What is the ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test)?

Each ESAT module lasts 40 minutes and has 27 multiple-choice questions. Most candidates sit three modules — the compulsory Mathematics 1 plus two others — so the test takes 120 minutes in total. It is computer-based at Pearson VUE test centres, and no calculator or dictionary is allowed.

There are two sittings: 12–16 October 2026 and 4–8 January 2027. Most Oxford and Cambridge applicants must take the October sitting (bookings closed on 28 September 2026) — the exceptions are Cambridge mature-college and Oxford Foundation Year applicants; the January sitting is accepted by Imperial and UCL, with bookings opened on 28 October 2026 and closing on 21 December 2026 at 18:00 UK time. Results are released about four weeks after each sitting — on 16 November 2026 for October and 8 February 2027 for January — and are sent automatically to the universities you applied to.

Results for the October 2026 sitting are released on 16 November 2026, and results for the January 2027 sitting on 8 February 2027 — about four weeks after each test. You see your scores in your UAT-UK account, and they are sent automatically to the universities on your UCAS application whose course uses the ESAT. Source: UAT-UK key dates ↗

No. You can take the ESAT only once in each admissions cycle — in October or in January, not both. Most Oxford and Cambridge applicants must sit in October, so for them there is no second attempt that year. Source: UAT-UK FAQs ↗

Each module is scored on a scale from 1.0 to 9.0, reported to one decimal place, and there is no pass or fail. Marks are given for correct answers only and there is no negative marking, so attempt every question.

There is no pass mark and there are no grade boundaries, so what counts as good depends on the course. UAT-UK's explanation of results says the scale is designed so that typical candidates score around 4.5 and approximately 10% of candidates score higher than 7.0, module by module. For course-level context, Imperial publishes the 2025-entry ESAT and TMUA score distributions and mean scores for each department, split by fee status into Home, Home WP (widening participation) and Overseas applicants and by outcome (offered a place, interviewed but unsuccessful, unsuccessful). Imperial stresses that this is historic data, not a guide to the scores required in current or future cycles. Source: UAT-UK test results ↗ · Imperial: understanding your scores ↗

No. UAT-UK has not published past ESAT papers. What it provides for free is the ESAT Guide for each module (the content you need to know), specimen and sample tests on the Pearson VUE platform, and the ENGAA and NSAA papers from 2016–2023 with answer keys, with the questions outside the ESAT specification marked. The free mock on this page uses original ESAT-style questions, not official ones. Source: UAT-UK ESAT preparation materials ↗ · UAT-UK test results (specimen and sample tests) ↗

Not necessarily. What matters is a tutor who knows the underlying subject content and the test's question style. The ESAT only replaced the NSAA and ENGAA in 2024, so many active researchers sat an earlier admissions test — and teach the ESAT modules directly.

One to one, online or in London, booked by the session from your wallet. Your tutor is an active PhD or postdoc researcher — not a former student teaching on the side.