted grades, personal statement and interview.

UAT-UK doesn't publish the conversion from raw marks to the 1 to 9 scale. When you practise, track the number you get right in each module and how it improves.

Some courses expect a particular window, so check before you book. Bursaries and access arrangements are available through UAT-UK; access arrangement requests for window 2 close on 7 December 2026.

1. Find your modules on the course list and each course page.
2. Take a timed baseline. Try our free ESAT practice tests for each of your modules under exam conditions: 40 minutes, no calculator.
3. Fix the content gaps. Go through the questions you got wrong and match each to a line of the content specification. Revise those topics first. Our maths questions and science questions have worked answers by topic.
4. Build speed without a calculator. At about 89 seconds a question, fluent arithmetic matters: fractions, surds, standard form and exact trigonometric values.
5. Use the official material too: UAT-UK's specimen and practice tests and the past paper archive (the older NSAA and ENGAA papers cover much of the same content).
6. Do full timed sittings of three modules back to back in the last few weeks, so the 2-hour session feels normal.

The ESAT and the TMUA are both run by UAT-UK, but they test different things. The ESAT covers maths and science at GCSE to A-level, set as quick questions. The TMUA is maths only, with longer problems and a paper on logic and proof. A few applicants need both, so check every course.

Neither is a replacement for your A-levels: universities still look at predicted and achieved grades.