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Undergraduate Study

 

Written assessments: pre-registration required

For 2024 entry, all applicants to the following courses are required to take a written assessment at an authorised assessment centre, for which they must be registered in advance by the relevant deadline. See table for details.

Course Written assessment Registration deadline Assessment date(s)
Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023
Computer Science Test of Mathematics for University Admissions (TMUA) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023
Economics* Test of Mathematics for University Admissions (TMUA) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023
Engineering Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023
Law National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT) 15 September 2023 1 September to 16 October 2023
Medicine (Standard Course A100) BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023
Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023
Veterinary Medicine Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA) 29 September 2023 18 October 2023

* Mature students (aged 21 or over) applying to one of the mature Colleges for Economics are not required to take the TMUA, and should refer to the information for Students aged 21+ on the written assessments page.

Cambridge's pre-registration assessments (excluding LNAT)

The BMAT, ENGAA, NSAA and TMUA are organised by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing (CAAT) and are taken at a local authorised assessment centre. See the table above for test dates. 

For most UK students, the assessment centre will be your school or college. Check if you’re unsure, as you may need to find an open authorised centre instead. You should do this as early as possible in case your preferred centre is full. Open centres may also set an earlier deadline and it's your responsibility to check if this applies at your centre.

You must be registered in advance for these assessments. In most cases, your assessment centre will register you for the assessment - you can't register yourself. You must be registered by the relevant deadline or you won't be able to take the assessment and your application to the University of Cambridge will not be valid. Please note, if you require access arrangements you must be registered earlier.

You'll need to provide the following information to your assessment centre in good time to ensure you can be registered:

  • UCAS Personal ID
  • name as it will appear on your UCAS application
  • gender
  • date of birth
  • details of any access requirements/arrangements
  • the university/institution (and Cambridge College or open application) you’re applying to
  • the course (including the UCAS course code) you're applying for

See the CAAT website for further information.

LNAT

For Law, you're required to take the LNAT, which has earlier deadlines and different arrangements to other Cambridge pre-registration assessments.

For 2024 entry, you must take the LNAT by no later than 16 October 2023.  You can register for the LNAT from 1 August to 15 September 2023, and the LNAT can be taken from 1 September 2023. 

There is an extended deadline for mature applicants applying for Law to either Hughes Hall or St Edmund’s as part of the second application round. These applicants must take the LNAT by no later than 1 March 2024.

The assessment can be taken at any LNAT test centre. There’s over 500 test centres around the world with 150 in the UK. You may take the test on any day when there is availability at your chosen test centre. The earlier you book, the more chance you have of securing a sitting on the day of your choice. You are therefore strongly advised to begin making arrangements as soon as possible. A delay in booking may mean you have to travel further to secure a sitting an available LNAT location before the deadline.

Important: in order for your LNAT results to be sent directly to us, you must indicate that you plan to apply to the University of Cambridge as part of the LNAT registration process.

Further information and details about how to register can be found on the LNAT website.

Does it cost anything to take a pre-registration assessment?

There's an entry fee for students to take the BMAT, LNAT and TMUA. Please check the specific assessment website for details and advice. If you're a Home fees status student who's concerned about the cost, financial support may be available.

You don't have to pay an entry fee for any of the other pre-registration assessments for Cambridge. However, please be aware that some assessment centres (including some schools/colleges) may charge candidates their own fee to cover administrative costs. Cambridge has no control over this charge.

Further information

If you have any questions about our written assessments, please contact assessment@admin.cam.ac.uk.