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ESAT Results - The Definitive Guide to your ESAT Score
Written by: Matt Amalfitano-Stroud
The ESAT is a tough exam, so getting a good result is difficult. But to have the best chance of getting a high score, it’s good to know more about the scoring system itself. How is the final score calculated, what do universities do with your score and what do previous years’ results look like? This guide will answer all of these questions and more!
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HOW IS THE ESAT SCORED?
Firstly, let’s understand how the ESAT is scored and how your final results are delivered.
The Engineering and Science Admissions Test (ESAT) is brought to us by Pearson VUE, which is responsible for many of the UK’s admissions tests. The ESAT is made up of five separate subtests, each of which contains 27 multiple-choice questions that are worth one mark each. Therefore, the marking scheme for each paper is the same, aside for their score conversions.
Bear in mind that applicants will only have to complete up to 3 subtests, so the maximum amount of marks available in one sitting is 81.
The raw marks are converted into a final score that falls upon a scale between 1.0 and 9.0, based on how many marks you achieved. You will get a unique score for each subtest you complete.
How Are ESAT Scores Converted?
As mentioned, ESAT marks need to be converted into actual scores, but how does this process work?
For each subtest of the ESAT, a conversion table will be created that assigns a final score to each available number of marks from 1 – 27. This score will fall somewhere on the scale between 1.0 and 9.0.
This table will be different for every subtest, as the conversions are calculated based on the perceived difficulty of the questions based on previous results and testing of the current question selection. The conversion tables will also be recalculated for each testing period to ensure the conversions are fair.
Unfortunately, we do not currently have access to the official conversion table for any ESAT sittings. However, as the test is the direct replacement for the Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA), we can look at a previous conversion table from Section 1 of this test to understand how the ESAT conversions may look.
NSAA Score Conversion Table 2022 Entry - Section 1
Part A - Maths
| Raw Mark | Converted Score |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 4 | 1.0 |
| 5 | 1.6 |
| 6 | 2.2 |
| 7 | 2.6 |
| 8 | 3.1 |
| 9 | 3.6 |
| 10 | 4.0 |
| 11 | 4.4 |
| 12 | 4.9 |
| 13 | 5.4 |
| 14 | 5.9 |
| 15 | 6.4 |
| 16 | 7.0 |
| 17 | 7.7 |
| 18 | 8.6 |
| 19 | 9.0 |
| 20 | 9.0 |
Part B - Physics
| Raw Mark | Converted Score |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 4 | 1.0 |
| 5 | 1.5 |
| 6 | 2.2 |
| 7 | 2.8 |
| 8 | 3.4 |
| 9 | 4.0 |
| 10 | 4.6 |
| 11 | 5.1 |
| 12 | 5.7 |
| 13 | 6.3 |
| 14 | 6.9 |
| 15 | 7.6 |
| 16 | 8.3 |
| 17 | 9.0 |
| 18 | 9.0 |
| 19 | 9.0 |
| 20 | 9.0 |
Part C - Chemistry
| Raw Mark | Converted Score |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 4 | 1.0 |
| 5 | 1.0 |
| 6 | 1.0 |
| 7 | 1.0 |
| 8 | 1.6 |
| 9 | 2.1 |
| 10 | 2.6 |
| 11 | 3.2 |
| 12 | 3.7 |
| 13 | 4.3 |
| 14 | 4.8 |
| 15 | 5.5 |
| 16 | 6.2 |
| 17 | 7.0 |
| 18 | 8.1 |
| 19 | 9.0 |
| 20 | 9.0 |
Part D - Biology
| Raw Mark | Converted Score |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1.0 |
| 1 | 1.0 |
| 2 | 1.0 |
| 3 | 1.0 |
| 4 | 1.0 |
| 5 | 1.0 |
| 6 | 1.5 |
| 7 | 2.0 |
| 8 | 2.6 |
| 9 | 3.1 |
| 10 | 3.6 |
| 11 | 4.1 |
| 12 | 4.6 |
| 13 | 5.1 |
| 14 | 5.6 |
| 15 | 6.2 |
| 16 | 6.9 |
| 17 | 7.7 |
| 18 | 8.8 |
| 19 | 9.0 |
| 20 | 9.0 |
When Do ESAT Results Come Out?
Results for the ESAT are said to release around 6 weeks after the testing period. This means that results will be released in late November for those sitting the October sitting and mid-February for the January sitting.
Universities will receive your results automatically, so you will not need to send them over when you receive them.
ESAT Results 2024
Below are the score distribution charts for the October 2024 sitting of the ESAT. This was the first sitting of the test, so this provides us with our first glimpse at how your results will be reported by Pearson VUE. The results have been separated by subtest, so we have five sets of results to look at:
ESAT Mathematics 1 Scores
ESAT Mathematics 2 Scores
ESAT Physics Scores
ESAT Chemistry Scores
ESAT Biology Scores
Here, we can see that most applicants typically score between 4.0 and 5.0 in each subtest. Outliers include Mathematics 1, which saw a high number of applicants score 3.5, and Mathematics 2, which had a 2nd most common score of 5.5. Biology had the highest percentage of applicants achieving a score of 6.0, closely followed by Mathematics 1.
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HOW DO UNIVERSITIES USE YOUR RESULTS?
The ESAT is currently used at two UK universities for a variety of courses, so let’s see how your score will impact your application.
While the ESAT is a replacement for a previously Cambridge-exclusive admissions test, it has actually been adopted by another university: Imperial College London. How do the two universities use your ESAT score? Let’s find out:
University of Cambridge
As previously stated, Cambridge will automatically receive your ESAT score, meaning you won’t need to go through the process listed above. The ESAT is one of multiple components considered by the admissions team at the college you applied to within the university (your application is not reviewed by the university as a whole).
The other components include your Personal Statement, predicted grades and GCSE performance. The ESAT score is one of the most heavily-considered parts of the application though, especially in the shortlisting phase. This is the point in the application when applicants are invited to attend interviews.
However, the scores also play a major role in the final decision-making process after your interviews have been completed.
Cambridge does not enforce any kind of cut-off score for the ESAT, so applicants will be considered regardless of their score. However, with how competitive Cambridge is, you will need to ensure you achieve a competitive score of at least 7.0 in order to have a good chance of success.
Imperial College London
2024 is the first year Imperial College London has implemented an admissions test like the ESAT, so there isn’t much historical context to know how the university uses results.
However, it seems that your ESAT score will be considered in a similar way to how Cambridge uses admissions tests, with results being considered alongside multiple other factors to aid in shortlisting and sending out offers. Imperial has also not set a threshold for ESAT scores, but applicants will once again need to aim for a good ESAT score to remain competitive.
What Is a Good ESAT Score?
As we saw in the results above, the average score earned in the ESAT was 4.0 – 5.0. Therefore, you should aim to get considerably higher than this in order to stand out. A score of 6.0 may put you in a decent position, but the most competitive applicants will be earning 7.0 or more in each subtest.
What If I Get a Bad ESAT Score?
With all that being said, there are still scores that are not at all desirable for the ESAT, specifically anything below 4.0 or so. Scores within the 4.0 range are still fairly common, but unfortunately, would not reflect too positively on your application.
As results are submitted automatically, there isn’t much that can be done after you’ve completed your test, although Pearson VUE customer service is available if you feel that you were unfairly hindered in your test by technical difficulties.
Can I Resit the ESAT?
No, the ESAT can only be taken once per admissions cycle. As there are two separate testing periods during each admissions cycle, you may think that you can redo the test in January if you didn’t do well in October, but this is now allowed.
Instead, you will have to wait until the next admissions cycle if you didn’t get your offer and want to attempt the ESAT again.
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HISTORIC ESAT RESULTS
We now know what the universities are looking for, but how did applicants from previous years do in the test? Let’s find out what the results were like in previous papers!
As we’ve mentioned, the ESAT was introduced in 2024 and had its first sitting in October. This means that there is currently no historical data for the test before this point.
However, as the ESAT was designed to be a replacement for the NSAA, we can look at the data for previous sittings of this admissions test instead:
NSAA Results - 2022 Entry
Part A - Maths
Part B - Physics
Part C - Chemistry
Part D - Biology
We’ve only shown data from Section 1, as Section 2 was not translated into any part of the ESAT. What we can see here is that, across the 4 subtests, average scores are generally lower than the 2024 ESAT sitting, although there are some outliers present.
Within the Maths and Physics parts, average scores skewed more between 3.0 and 4.0, compared to the range of 4.0 – 5.o seen in the ESAT. Beyond this, we can see that the Chemistry part was especially hard, with over 20% of applicants scoring 1.0, the lowest possible score.
The Biology subtest is the only one which has a similar average to its ESAT counterpart, indicating that not much has changed during the transition.
However, we can see that, in general, applicants performed better in the ESAT indicating that the new test is slightly easier, though not easy in itself! It will remain to be seen if adjustments are made to future sittings of the ESAT to make it more difficult.
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WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU GET YOUR RESULTS
Once you’ve completed the ESAT, your work isn’t over yet. Let’s see what else needs to be done once your ESAT score has been released.
Once you’ve got your results, what happens next? Due to the timeline of the ESAT, you should get your ESAT results just before Cambridge’s interview season begins in December if you sat the test in October. The ESAT isn’t likely to be discussed in your interviews (should you be invited), but knowing what score you achieved may help you understand how likely you are to succeed.
As mentioned before, the ESAT is one of several factors used to determine who gets an offer, with interview performance generally being the most important aspect. This means that you should be well prepared for your interviews to ensure you come across as a professional prospective student.
However, having a very high ESAT score should give you an extra confidence boost, as you have already demonstrated your academic potential. Inversely, if your score is on the lower end but you were still invited for interviews, this means the admissions team has seen potential in you despite the weaker performance. In this case, you should ensure you are fully ready to impress the admissions team when you meet them.
This timeline is similar for those who take the ESAT in January, although this sitting is only for those who are applying to Imperial College London and not Cambridge.
After the application process is completed, Cambridge applicants can expect to receive their final decisions in mid to late January. This is much earlier than other universities, including Imperial College London. As decisions come in over the subsequent months, you’ll need to decide which offers to accept. You must select two universities on UCAS: a firm choice (your first preference) and an insurance choice (a backup option). This decision is final, and any remaining offers must be manually declined.
Once you’ve made your choices, the next step is to focus on achieving the required grades to meet the conditions of your firm offer. After your final exams, the only thing left to do is wait for results day. All decisions and updates will be managed through your UCAS profile, where your offers are stored.
One scenario you should prepare for is the possibility of not receiving an offer from your desired university or not getting any offers at all. If your preferred university doesn’t make you an offer, you’ll need to decide whether to accept an offer from another institution or reapply for your first-choice university in the next admissions cycle. For applicants who receive no offers, reapplying becomes the sole option if you still wish to pursue higher education.
While universities offer the option to appeal decisions, this process is generally reserved for cases involving exceptional circumstances, such as evidence of bias or discrimination.
If you choose to reapply, it’s essential to evaluate what may have hindered your success previously and work to improve those areas. For instance, if a low ESAT score weakened your application, focus on enhanced preparation for the exam during your next attempt. This can be achieved by using a preparation support service such as ESAT.Ninja, which gives you access to tonnes of tutorials, practice questions and past papers. You can try it out for free today by creating an account!
That concludes our look at ESAT scoring and results. The ESAT is unusual for an admissions test in that it’s rarely essential to take for your application. However, you should now understand how much a good ESAT score can benefit you and your chances of getting into your dream university! With all that in mind, why not begin your ESAT practice by learning the basics with our ESAT Starter Guide? Or if you’re ready to get straight into the heavy stuff, you can jump straight into ESAT.Ninja’s collection of practice questions and past papers!
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