ESAT discussion and questions for Design Engineering course at Imperial College.

Are there any who have applied or are looking to apply to Imperials' Dyson Design Engineering course that have any advice on the new ESAT exam they've implemented? From what I understand it's a completely new exam that they have started in 2024 (don't quote me I'm not 100% sure), and am slightly worried about it.

I'd say my math skills are okay but there are no past papers or any resources on how the exam works, only past ENGAA papers. I only really perform well when I've fully prepared with content and may struggle with ESAT.

Are there any people here who have taken it before or are feeling the same way as me? I don't take Further Maths and would have to learn a lot of Year 2 Maths content myself that is presumably (due to it being in ENGAA Papers) in the ESAT exam, which I am also not looking too forward to. How much will it affect applications? Will it have the same weight as interviews and PS? There are so many unknowns about it due it to being new.

Any discussion about it is welcome.

Reply 1

sound-famous-

13

As you've said, the ESAT is a new exam, which means nobody has taken it before. It will be used by Cambridge and Imperial courses like natural sciences, physics, and engineering admissions.

More information can be found here: https://esat-tmua.ac.uk/about-the-tests/esat-test/ and useful preparation materials include the similar tests used previously, the NSAA and the ENGAA which can be found here: https://esat-tmua.ac.uk/esat-preparation-materials/. The specification for the ESAT can be found here: https://uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/16150826/ESAT_Content_Specification_May2024.pdf

I would advise going through the specification and making note of the things you don't know yet so you know what you'll actually have to teach yourself; there shouldn't be too much Year 2 content. After this, work through ENGAA and NSAA papers to practice. I don't know specific weightings for how important the ESAT will be in the application process, but it's definitely worth preparing well and scoring highly to boost your chances.

Reply 2

K.Man

2

Also going for the ESAT this year for Design Engineering, for prep, I'm using the limited sample papers on the ESAT website and then just practising the type of content that's going to be on the math section (mostly calc). Are you doing the October or January test?

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Original post by K.Man

Also going for the ESAT this year for Design Engineering, for prep, I'm using the limited sample papers on the ESAT website and then just practising the type of content that's going to be on the math section (mostly calc). Are you doing the October or January test?

Im so glad I found this thread! I need to do the Esat too for this course! So annoying that they didn’t introduce it a year later 🙄 I will be siting in October which is so soon now, it seems very real! I really struggle especially with maths 2 to complete 27 questions in 40 minutes. Some of them are quite challenging problems as well, you need more than 1.5 minutes to complete. I’m hoping that a good score isn’t necessarily a high score as such.

Reply 4

Jett Loubser

OP

5

Original post by K.Man

Also going for the ESAT this year for Design Engineering, for prep, I'm using the limited sample papers on the ESAT website and then just practising the type of content that's going to be on the math section (mostly calc). Are you doing the October or January test?

Hey, I'm planning on sitting the January test, even though I know it will be tougher due to more going on in sixth form in January I don't think I'll be prepared by October.

Reply 5

Jett Loubser

OP

5

Original post by Anonymous

Im so glad I found this thread! I need to do the Esat too for this course! So annoying that they didn’t introduce it a year later 🙄 I will be siting in October which is so soon now, it seems very real! I really struggle especially with maths 2 to complete 27 questions in 40 minutes. Some of them are quite challenging problems as well, you need more than 1.5 minutes to complete. I’m hoping that a good score isn’t necessarily a high score as such.

It's pretty annoying they introduced it this year. Obviously means way more people are applying and they need to thin out applications more. I'm hoping since it's the first year there's bound to be hiccups and they might not place as much weight on it, plus I know a lot of people who are applying don't do further maths due to the nature of the course. But I know ESAT will be important regardless.

Reply 6

Anonymous #2

Original post by Jett Loubser

Hey, I'm planning on sitting the January test, even though I know it will be tougher due to more going on in sixth form in January I don't think I'll be prepared by October.

Me too!! I have no idea what I'm doing but just gonna make sure I apply by 09/12 - that's the deadline for January sitting right?? 😭😭

Reply 7

Jett Loubser

OP

5

Original post by Anonymous

Me too!! I have no idea what I'm doing but just gonna make sure I apply by 09/12 - that's the deadline for January sitting right?? 😭😭

Yep, I’m pretty sure it opens up straight after the October sitting finishes.

Reply 8

Anonymous #2

Original post by Jett Loubser

Yep, I’m pretty sure it opens up straight after the October sitting finishes.

Hey for design engineering, we're only registering for 2 ESAT modules right??? Maths 1 and maths 2. Double checking

Reply 9

Jett Loubser

OP

5

Original post by Anonymous

Hey for design engineering, we're only registering for 2 ESAT modules right??? Maths 1 and maths 2. Double checking

yes

Reply 10

SP09

4

anyone sat the October sitting? I'll say both modules went quite badly.. What do u think is the minimum score for interview call? I'm worried because I feel I would ace the interview but I had a bad day in the exam it was a lot harder than any past papers and I panicked so I'm not sure 😭

Also was there no admissions test before this year?

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 11

Anonymous #2

Original post by SP09

anyone sat the October sitting? I'll say both modules went quite badly.. What do u think is the minimum score for interview call? I'm worried because I feel I would ace the interview but I had a bad day in the exam it was a lot harder than any past papers and I panicked so I'm not sure 😭
Also was there no admissions test before this year?

My friends said it was horrible for them, so I'm sure it's a collective thing. DONT WORRY WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. Hopefully they'll be more lenient since it's the first yr

Reply 12

Anonymous #3

Original post by Anonymous

My friends said it was horrible for them, so I'm sure it's a collective thing. DONT WORRY WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. Hopefully they'll be more lenient since it's the first yr

On Imperials open day in September I was asking around about how much weight the ESAT would hold in the whole admission process and one of the lecturers that I was talking to said that this year would act as a pilot year and there might be less emphasis because of it. Don't take this as fact it'll still be important but it might have less importance than mech eng for example.

Reply 13

K.Man

2

As someone who also took the ESAT, It went terribly :frown:

its good to know that it will take less weight.

Reply 14

so-called-charac

6

Original post by K.Man

As someone who also took the ESAT, It went terribly :frown:

its good to know that it will take less weight.

Yeah same it was a tough exam, here's hoping we all get in.

Reply 15

SP09

4

Original post by Anonymous

On Imperials open day in September I was asking around about how much weight the ESAT would hold in the whole admission process and one of the lecturers that I was talking to said that this year would act as a pilot year and there might be less emphasis because of it. Don't take this as fact it'll still be important but it might have less importance than mech eng for example.

I know I should take it with a grain of salt but this is the best information I have heard all week. Thank you 🙏😭

Reply 16

SP09

4

on another thread somewhere I heard EEE invites were due to come out this week for interview between 27 Nov - 4 Dec. Considering we have the same admissions test now it would make sense for our invites to follow the same timeline. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of us!! Good luck :smile: