How to choose your ESAT modules

What you're choosing

Every ESAT candidate takes Mathematics 1. Most then take two more modules from Mathematics 2, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Which two depends on the course and the university, so there's no single right answer for everyone.

This is something to sort out early. UAT-UK notes that you can't simply change your modules at the test centre, so the modules you book are the ones you'll sit.

Checking each course page

Make a list of every course you're thinking of applying to, find the admissions test section on each course page, and write the modules next to each one. If a page only says 'ESAT' without naming modules, keep looking until you find the specific ones.

Your list might show that one course names Mathematics 2 and Physics, while another names Physics and leaves the third module open. Seeing them side by side makes it much easier to spot what you still need to decide.

Don't work out your modules from what someone else is taking. Check each page yourself, then read UAT-UK's current guidance before you book.

If your course leaves the choice to you

Having a free choice still means making a careful one. Pick the module where your practice is most likely to turn into marks in 40 minutes. That's often your strongest subject, but it may also be the one where the ESAT's style of question surprises you least.

Before you decide, sit one timed module in each subject you're considering, under the same conditions each time. Then compare how many you got right, how long the questions took, and what kind of mistakes you made.

Say your Mathematics 2 mark came out a little lower, but most of the lost marks were a dropped minus sign, a misread 'not' and two questions you guessed at the end. Your Biology mark was a bit higher, but nearly every question took longer than you'd like and you only just finished. The Maths 2 mistakes are quick to fix with careful practice. Being slow across a whole paper takes much longer to change, so Maths 2 could be the better choice even with the lower mark.

Giving Mathematics 1 enough time

It's easy to spend most of your revision on the module you enjoy and too little on the one everyone has to sit. Mathematics 1 deserves real time: every ESAT candidate takes it, and the same algebra, ratios and units come up in calculations in the science modules.

One way to keep things balanced is to plan your week by module before you plan it by topic. Decide how many sessions each of your three modules gets, with Maths 1 always on the list, and then choose what to do in each one.

Planning revision in short cycles

Work on each module in cycles: one full timed module, then two or three sessions on what it showed you, then another timed module. Keep each cycle short, perhaps a week or two, so your plan changes when your results do.

If one module keeps showing the same mistake cycle after cycle, give it an extra session and take one away from a module that's going well.