Wolfson ESAT scores for Cambridge Engineering (mature college)

In the 2025 admissions cycle, applicants who received an offer for Engineering (H100) at Wolfson College, Cambridge averaged 6.45 in ESAT Mathematics 1, 6.25 in Physics and 6.53 in Mathematics 2. Wolfson admits only applicants aged 21 and over, so its ranks are computed among the 4 mature colleges alone: 2nd in Mathematics 1, 1st in Physics and 2nd in Mathematics 2, above the pool median on every module, by 0.15, 0.3 and 0.25 respectively. Across everyone who applied to the college that year the module averages were 4.33, 3.92 and 5.28, so offer-holders sat 2.12, 2.33 and 1.25 above the field, and the Mathematics 1 and Physics gaps are the largest among the 4 mature colleges. These are cycle averages, not entry requirements; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind. The FOI response also gives no applicant counts per college, and a mature college's sample is smaller than an undergraduate college's, so a handful of candidates can move any of these averages.

Wolfson ESAT scores at a glance (2025 cycle, mature college)

What offer-holders scored: Mathematics 1 averaged 6.45, Physics 6.25 and Mathematics 2 6.53; 6.41 across the three modules
What the whole applicant field scored: Mathematics 1 averaged 4.33, Physics 3.92 and Mathematics 2 5.28; 4.51 across the three modules
Applicant-to-offer gap: 2.12 in Mathematics 1, 2.33 in Physics and 1.25 in Mathematics 2; the first two are the largest gaps among the 4 mature colleges
Rank within the mature college pool: Out of 4 colleges: 2nd in Mathematics 1, 1st in Physics, 2nd in Mathematics 2
Distance from the mature pool median: 0.15 above in Mathematics 1 (median 6.3), 0.3 above in Physics (median 5.95), 0.25 above in Mathematics 2 (median 6.28)
Spread across the three modules: 0.28, highest in Mathematics 2 and lowest in Physics, so the three sit close to level

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 mature college's sample is usually smaller still, which lets a handful of candidates move an average. Wolfson admits only applicants aged 21 and over, so its ranks are computed among the 4 mature colleges alone and are not comparable with the 25 undergraduate colleges. 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, the module spread and the various gaps are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response; Cambridge publishes no such rankings.

What Wolfson's ESAT numbers actually are

Here is the full set of figures for Wolfson from the University's official Freedom of Information response FOI-2025-956, covering the 2025 admissions cycle for Engineering (H100). ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale to one decimal place. The applicant column covers everyone who applied to the college that year; the offer column covers the offer-holders reported under the same college. Both are grouped by the college applied to in that cycle, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle. Wolfson is a mature college admitting only applicants aged 21 and over, so the people in this table are not the same population as at an undergraduate college. The two sides of this table sit far apart; read the ranges before the averages.

	Applicant average	Applicant range	Offer-holder average	Offer-holder range
Mathematics 1	4.33	2.3 to 6.1	6.45	5.4 to 7.5
Physics	3.92	1.3 to 5.9	6.25	5.6 to 7
Mathematics 2	5.28	2.8 to 7.6	6.53	5.3 to 7.8

The averages and the lowest and highest scores in the table come line by line from official response FOI-2025-956; the overall three-module averages of 4.51 and 6.41 are calculated by FrontierVUE from that same response. The ranges are the lowest and highest score in each group, not boundaries.

6.41

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

4.51

Overall three-module average across all applicants in the same cycle

0.28

Spread between the three offer averages, Mathematics 2 highest and Physics lowest

One feature of this table shows directly that the two columns are not nested: on every module the top score among offer-holders is higher than the top score among applicants, 7.5 against 6.1 in Mathematics 1, 7 against 5.9 in Physics and 7.8 against 7.6 in Mathematics 2. If the offer column were drawn entirely from the applicant column, that could not happen. The University notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle, so some of the offer-holders reported under Wolfson did not apply to Wolfson in the first place. The other feature is the floor of the offer ranges: 5.4, 5.6 and 5.3, with no score below 5.3 anywhere in that cohort of offers. That is the shape of one year and one group; Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

How to read these numbers at a mature college

These are averages, not entry requirements

Every figure above is an average or an extreme for one group of people in the 2025 cycle. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold, and no college has published a minimum score of its own. The accurate phrasing is that Wolfson's offer-holders averaged 6.25 in Physics that year, not that 6.25 is what you need. The floors of the offer ranges, 5.3, 5.4 and 5.6, are likewise the lowest values that happened to occur, not lines.

Ranks are computed among the 4 mature colleges only

Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, St Edmund's and Wolfson admit only applicants aged 21 and over, so their applicant pool is a different population from the 25 undergraduate colleges, and every rank on this page is computed among those 4 alone. Wolfson is 1st in Physics because its 6.25 is the top of the mature pool on that module, in a pool whose Physics median is only 5.95; its 2nd places in both maths modules sit behind Hughes Hall. In a pool of 4, only one place separates 1st from 2nd, so lining the pools up against each other would be meaningless, and this page does not do it.

No applicant counts, and a mature college's sample is smaller

Response FOI-2025-956 gives no number of applicants per college. A mature college receives fewer Engineering applications than most undergraduate colleges, so a few unusually high or low scores can shift an average noticeably. Wolfson's applicant column bottoms out at 1.3 in Physics with an average of 3.92, quite possibly because a few very low scores pulled the average down, though without counts that remains an inference. Read these figures for direction, not as a stable baseline to track year on year.

What the large gaps cannot be read as

Gaps of 2.12 and 2.33 cannot be read as Wolfson selecting most strictly, nor as a weak field meaning little competition. The columns are not nested, and every offer maximum exceeds the applicant maximum, so part of the gap comes from people who moved in mid-cycle rather than from selection within Wolfson's own field; the low applicant averages may also be the work of a few people. ESAT results are reported on a 1.0 to 9.0 scale, and the gaps must be read against that scale. The only safe reading is that in this year the offer group reported under Wolfson differed a great deal from its applicant group on the ESAT.

One line to hold on to: this page answers what the mature applicants to Wolfson scored last cycle, not what you must score, and not whether Wolfson is harder or easier than some undergraduate college. Cambridge publishes no ESAT score threshold of any kind.

To see the 4 mature colleges side by side, or the cross-college comparison of the 25 undergraduate colleges, there is a separate piece on this site: Cambridge ESAT scores by college, which carries the comparisons and interactive charts for every college, with the two pools shown separately.

Three things specific to Wolfson

2 / 4

Where the Mathematics 1 offer average of 6.45 ranks in the mature pool, 0.15 over the 6.3 median

1 / 4

Where the Physics offer average of 6.25 ranks, the top of the mature pool on that module, 0.3 over the 5.95 median

2 / 4

Where the Mathematics 2 offer average of 6.53 ranks, 0.25 over the 6.28 median

Spread across the three modules

0.28

Mathematics 2 highest at 6.53, Mathematics 1 at 6.45, Physics lowest at 6.25, close to level

Versus the mature pool median in Mathematics 1

0.15 above

Wolfson 6.45 against a pool median of 6.3, in a pool that runs from 5.93 to 7.85 on this module

Versus the mature pool median in Physics

0.3 above

Wolfson 6.25 against a pool median of 5.95, in a pool that runs from 5.5 to 6.25 on this module, with Wolfson at the top

Versus the mature pool median in Mathematics 2

0.25 above

Wolfson 6.53 against a pool median of 6.28, in a pool that runs from 5.98 to 7 on this module

Applicant-to-offer gap

2.12 / 2.33 / 1.25

Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2 in order; the first two are the largest gaps among the 4 mature colleges

Overall position

Above the mature pool median on all three modules

Offer-holders averaged 6.41 overall, the whole applicant field 4.51

Put together, Wolfson's shape has three features. First, the three offer averages of 6.45, 6.25 and 6.53 sit close to level, only 0.28 apart, and all three are above the mature pool median, at 2nd, 1st and 2nd, making it the only college in that pool above the median on every module. Second, the offer ranges are compact with floors that are not low, 5.4 to 7.5, 5.6 to 7 and 5.3 to 7.8, so this cohort of offers contained nothing in the low fours or below. Third, the applicant averages of 4.33, 3.92 and 5.28 are markedly low, which stretches the gaps to 2.12, 2.33 and 1.25, but every offer maximum exceeds the applicant maximum, so the columns are not nested and the gaps cannot be attributed wholly to selection. With no applicant counts in the FOI response, all of these shapes carry the weight of a small sample.

Preparing with Wolfson's shape in mind

01Step one

Split the time three ways

With only 0.28 between Wolfson's three offer averages and all three above the pool median, start by dividing revision time evenly between Mathematics 1, Physics and Mathematics 2. The 1st place in Physics describes Wolfson against the other 3 mature colleges, not how much Physics matters inside Wolfson.

02Step two

Do not use the applicant averages as your reference

4.33, 3.92 and 5.28 describe the whole field that applied to Wolfson, including some very low scores. They are neither a target nor a safe zone; all they show is that the field varied widely that year. What you should be looking at is your own baseline, not this column.

03Step three

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. Mature applicants have often been out of the classroom for a while; break the weakest module down to topic level and rebuild the rusty chapters in the practice centre.

04Step four

Go back to full timed sittings

Run the modules back to back to rehearse the switches and the time budget, then work through the per-question solutions and error analysis. Wolfson's offer group averaged 6.41 across the three modules with none of them collapsing; whole-paper rhythm is worth more practice than a peak in one subject.

Where practice weight goes for Wolfson's shape

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

Mathematics 1 (2nd of 4, 6.45)Offer range 5.4 to 7.5, gap 2.12

Target accuracy and speed, clearing arithmetic slips first
File errors by topic, not by which paper they came from

Physics (1st of 4, 6.25)Offer range 5.6 to 7, gap 2.33, top of the pool

Mid-level mechanics and circuits as the standing workload, with no extra weight just for the pool rank
Under timing, leave no half-attempted items and settle the physics run first

Mathematics 2 (2nd of 4, 6.53)Offer range 5.3 to 7.8, gap 1.25, the highest offer average of the three

Algebraic manipulation and function work to fluency, with one mixed set a week
Treat it alongside Mathematics 1 without merging the two just because they share a rank

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. FrontierVUE is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Cambridge or any college; this page only organises and interprets officially released data.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

There is no such score. Cambridge publishes no ESAT threshold, and Wolfson has never stated a minimum of its own. What can be said is what happened in the 2025 cycle: applicants who received an offer at this mature college averaged 6.45 in Mathematics 1, 6.25 in Physics and 6.53 in Mathematics 2, with actual scores in that group running from 5.4 to 7.5 in Mathematics 1, from 5.6 to 7 in Physics and from 5.3 to 7.8 in Mathematics 2. The floor of a range is the lowest value that occurred, not a line, and since the FOI gives no applicant counts this group may be small.

Wolfson's applicants averaged only 3.92 in Physics. Does that mean little competition?

That inference does not hold. 3.92 describes the whole field that applied to Wolfson in the 2025 cycle, in which Physics scores went as low as 1.3, so a few very low scores can drag the average down, and the FOI gives no applicant counts. Those who actually received an offer averaged 6.25 in Physics with a floor of 5.6, the top of the mature pool on that module. A low applicant average and the level of the eventual offer group are two different things, and neither says how competitive the college is.

The gaps of 2.12 and 2.33 are large. Does that mean Wolfson selects most strictly?

No. These two gaps are indeed the largest among the 4 mature colleges, but a large gap has two sources unrelated to selection. One is that the columns are not nested: the offer maxima of 7.5, 7 and 7.8 all exceed the applicant maxima of 6.1, 5.9 and 7.6, and the University notes that some applicants change college or course mid-cycle, so some offer-holders reported under Wolfson came from elsewhere. The other is that the applicant averages may themselves be pulled down by a few low scores. The gaps are calculated by FrontierVUE from the same response; Cambridge publishes no such comparison, and they describe a difference, not strictness.

Physics ranks 1st in the mature pool. Should I focus on physics?

No. The 1st place describes where Wolfson's Physics offer average of 6.25 sits against the other 3 mature colleges, in a pool whose Physics median is only 5.95. Inside Wolfson itself, Physics at 6.25 is actually the lowest of the three modules, with Mathematics 2 at 6.53 and Mathematics 1 at 6.45, only 0.28 apart, so the three are almost level. A rank is a relative position across colleges, not a module's weight within a college; keep the time split evenly.

Sources

Official sources

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