Computer Science Admissions Test
CSAT Preparation & Tutoring
Find which papers in the CSAT your course requires, see the score distribution, and follow our 5-step preparation journey with question-bank support.
Key Dates & Deadlines
1 June – 28 September 2026
TMUA Registration / Booking
TMUA is the primary central test for Cambridge Computer Science. Verify on UAT-UK.
Via the requiring College
CSAT Arrangements
Lucy Cavendish, Peterhouse, Selwyn, or Trinity will publish CSAT arrangements on their admissions pages.
15 October 2026
UCAS Deadline
Applies to all Cambridge applications.
1 June – 28 September 2026
TMUA Registration / Booking
TMUA is the primary central test for Cambridge Computer Science. Verify on UAT-UK.
Via the requiring College
CSAT Arrangements
Lucy Cavendish, Peterhouse, Selwyn, or Trinity will publish CSAT arrangements on their admissions pages.
15 October 2026
UCAS Deadline
Applies to all Cambridge applications.
01Section 01
Overview - official link, courses, and the papers you sit
Section 01
Overview - official link, courses, and the papers you sit
CSAT is the Cambridge Computer Science admissions test required by Lucy Cavendish, Peterhouse, Selwyn, and Trinity in addition to the TMUA. Other Cambridge colleges do not require it. Always confirm the current per-College policy on the official Cambridge Computer Science admissions page.
CSAT (Computer Science Admissions Test) is required by a small number of Cambridge colleges in addition to the TMUA for Computer Science applicants.
For 2027 entry, the colleges that require CSAT are Lucy Cavendish, Peterhouse, Selwyn, and Trinity. Other Cambridge colleges do not require CSAT: TMUA alone is the central admissions-test requirement.
CSAT is administered by the colleges that require it, not through the central UAT-UK booking system. Always confirm the current per-College policy on the official Cambridge Computer Science admissions page and on the page of the College(s) you apply to.
Official test site: www.cst.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate - registration, specimen papers, and the latest results report.
Oxbridge Mentors also produces an in-house CSAT question bank focused on the hardest questions students get stuck on and the time-management drills that close the last 10–15% of the score. Contact us for access or 1-to-1 support.
Courses that require the CSAT
Every course below sits the same CSAT papers - there are no per-course module choices.
CSAT for Cambridge
Cambridge courses requiring the CSAT
- Course guide →
Computer Science
UCAS G400
02Section 02
Test format
Section 02
Test format
CSAT is administered by the requiring College and tests problem-solving and reasoning relevant to Computer Science.
Confirm the current format, length, and any sample materials directly on the requiring College's admissions page before sitting.
03Section 03
Scoring & score distribution
Section 03
Scoring & score distribution
CSAT is graded by the requiring College and used alongside the TMUA, academic record, and any submitted work to inform interview shortlisting and offer decisions.
There is no published universal score scale; treat any specific threshold cautiously and check the College policy.
04Section 04
Your preparation journey
Section 04
Your preparation journey
Most CSAT success follows the same arc: understand the specification, build fluency on old papers, sharpen on the hardest questions, simulate the latest exam, then sit it.
- 1
Master the specification
Read the official CSAT specification end-to-end, then check it against what you've covered at school. Any topic that's listed but not yet covered is the first thing to learn - every question on the test sits inside this list.
- 2
Build fluency on old papers
Work through past papers from the oldest first and move forwards through the cycle. Keep the most recent 5 papers untouched for the final week before your exam: they're the closest match to the real difficulty.
- 3
Sharpen on the hardest questions
Most past papers contain 2–3 questions that consistently trip students up. Our CSAT question bank is built around those - extra drills on the difficult question types plus the time-efficiency methods that turn a borderline score into a top one.
Access the question bank → - 4
Sit the specimen papers
Sit the latest specimen and most-recent real papers under exam conditions in the final week. These are the closest indicator of the real exam's difficulty - don't waste them early.
- 5
Sit the exam
Confirm logistics the day before - ID, allowed materials, travel - and sit the test. By this point the work is done; exam day is about delivery, not new learning.
- 1
Master the specification
Read the official CSAT specification end-to-end, then check it against what you've covered at school. Any topic that's listed but not yet covered is the first thing to learn - every question on the test sits inside this list.
- 2
Build fluency on old papers
Work through past papers from the oldest first and move forwards through the cycle. Keep the most recent 5 papers untouched for the final week before your exam: they're the closest match to the real difficulty.
- 3
Sharpen on the hardest questions
Most past papers contain 2–3 questions that consistently trip students up. Our CSAT question bank is built around those - extra drills on the difficult question types plus the time-efficiency methods that turn a borderline score into a top one.
Access the question bank → - 4
Sit the specimen papers
Sit the latest specimen and most-recent real papers under exam conditions in the final week. These are the closest indicator of the real exam's difficulty - don't waste them early.
- 5
Sit the exam
Confirm logistics the day before - ID, allowed materials, travel - and sit the test. By this point the work is done; exam day is about delivery, not new learning.
05Section 05
Common mistakes to avoid
Section 05
Common mistakes to avoid
- Starting timed practice too late. Most score plateaus aren't a knowledge problem - they're a pacing problem. Time yourself from week one, not just in the final month.
- Burning the most recent papers early. The newest specimen and live papers are the only honest indicator of the real exam's difficulty. Keep at least 5 untouched for the final week.
- Reviewing wrong answers passively. Skimming the mark scheme isn't a fix. For every error, write out (a) the exact wrong reasoning, (b) the correct method, and (c) the cue you missed.
- Spending too long on hard questions. Every minute on a stuck question is a minute not banked on three easier ones. Practise an explicit "skip and return" rule from your first timed paper.
CSAT preparation is much less commercially documented than TMUA. A specialist tutor with Cambridge Computer Science experience can help you understand the test's emphasis and align your preparation with the requiring College's expectations.
06Section 06
Practice resources
Section 06
Practice resources
Oxbridge Mentors exclusive
Access our exclusive CSAT question bank
Built by tutors who scored highly on the CSAT - the hardest historic questions, focused drills, and time-efficiency methods for the trickiest question types.
Official past papers
Official past papers are published on the board's own site. Our own worked solutions are being added on a rolling basis.
07Section 07
Registration & logistics
Section 07
Registration & logistics
CSAT booking and arrangements are handled by the requiring College, not through the central UAT-UK or Pearson VUE system.
If you apply to Lucy Cavendish, Peterhouse, Selwyn, or Trinity for Computer Science, follow the instructions on that College's admissions page for sitting CSAT alongside your TMUA registration.
Official registration page
Register and check the latest test windows directly with the test board - links change every cycle, so always confirm here.
08Section 08
International applicants
Section 08
International applicants
Chinese applicants
A highly competitive UK applicant pool - the test is a major shortlisting input
Chinese applicants compete in one of the most intensive UK applicant pools at Oxbridge and Imperial. None of the test providers publish a pass/fail score - scores are read alongside the rest of the application - so there is no specific cut-off we can guarantee. What we can say from observed cohorts: top Chinese applicants cluster in the upper percentiles, and the CSAT is one of the most influential non-academic signals in shortlisting at oversubscribed courses. The realistic target is therefore not the published minimum but the upper-percentile band for your course.
All other international applicants
The bar remains high - aim for the top band
For applicants from outside China the effective bar at Oxbridge and Imperial is still well above the published minimums. At oversubscribed courses, top universities are choosing between strong files, and a competitive CSAT score is one of the clearer differentiators. We do not publish a specific cut-off (the test providers do not publish one either) - but the realistic target for a serious application is the upper percentile band rather than the published minimum.
Success Stories
What our students say
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