Status
Discontinued
Last sat October 2023
Preparation Guide
Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (Discontinued) Preparation Guide
Format, scoring, key dates, strategy, and expert preparation support.
Discontinued
The NSAA was discontinued in 2023 (last sitting for 2024 entry).
Replaced by the ESAT for Cambridge Natural Sciences admissions.
Now replaced by: ESAT
NSAA at a Glance
Replaced by
ESAT
From 2024 entry onwards
Final cycle
2024 entry
Used by
Cambridge Natural Sciences (legacy)
Key Dates & Deadlines
Discontinued
Test Status
Last administered in 2023.
ESAT
Replacement
Cambridge Natural Sciences now uses the ESAT.
Discontinued
Test Status
Last administered in 2023.
ESAT
Replacement
Cambridge Natural Sciences now uses the ESAT.
The NSAA was Cambridge's admissions test for Natural Sciences from 2016 to 2023. It was discontinued at the end of the 2023 admissions cycle and replaced by the ESAT starting from 2024 entry.
The NSAA (Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment) was Cambridge's admissions test for Natural Sciences from 2016 to 2023. It was discontinued at the end of the 2023 admissions cycle and replaced by the ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test) starting from 2024 entry.
If you are applying for Cambridge Natural Sciences, you do NOT need to take the NSAA. The current requirement is the ESAT, which combines the science admissions assessments that previously existed for Natural Sciences, Engineering, and other Cambridge science courses.
See the ESAT guide for current format, scoring, registration, and preparation strategy. Past NSAA papers remain useful preparation material for ESAT science sections, since the question style is similar.
01Section 01
Scoring, Bands & What Universities Look For
01
Section 01
Scoring, Bands & What Universities Look For
NSAA scoring is no longer relevant to current applicants. Cambridge Natural Sciences shortlisting now uses ESAT scores.
See the ESAT guide for current scoring information and Cambridge's use of the ESAT in admissions decisions.
02Section 02
Preparation Strategy
02
Section 02
Preparation Strategy
NSAA preparation no longer applies. If you are preparing for Cambridge Natural Sciences admissions, focus on ESAT preparation — the format and content overlap substantially.
Past NSAA papers (Section 1) remain useful for ESAT science section practice. Past NSAA Section 2 papers cover the same Maths content tested in the ESAT Mathematics paper.
03Section 03
How This Test Compares to Its Predecessor
03
Section 03
How This Test Compares to Its Predecessor
Side-by-side with — what changed, what didn't, and what that means for preparation.
Dimension
NSAA
Replaced test
Status
Use ESAT
NSAA (discontinued)
Format
4-paper modular ESAT (Maths + Phys/Chem/Bio + Maths 2 for CS)
2-paper NSAA (Section 1 + Section 2 specialism)
Duration
2h 20m
2 hours
Scoring
1.0–9.0 per paper, scaled
1.0–9.0 per section
Centre
Pearson VUE (computer-based)
School-based, paper
Used by Cambridge
Yes (Natural Sciences via ESAT)
Yes