What is a good ESAT score?
The ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test) is the UAT-UK admissions test for engineering, natural sciences, biomedical, and physics courses at Cambridge, Imperial, Oxford, and UCL. See the full ESAT guide →
ESAT scores run from 1.0 to 9.0, reported to one decimal place, per module.[1] UAT-UK designed the scale so that typical candidates score around 4.5, and only about 10% of candidates score above 7.0.[1] There are no official "cut-off" scores at any university.[4]
The 1.0–9.0 scale
Each module you sit is scored separately on the same 1.0–9.0 scale. There is no combined ESAT score; universities see your score for each module individually. Scores are capped at 1.0 (low) and 9.0 (high), with results reported to one decimal place.[1]
The 4.5 median and 7.0 top-decile thresholds are scale-design anchors, set by UAT-UK and stable across sittings.[1]
Each module has its own distribution
The 4.5 design-anchor median is universal across modules, but the actual score distributions vary in shape. Below are the per-module distributions from the October 2025 and January 2026 sittings combined, as published by UAT-UK.[1] The dashed line on each chart marks the 4.5 design-anchor median for reference.
Mathematics 1
Tight unimodal peak at the design-anchor 4.5. The "everyone sits this" module, with the smallest tails of any module.
Mathematics 2
Right-skewed peak at 4.0 with a thin upper tail. Hardest module for top-end candidates to score well in.
Biology
Long upper tail with the highest 9.0 pile-up of any module (~2.7%). Notable bimodal cluster around 4.5 / 5.0.
Chemistry
Right-skewed peak at 4.0 with a noticeable secondary cluster around 5.5. Wider middle than Mathematics 1.
Physics
Twin modes at 3.5 and 4.5 (both ~13%). The closest to genuinely bimodal of any module, suggesting two distinct candidate populations.
Per-bucket percentages read from the histograms on pp 1–3 of the source PDF[1], accurate to roughly ±0.3 percentage points. All charts share an 18% y-axis cap so you can compare module shapes directly.
What the distributions tell you
- Mathematics 1 has the tightest distribution. Every ESAT candidate sits it, so the cohort isn't self-selected and clusters hard around the 4.5 anchor. Scoring above 7.0 puts you well into the top decile.
- Physics is the closest to genuinely bimodal. Twin peaks at 3.5 and 4.5 (both ~13%) suggest two distinct populations — well-prepared and under-prepared candidates — with less middle ground.
- Biology has the longest upper tail. ~2.7% of Biology candidates hit the 9.0 cap (the highest of any module). Self-selection from Cambridge Nat Sci / Oxford Biomedical / Imperial Bio cohorts likely drives the tail.
- Mathematics 2 is the hardest module for top-end candidates. The thinnest upper tail of any module; the right-skewed shape and 14.7% mass at 4.0 indicate even A-Level Maths candidates often struggle to push above 6.
- The 4.5 anchor holds across modules, but the modal score doesn't. Chemistry and Mathematics 2 peak at 4.0; Mathematics 1 and Biology at 4.5; Physics has twin modes at 3.5 and 4.5. A 5.0 in Mathematics 2 represents a stronger relative performance than a 5.0 in Mathematics 1.
What score do I need for [my university]?
Honest answer: no university publishes an official ESAT cut-off score.[4]
Anyone claiming "you need X for Imperial" or "Cambridge wants Y+" is guessing. ESAT scores are used alongside the rest of your application: predicted A-Level grades, your personal statement, school reference, and (for some courses) interview performance. There is no threshold below which you are automatically rejected, and no threshold above which you are automatically accepted.
Here's what each ESAT-using university actually says about how the score is used, in their own words:
University of Cambridge
Engineering, Natural Sciences, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Veterinary Medicine
“There is no pass or fail for ESAT. We don’t expect you to get every question right.”[6]
Imperial College London
All Engineering, Biology / Biochemistry / Biotechnology variants, Chemistry, Physics, Microbiology, Ecology, Design Engineering
“There aren’t any grade boundaries or pass marks for the ESAT or TMUA. Achieving a high score does not necessarily mean that you will be offered a place, while a low score does not mean that your application will be unsuccessful.”[7]
University of Oxford
Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science, Information Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Physics and Philosophy
“Our admissions tutors use your ESAT results, alongside what you tell us in your UCAS application and your interview, to get a more well-rounded picture of you as an individual.”[8]
UCL
Electronic and Electrical Engineering (BEng and MEng)
“We will use the test results as additional information in conjunction with other aspects of the UCAS application including predicted/achieved A Level grades (or equivalent), the personal statement and UCAS reference.”[9]
For the official list of ESAT-using courses and their per-course module requirements, see the UAT-UK Course List 2027 Entry.[5]
When and how results arrive
You don't send your scores anywhere — they go automatically
Your ESAT results are sent automatically to any participating institutions in your UCAS application shortly after your test date.[4] There is no separate "score report" you have to forward. You'll see your scores in your UAT-UK account on the results date above.
References
Numbering kept stable across all ESAT cluster pages so a given reference always points to the same source.
- [1] UAT-UK ESAT Explanation of Results — October 2025 and January 2026 (PDF, 22pp). Primary source for the 1.0–9.0 scale design, the 4.5 typical-candidate anchor, the 10% above 7.0 top-decile anchor, and the per-module score-distribution histograms.
uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/...ESAT_Explanation_of_Results-October2025_and_January2026.pdf - [2] UAT-UK ESAT Content Specification — April 2025 (PDF, 46pp). Source for module format (5 modules, 27 MCQs each, 40 min, separately timed, no calculator, no negative marking), the per-module syllabus topics (Appendix 1), and the cross-module prerequisite rule (every module assumes Mathematics 1).
uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/...ESAT_Content_Specification_April2025.pdf - [3] UAT-UK Key Dates page. Source for the October 2026 and January 2027 sitting windows, registration timeline (booking opens 20 July 2026, closes 28 September 2026), and results release dates (Mon 16 November 2026 for the October sitting; 8 February 2027 for the January sitting).
esat-tmua.ac.uk/deadlines/ - [4] UAT-UK Test Results page. Source for the "approximately four weeks after the date of your test" results-release timing, the automatic delivery of scores to UCAS-listed institutions, and the framing that scores are used by universities alongside the rest of the application (no published cut-offs).
esat-tmua.ac.uk/test-results/ - [5] UAT-UK Course List — 2027 Entry (PDF, 22pp, updated April 2026). Source for the official per-course module requirements at Imperial, Cambridge, Oxford, and UCL.
uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/...Course_List_2027_Entry_Final.pdf - [6] University of Cambridge — Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT). The University of Cambridge undergraduate study site. Source for Cambridge's "no pass or fail" statement on ESAT scoring.
undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/how/science-engineering-admission-test - [7] Imperial College London — Understanding your ESAT and TMUA scores. The Imperial undergraduate admissions site. Source for Imperial's "no grade boundaries or pass marks" statement and the high-score / low-score framing.
imperial.ac.uk/study/apply/undergraduate/process/admissions-tests/understanding-your-esat-and-tmua-scores/ - [8] University of Oxford — Department of Engineering Science: ESAT. Source for Oxford's "well-rounded picture" framing on how ESAT scores are used alongside UCAS application and interview.
eng.ox.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/applications/engineering-and-science-admissions-test - [9] UCL — ESAT for UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering applicants. The UCL Faculty of Engineering page on ESAT requirements. Source for UCL's "additional information" framing on how ESAT scores are used alongside other application components.
ucl.ac.uk/engineering/esat-ucl-electronic-engineering-bengmeng-applicants-0