Cambridge & Imperial ESAT

[DibbleDooDah]

Still a year or so off but DC is fairly certain they want to study engineering at university. First choice Cambridge, second choice Imperial. They both require the ESAT for admission and they know how ridiculously competitive the process is.

For those that have applied previously, is it sensible to apply for Cambridge and one or two others, wait until the ESAT result comes through and then only apply to Imperial if the score is high enough?

Whilst very able, it feels a little risky to put two high stakes universities on the form that are both dependent on the same test straight off. If it doesn’t go to plan then that’s two places on the UCAS form gone.

Or is it best to just apply to them both at the same time?

Great question. The ESAT was brand new this year, and people still don't have much of a feel what score gets you through to an interview or is competitive. I think we might have to wait until we've seen how things translate into offers! Which still fits with your timescale.

A great questio indeed, and good advice from @PhotoDad IMO.

I think it depends a bit on time scales. When would DC get their ESAT result and, more importantly, its context? If the results are generally low, I would hate for them to be put off Imperial when Imperial might be prepared to adjust expectations. Of course Cambridge would also be doing that, but Oxbridge decisions are inevitably a bit random so that in the event of a rejection one cannot necessarily draw conclusions.

The other factor is, how many degree programmes genuinely enthuse DC and/or function as a viable Insurance choice for them? If DC is only coming up with a total if four choices w/o Imperial they can go either way on this.

I was unclear: I would not postpone Imp until the end of Jan. Get those applications over with and relax

DS has done exactly that this this year for a course that requires the TMUA. He applied for Cambridge, and also 2 unis that do not require the TMUA. Did his TMUA in October. Got his results and decided that he could apply for Imperial and Warwick as well, which he did last week. Had the score been lower he would have applied for 2 other universities that didn't require the TMUA. Sounds like a good strategy to me!

My DS is in his third year studying engineering at Cambridge and he took the ENGAA test, so I can't comment on this year's results. However I know at his school this year, several 'dead certs' have been shocked at their ESAT and TMUA results, so didn't get Oxbridge interviews, and now are very unlikely to get offers from Imperial or Warwick (or other prestigious choices using the test results), and are having to reevaluate their choices/destinations for next year.

Thus, as @Mapletreelane says, it would be sensible to defer applications to Imperial and Warwick (or other unis that use the test results) so that you don't jeopardise your chances if they are lower than expected.

Yes - they would do the October ESAT sitting because of the Cambridge early admission deadline. Results come out end of November I think so lots of time to still add Imperial way before the January deadline.

Will be interesting to see the data for this year. In previous years a score of 6.5 or above in the equivalent test would stand you in decent stead of getting an interview. Score of 7.0 or more you can be feeling fairly confident of an interview.

I’m just thinking that if there’s a score below a certain point where people just don’t get interviews then it’s sensible to wait. Once the scores are known and hopefully they’re good then add Imperial in. If not then you can be more strategic in where else to apply.

I'd say it depends on where the others are.
My DC applied for Cambridge, Imperial, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bath at soon as UCAS opened.
At the open day, Nottingham said they don't read personal statements or references. If you have the predicted grades, you'll get on offer.
With that certainty there was no point waiting to add applications later. DC would have been happy if that was their only offer.
If your DC has a similar course/uni in their choices you might as well just get on and do a full application.
Nottingham's is a double offer for MEng and BEng so serves as a great insurance.
Nott and Birmingham offers came immediately, Bath within 2 weeks.
Imperial interviewed early Nov before receiving ESAT results so doubled as extra practice for the Cambridge interviews, and all done and dusted before Xmas.

My DS sat the ESAT this year and interviewed for both Imperial and Cambridge with an average ESAT of 5.7. It is worth looking at the bell curves that have been released for the Oct exam as it looks like a lot of students found this first test hard. For Imperial, be aware that for some courses there is a very high intake of international students - up to 60%, due to much higher international fees but this does fundamentally change the uni experience. I would allow plenty of time to prepare and plenty of past papers - there is a lot of resources online. DS probably started too late & was a bit disappointed with his result (lowest at his school). Also applied to Bristol, Bath & Durham 🤞🏼

My DS is only applying to Imperial (not Cambridge). The admissions tutor for his course said they would be assessing the whole application - statement, test results and interview - not just ranking the scores. He's not expecting an offer as his test results were relatively low, but I do wonder how much it depends on the course - I expect something like computer science would aim to take those with the highest scores, but something like civil engineering needs other skills and qualities which might be more discernable from the PS and interview.

DS is applying for Cambridge NatSci. He did really well on the chemistry section of the ESAT, which isn't normally his strongest subject. So at interview he was asked much more about maths and physics, which he's normally good at. He was very relieved by that! So the ESAT can be used as a diagnostic to give second chances at interview, which is interesting.

DC is undecided on which sort of engineering, although not civil, structural or chemical. General engineering courses therefore appeal, although they very much like the look of the Design Engineering course at Imperial. Hence wanting to apply to both.

DD did better than average in the ESAT, though not much better.

She did get an interview for engineering at Cambridge. She had hoped for Physics and Maths question in the interview, so that she could show that she was better than her ESAT scores (she gets extreme exam nerves which stop her from showing her full capability), but they only asked her conceptual questions which she thought weren’t particularly challenging. 🤷🏻‍♀️

If the process is the same in 2025/26 as it was in 2024/25 this sounds like an excellent strategy. It requires very little work from the applicant who defers his/her final two choices to a point in the process where he/she has maximum information about his/her own academic performance.

This makes total sense to the applicant who defers his/her final decisions to the point in the process where he/she has maximum information about his/her academic performance. It also makes sense for universities as they will receive applications from the best positioned applicants who are the most competitive for their courses. Win win.

Except that, whether you have 3 offers, 4 offers or 5 offers makes little difference when you can only accept 2 of them - one firm offer and one insurance. Science and engineering candidates who have predicted grades suitable for Cambridge & Imperial are unlikely to get rejections from other universities so don't necessarily need to hedge their bets, unless they really are very undecided about where they want to apply.

My son already had 2 offers from excellent options before he got his ESAT results, and that definitely helped to cushion the blow when his ESAT results turned out to be lower than average.

For ESAT that is more likely to be true than for TMUA (especially when for Economics). An applicant for Economics at Cambridge, LSE and Warwick might have as his/her other top choices UCL, Edinburgh or Bristol, all of which are highly competitive. If TMUA went badly an applicant might want to hedge bets with a less selective Economics course.