How to register for the ECAA

The Economics Admissions Assessment (ECAA) is a 2-hour written examination for students applying to study Economics at Cambridge. Sections 1A and 1B test Mathematics and Further Mathematics using multiple-choice questions. Section 2 is an extended essay responding to a piece of text.

Last Updated: 14th March 2024

Author: Tom Dyer

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How to register for the ECAA

The ECAA is no longer being used for Cambridge Economics. The TMUA is used instead for 2022 Economics Applicants.

The Economics Admissions Assessment (ECAA) is a 2-hour written exam for students applying to Economics at Cambridge.

Section 1A and 1B tests Maths and Advanced Maths through multiple-choice questions. Students face 20 Mathematics questions (Section 1A) and 20 Advanced Mathematics questions (Section 1B). Applicants have 60 minutes to complete the 40 multiple-choice Mathematics questions.

Section 2 is an extended essay responding to an excerpt of text. Students are allowed 60 minutes for this section. Section 2 requires candidates to read a short passage of 1-2 pages and then write an essay to answer a question drawing on information from the passage.

If you are applying for Oxford, you need to sit the TSA exam.

Why is the ECAA Used?

Cambridge applicants tend to be a bright bunch with excellent grades. This means that competition is fierce so Cambridge Admissions Tutors use the ECAA to help differentiate between applicants.

ECAA Key Dates

The following dates are for 2021 ECAA takers:

The ECCA is sat on the 3rd of November and you must register separately from your UCAS application.
Registration opens on September 1st. You don’t need to pay a registration fee.
The deadline to apply for modified papers is September 30th.
The deadline for ECAA registration and to apply for access arrangements is 15th October.

How Do I Register for The ECAA?

Your assessment centre must register you for the exam, you cannot enter yourself. The best way to do this is to speak with your school’s exam officer to make sure your entry is submitted.

If your school or college is not already registered as a test centre, they can check to see if they are eligible to apply to become a test centre. The deadline to apply is 30th September 2021. If you are not able to take the assessment at your school or college, you need to find an authorised open test centre where you can take the assessment.

Use the link here to find your nearest centre. Click on the centre name or the pin on the map to view the centre address and contact details.

Cambridge has stated that in addition to the ECAA, applicants to Gonville & Caius are required to take a College-set written assessment at interview. More information can be found here.

The ECAA is no longer required for Cambridge Economics applicants, you need to score highly on the TMUA instead.

The UniAdmissions TMUA Programme will rapidly boost your score and triple your chances of succeeding in your application.

Our expert tutors will guide you through past papers in mock exam scenarios so that you are well-prepared by the time your exam comes around. UniAdmissions helps students refine and hone their abilities so that they’re exam-ready on test day for all aspects of the TMUA exam.