Magdalene College ESAT scores for Cambridge Engineering (H100)

In the 2025 admissions cycle, applicants who received an Engineering (H100) offer from Magdalene College, Cambridge averaged 6.35 on ESAT Physics, 6.22 on Mathematics 2 and 6.05 on Mathematics 1, only 0.3 apart from highest to lowest. What stands out about Magdalene is the starting point: everyone who applied to the college that year averaged 5.26, 5.27 and 5.3 in Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2, almost identical figures, and offer-holders sat just 0.79, 1.08 and 0.92 above that field. Placed back in the pool of 25 undergraduate colleges, the Mathematics 2 offer average lands exactly on the pool median of 6.22, 13th of 25; Physics is 0.12 below its median, 15th; Mathematics 1 is 0.31 below, 17th. These are cycle averages for two groups of people, not entry requirements. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

Magdalene ESAT scores at a glance (2025 cycle)

What offer-holders scored: Physics averaged 6.35, Mathematics 2 6.22 and Mathematics 1 6.05; 6.21 across the three modules
What the whole applicant field scored: Mathematics 1 averaged 5.26, Physics 5.27 and Mathematics 2 5.3; 5.28 across the three modules
Applicant-to-offer gap: 0.79 in Mathematics 1, 1.08 in Physics and 0.92 in Mathematics 2, largest in Physics and smallest in Mathematics 1
Rank within the undergraduate college pool: Out of 25 colleges: 17th in Mathematics 1, 15th in Physics, 13th in Mathematics 2
Distance from the pool median: 0.31 below in Mathematics 1 (median 6.36), 0.12 below in Physics (median 6.47), level with the 6.22 median in Mathematics 2
Spread across the three modules: 0.3, highest in Physics and lowest in Mathematics 1, so the three sit close together

These are averages and extremes for applicants and offer-holders at this college in the 2025 Engineering (H100) cycle, not entry requirements; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold. The FOI response gives no applicant counts per college, so sample sizes are unknown and a handful of candidates can move an average. Ranks are computed within the undergraduate college pool only, and are not comparable with the mature colleges, which admit applicants aged 21 and over. ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place. Pool ranks, pool medians, the overall three-module averages and the various gaps are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response; Cambridge publishes no such rankings.

What Magdalene's ESAT numbers actually are

The University's official Freedom of Information response FOI-2025-956 lists ESAT scores for Engineering (H100) applicants and offer-holders college by college for the 2025 cycle; below is the full set for Magdalene. ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place. What shows first at Magdalene is not a high score in any one module but how short the distance is between the two columns: applicants averaged 5.26, 5.27 and 5.3, offer-holders 6.05, 6.35 and 6.22, and the largest of the three gaps, in Physics, is only 1.08. Both columns are grouped by the college applied to in that cycle, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course part-way through.

	Applicant average	Applicant range	Offer-holder average	Offer-holder range
Mathematics 1	5.26	2 to 9	6.05	3.3 to 8.9
Physics	5.27	1.1 to 9	6.35	3.2 to 9
Mathematics 2	5.3	1 to 9	6.22	4.1 to 9

The averages and the lowest and highest scores come line by line from official response FOI-2025-956; the overall three-module averages of 5.28 and 6.21 are calculated by FrontierVUE from that same response. Each range is the lowest and highest score in the group, describing what happened in the 2025 cycle rather than a requirement on the next cohort.

6.21

Overall three-module average for Magdalene offer-holders, 2025 cycle

5.28

Overall three-module average across all applicants in the same cycle, a short distance under the offer side

0.3

Spread between the three offer averages, highest in Physics and lowest in Mathematics 1

Among offer-holders the lowest scores were 3.3 in Mathematics 1, 3.2 in Physics and 4.1 in Mathematics 2, all far beneath the same group's averages of 6.05, 6.35 and 6.22, while the top scores in that group reached 9 in Physics and Mathematics 2 and 8.9 in Mathematics 1. One cohort of offers held both scores near the ceiling of the scale and scores in the low threes, which is not what a cut-off would look like; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

How to read these numbers

6.35 is an average, not a bar to clear

It is the average Physics score of Magdalene Engineering offer-holders in the 2025 cycle, and actual scores in that group ran from 3.2 to 9. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold, and no college has published a minimum of its own. The accurate sentence is that offer-holders in this module averaged 6.35 that year, not that 6.35 is what you need.

No applicant counts, so a small sample can move the average

The response gives averages and extremes only, with no applicant count or offer count for any college. Colleges differ a great deal in size, and in a year with few candidates a handful of results can lift or depress an average. Whether Magdalene's modest gaps reflect who applied that year or something else cannot be read from this data, because the sample size behind each figure is unknown.

Ranks are computed inside the undergraduate pool only

Magdalene's 13th, 15th and 17th places are all calculated within the 25 undergraduate colleges. Hughes Hall, St Edmund's, Wolfson and Lucy Cavendish admit only applicants aged 21 and over, so they draw on a different pool; ranks are computed separately and this page never lines the two pools up against each other.

A 1.0 to 9.0 scale, and some candidates moved college

ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place, so a spread of 0.3 or a gap of 0.12 from the median is a small quantity on that scale and should not be felt as if it were percentage points. The University also notes that some applicants change college or course during the cycle, with figures grouped by the cycle applied in, so the group counted under a college is not necessarily the group that ends up reading Engineering there.

One line to hold on to: this page answers what people who applied to Magdalene scored last cycle, not what you must score. Its shape is three modules close together, resting just under the pool median as a whole. Let that shape into how you split your time; do not translate it into a number you have to hit.

To place Magdalene among all 29 colleges side by side, there is a separate piece on this site, Cambridge ESAT scores by college, with the cross-college comparison and interactive charts; this page stays with Magdalene alone. FrontierVUE is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the University of Cambridge or any college; this page only organises and reads a public response.

Three things specific to Magdalene

17 / 25

Where the Mathematics 1 offer average ranks in the undergraduate pool, the furthest back of Magdalene's three

15 / 25

Where Physics ranks, even though it is the highest of Magdalene's three offer averages

13 / 25

Where Mathematics 2 ranks, the exact middle of 25, with its offer average level with the pool median

Spread across the three modules

0.3

Physics highest at 6.35, Mathematics 2 at 6.22, Mathematics 1 lowest at 6.05

Versus the pool median in Physics

0.12 below

Magdalene 6.35 against a pool median of 6.47; Physics carries the highest median of the three, so even Magdalene's strongest module sits under it

Versus the pool median in Mathematics 2

Level

Magdalene 6.22 against a pool median of 6.22, a gap of 0

Versus the pool median in Mathematics 1

0.31 below

Magdalene 6.05 against a pool median of 6.36, the widest of the three gaps

Applicant-to-offer gap

0.79 / 1.08 / 0.92

Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2 in order, largest in Physics and smallest in Mathematics 1

On the applicant side

Module averages of 5.26, 5.27 and 5.3

Almost level with one another, 5.28 overall; the offer side is 6.21 overall, a short distance away

Put together, Magdalene's shape has three features. First, the three offer averages sit close, only 0.3 apart, with Physics a shade higher, so no module can be sacrificed. Second, none of the three rises above the pool median: Mathematics 2 sits exactly on it at 13th, Physics 0.12 below at 15th, Mathematics 1 0.31 below at 17th, the whole college resting just under the median line. Third, the applicant-to-offer gaps are modest, 0.79, 1.08 and 0.92, and the distance from the applicant field's overall 5.28 to the offer-holders' 6.21 is short. None of this makes Magdalene easier to get into: a small gap may simply mean that year's applicants scored more evenly, and with no applicant counts in the FOI response there is no way to tell how steady these averages are.

Preparing with Magdalene's shape in mind

01Step 1

Split the time almost evenly, a little more for Physics

With only 0.3 between Magdalene's three offer averages, start by dividing time almost evenly between Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2. Physics carries the highest offer average of the three (6.35) and the largest gap (1.08), so it can take a little more, but this is not a case for majoring on one module.

02Step 2

Do not let Mathematics 1 slide

Mathematics 1 is the module where Magdalene's offer average is lowest (6.05) and its rank furthest back (17th), and it is the module every candidate sits. Make accuracy and speed on routine questions solid and clear arithmetic slips first.

03Step 3

Take your own baseline, module by module

Sit a timed paper from the past paper list at /papers/esat and record accuracy and timing for each module separately. What you are looking for is your own weakest module, not the college's rank on that module.

04Step 4

Go back to full timed sittings

Run the modules back to back to rehearse the switches and the time budget, then work through the solutions and error analysis question by question. Magdalene's combined offer average of 6.21 comes from none of the three collapsing, so whole-paper rhythm is worth more than a peak in any one subject.

Where practice weight goes for Magdalene's profile

Priorities inferred from the 2025 offer-group distribution, not an official requirement

Physics (15th, 6.35)Highest of the three offer averages and the largest gap at 1.08, yet 0.12 under the 6.47 pool median

Mid-level mechanics and circuits as the standing workload
File errors by quantity and model, not by which paper they came from

Mathematics 2 (13th, 6.22)Level with the 6.22 pool median, the exact middle of 25

Keep algebraic manipulation and function work at the same level as Physics
Keep one mixed set a week so practice does not circle the comfortable types

Mathematics 1 (17th, 6.05)Furthest back of the three, 0.31 under the 6.36 pool median, with the smallest gap at 0.79

Target accuracy and speed, clearing arithmetic slips first
Once steady, keep the volume up rather than dropping to pure maintenance

Tap a branch to unfold

The ESAT past papers live at /papers/esat, and some papers are free to try; the free labels on the list page show which ones are currently open. The three module guides under /exams/esat/guides/ (mathematics-1, physics, mathematics-2) cover syllabus and method, and scoring explains where the scaled score comes from.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What ESAT score do you need for an offer at Magdalene?

There is no such score. Cambridge publishes no ESAT threshold, and Magdalene has never stated a minimum of its own. What can be said is what happened in the 2025 cycle: offer-holders at this college averaged 6.35 in Physics, 6.22 in Mathematics 2 and 6.05 in Mathematics 1, and the lowest scores within that same group were 3.2, 4.1 and 3.3 in the same order. An average describes where a group sat, not a condition of entry.

None of Magdalene's modules is above the pool median. Is it easier to get into?

That inference does not hold. Magdalene's three offer averages do sit at or under the undergraduate pool median: level in Mathematics 2, 0.12 below in Physics, 0.31 below in Mathematics 1. But the FOI response gives no applicant count per college, so a small group can move an average, and the modest gaps of 0.79, 1.08 and 0.92 may simply mean that year's applicants scored more evenly. A rank describes where a college sits relative to the others, not how hard it is to get in.

The applicant average of 5.28 and the offer average of 6.21 are close. What does that mean?

Only that in the 2025 cycle at Magdalene, offer-holders sat a relatively short distance above the whole applicant field, with gaps of 0.79, 1.08 and 0.92 across the three modules. Why the distance is short is something this data cannot answer: it gives no applicant counts, no distributions and nothing about who applied that year, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle. Reading it as evidence that the ESAT matters less at Magdalene would be over-reaching.

How should I split time across the three modules for Magdalene?

Magdalene's three offer averages span only 0.3, a close-set shape, so time should be split almost evenly. A slight lean towards Physics is reasonable, since it carries the highest offer average (6.35) and the largest gap (1.08); but Mathematics 1, with the lowest offer average (6.05) and the furthest-back rank (17th), is exactly the one not to let slide. This is an ordering read off a distribution that already happened, not an official instruction, and you should still reassemble all three under full paper timing.

Sources

Official sources

FrontierVUE is an independent practice platform. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by UAT-UK, Pearson, OCR, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, or any official admissions-test owner.

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