ESAT: preparation, format and 2027 dates

The ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test) is the admissions test required by Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London and UCL for their engineering and science courses. It is run by UAT-UK, a joint venture between Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge, and taken at a Pearson VUE test centre. For 2027 entry, the only sitting accepted for an application to Oxford or Cambridge runs from 12 to 16 October 2026, and booking closes on 28 September 2026 at 6 pm UK time.

This timetable is the first trap for families. The date that matters is not the test date but the booking deadline: three weeks earlier, just as the final year of secondary school gets under way. A student who first hears about the ESAT in October has already missed their chance. Every year we guide candidates through this timetable, and effective preparation starts in late spring, not in the autumn.

The ESAT at a glance

• Duration: 120 minutes for most candidates, i.e. three 40-minute modules.
• Format: multiple choice, 27 questions per module. No calculator or dictionary.
• Modules: Mathematics 1 is compulsory for everyone, plus two modules chosen from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics 2. Some courses specify the combination.
• Scoring: one score per module, from 1 (low) to 9 (high), to one decimal place. There is no pass mark and no published threshold.
• Sitting 1: 12 to 16 October 2026, required for Oxford and Cambridge.
• Sitting 2: 4 to 8 January 2027, not accepted by Oxford and Cambridge except for Cambridge’s mature colleges and Oxford’s Astrophoria Foundation Year.
• Test fee: £78 in the UK and Ireland, £133 elsewhere.
• Results: about four weeks after the sitting, on 16 November 2026 according to the timetable published by Oxford.
• Location: Pearson VUE test centres, available in more than 180 countries.

 
 
 
 
  
 
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I received support from Your Dream School, particularly from Adam and Lawrence, throughout my final year of high school for my applications to universities abroad, especially through UCAS. Thanks to their personalized guidance, availability, and responsiveness, I was accepted into most of my UCAS choices. They were perfectly able to adapt to my profile and goals. I highly recommend Your Dream School to all students wishing to attend selective international universities. A huge thank you to Adam and Lawrence for their help!

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We are extremely grateful to the Your Dream School team for the exceptional support our daughter received throughout her applications to American and British universities. Adam and his team demonstrated remarkable professionalism, availability, and expertise at every stage of the process. Thanks to their wise guidance and personalized support, our daughter was accepted into the Ivy League university of her dreams. We wholeheartedly recommend Your Dream School to any family wishing to confidently prepare applications for universities abroad.

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Delighted with the support from Adam, Lawrence, and the entire team in helping us navigate European programs and prepare rock-solid applications! Excellent results in the end!

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 Anne WILTZ 
 
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I wanted to express my immense gratitude to My Dream School for their support throughout Grégoire's university application process in England and Spain. From the very beginning, they were present, available, and remarkably professional. Thanks to their guidance, expertise, and support, Grégoire was delighted to receive offers of admission from prestigious universities such as UCL, King's College London, and IE University. We would especially like to thank Adam for his support during the release of the Baccalaureate results. Grégoire's score on the Grand Oral exam, well below our expectations, jeopardized several of his admissions, particularly that of IE, which requires a minimum Baccalaureate level. This was a particularly stressful time for our entire family. During this difficult period, My Dream School provided invaluable support. They guided us calmly and efficiently, prepared the necessary letters, advised us on the steps to take, and helped us present the situation in the best possible light. Their responsiveness, experience, and commitment made all the difference. Today, Grégoire is preparing to join IE University, after considering King's College London, where he had also been accepted. This is a fantastic opportunity for him, and we know that your support greatly contributed to this success. Thank you, Adam and Laurence, for your availability and dedication. We are very grateful. Grégoire is thrilled to begin this new adventure, and we share his joy completely.

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A very responsive coach who did a fantastic job preparing my daughter for her interviews with different universities in France and abroad!

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 anne hindermeyer 
 
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I highly recommend Your Dream School to help your children/teenagers succeed in their exams. My son was accepted to Sciences Po Paris. Adam is not only very responsive and available, but he also immediately understands your needs. He will connect you with various tutors who are Sciences Po students themselves and will perfectly optimize your oral exam preparation. This is essential preparation because the oral exam is very specific. You will benefit from a great deal of flexibility in choosing the students, scheduling, and frequency, for example. It's a tailor-made approach that allows you to feel confident for the oral exam. My son was fortunate to be able to train in the best possible conditions with Emma and then Jeanne. Their dedication was crucial. My son was accepted to Sciences Po on his preferred campus. I can only thank Adam and his entire team!

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 Chloe Ramel 
 
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I had the opportunity to work with Yash and Jess throughout this year, and I couldn't have asked for better coaches. Yash guided me through my Personal Statement for the UK, while Jess helped me with my Common App and additional essays for the US. They were both incredibly supportive, backing my ideas while also pushing me to develop them further. We spent countless hours working and reworking my essays until we were all happy with the final result. Even outside of our calls, they took the time to give me detailed feedback so I could continue to improve my applications. They dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to my application, and I am deeply grateful. They helped me rephrase certain sections to make them clearer, while still preserving my voice and authenticity in my writing. I highly recommend Jess and Yash to any student applying to the UK and USA!

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We are absolutely delighted with the support our daughter received. Thanks to their professionalism, expertise, and dedication, she was able to take top-quality English lessons and successfully prepare for her IELTS exam. Beyond English, the team also coached her for her business school entrance interviews. Their advice was invaluable, relevant, and perfectly tailored to her goals. They helped her build confidence, structure her presentations, and highlight her strengths. The results far exceeded our expectations: our daughter performed exceptionally well in her interviews and gained remarkable confidence. We particularly appreciated their availability, attentiveness, kindness, and ability to personalize their support. They are a passionate team truly committed to their students' success. A huge thank you for your help and support. We wholeheartedly recommend their services to all families who want to give their children the best possible chance of academic and professional success.

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I had the opportunity to be primarily guided by Adam for the academic guidance and Lawrence for building my application. Like my brother a few years ago, I am delighted with the results we achieved, particularly SOAS for my brother and King's College London for me. YDS adapts to each individual's profile and was very responsive whenever I needed help. I also greatly appreciated the teaching methods and support of my coach during my GRE preparation. I highly recommend them!

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 Elia Azencot 
 
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I am so glad I chose to work with Your Dream School. Thanks to their support, I was able to gain admission to universities like IE University and ESCP Business School, as well as other programs through UCAS. I received exceptional support from Adam and Lawrence, who played a vital role throughout the entire process. They were always available, incredibly dedicated, and encouraged me to give my best. I highly recommend Your Dream School to anyone wishing to gain admission to selective international universities. Their dedication and expertise truly make a difference.

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I got in touch with Adam and his team at the start of my final year of secondary school. They helped me throughout the UCAS process and guided me in choosing my path. Thanks to their invaluable advice and expertise, I was admitted to Imperial College. I am extremely grateful to them.

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Your Dream School’s coaching helped me secure an offer from the University of Oxford.

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Which courses require the ESAT?

The ESAT is not a general-purpose test. It applies to a specific list of courses, published each year by UAT-UK in its Course List. Here is where that list stands for 2027 entry, university by university.

University of Cambridge

Four courses require the ESAT: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Engineering, Natural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine. For Engineering, the modules are fixed: Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics. For the other three, you take Mathematics 1 plus two modules of your choice from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics 2. That gives you genuine flexibility, and therefore a genuine strategic decision to make.

University of Oxford

Oxford has joined the UAT-UK tests and requires the ESAT for its science and engineering courses: Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science, Information Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics and Physics and Philosophy, as well as the Foundation Year versions of these courses. Except for Biomedical Sciences, the required combination is Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics.

Imperial College London

Imperial uses the ESAT more widely than any other university: aeronautics, biochemistry, biological sciences, biotechnology, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, microbiology, physics and theoretical physics. Module combinations vary by subject area: Mathematics 1 + Chemistry + Biology for the life sciences, and Mathematics 1 + Mathematics 2 + Physics for engineering. Design Engineering is the exception, with only two modules: Mathematics 1 and Mathematics 2.

UCL

UCL requires the ESAT for Electronic and Electrical Engineering, for both the BEng and the MEng, with Mathematics 1 plus two modules of your choice.

You cannot change your modules once you have booked: you have to cancel and book again, with no guarantee of getting another slot. If you are applying to two courses and one of them sets its modules, those are the ones you must book. This is the most costly administrative mistake in the whole application, and a ten-minute conversation beforehand is enough to avoid it.

Check the official UAT-UK 2027 Course List to confirm the exact UCAS code for your course.

The full ESAT 2027 timeline

An access arrangements request can take up to ten working days to be approved, and it must be granted before you book. A bursary requested after payment will not be refunded. Every year, these two rules catch out candidates who do things in the right order, but too late.

How we prepare students for the ESAT

The ESAT tests how well you apply maths and science you have already covered at school, under severe time pressure: 27 questions in 40 minutes, with no calculator, which is less than 90 seconds per question. For most students, the difficulty is rarely the level of the content. It lies elsewhere, in three areas.

Scientific vocabulary in English. A final-year student taking maths and physics knows the content, but not always the English terms used to express it. A question that takes thirty seconds to understand instead of ten is a question lost.

Mental arithmetic and orders of magnitude. Banning calculators changes the nature of the test. School curricula often leave little room for quick estimation and simplifying before calculating, which are exactly the skills the ESAT rewards.

Choosing your modules. When the course leaves the choice to you, there is no single right answer for everyone: there is a right answer for you, your subjects and your UCAS choices. We work it out with you before you book.

Our preparation is one-to-one and online, with a tutor who has sat the test or its predecessor and studied at one of the universities concerned. The standard format is a 10-hour package at €1,500 incl. VAT, or €150/hour incl. VAT, with lower rates beyond that (€130/hour, then €110/hour for each additional block of ten hours, which comes to €2,800 incl. VAT for 20 hours and €3,900 incl. VAT for 30 hours). It covers a diagnostic based on a timed mock test, module strategy, targeted work on the weaknesses identified, and then two full simulations under real test conditions. Larger packages are available for students starting further back or preparing for the ESAT alongside an interview.

Test preparation is only one part of your application. Candidates for Oxford, Cambridge or Imperial are also assessed on their UCAS personal statement and, if shortlisted, on their December interviews. Our students work on all three together.

Still deciding between Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial? Our one-hour Oxbridge assessment evaluates how realistic your plans are before you commit to anything.

Free resources

UAT-UK publishes a test specification and free sample papers for each module. They are the best place to start, and the only material that exactly matches the real test format.

• Official UAT-UK preparation materials
• Official ESAT page
• All Oxford and Cambridge admissions tests
• TMUA for mathematics, computer science and economics courses
• Studying at Imperial College London
• Studying at Cambridge
• Our full UCAS support

ESAT frequently asked questions

What is the ESAT?

The ESAT, or Engineering and Science Admissions Test, is the admissions test used by Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London and UCL for their engineering and science courses. It is run by UAT-UK and taken on a computer at a Pearson VUE test centre.

When should you take the ESAT for 2027 entry?

The sitting accepted by Oxford and Cambridge runs from 12 to 16 October 2026. Bookings close on 28 September 2026 at 6 pm UK time. A second sitting takes place from 4 to 8 January 2027, but Oxford and Cambridge do not accept it, except for Cambridge’s mature colleges and Oxford’s Astrophoria Foundation Year.

How much does the ESAT cost?

The test costs £78 for candidates in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and £133 for candidates taking it anywhere else. A bursary covering the full fee is available to UK candidates facing financial hardship and must be requested before booking.

Which ESAT modules should I choose?

Mathematics 1 is compulsory for all candidates. Most then choose two modules from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics 2. Some courses require a specific combination, for example Mathematics 1, Mathematics 2 and Physics for Engineering at Cambridge. Your choice cannot be changed once you have booked.

Is there a pass mark for the ESAT?

No. Each module is scored from 1 to 9 to one decimal place, and no cut-off or pass mark is published. Universities consider your score alongside the rest of your application. There is no negative marking, so it always makes sense to answer every question.

How much does ESAT preparation with Your Dream School cost?

Our 10-hour package of one-to-one preparation costs €1,500 incl. VAT, which works out at €150/h incl. VAT, then €130/h and €110/h for each additional block of ten hours (€2,800 incl. VAT for 20 hours, €3,900 incl. VAT for 30 hours). It includes a diagnostic mock test, strategic module selection, targeted work on your weak points and two timed practice tests.

Does the ESAT replace the MAT, PAT or TSA?

For 2027 entry, Oxford no longer lists the MAT, PAT, TSA, HAT or MLAT among its admissions tests. Its science and engineering courses use the ESAT, its humanities and social science courses the TARA, and its mathematics and computer science courses the TMUA. Law still uses the LNAT and medicine the UCAT.