Contextual Offers For Dyslexia

[Thatladywithacat]

Hello, we are starting to look at Unis for DD. She is bright but dyslexic. Wondering if anyone's DCs have had any luck applying to a Uni for a contextual offer with dyslexia, and if so, what sort of grade reduction did this merit?

I think that Surrey, Reading, York and Liverpool do offer contextual for dyslexia, but not sure which others?

Thank you.

... the hardest thing for her. She needs lots of repetition. Essay structure, spelling and slow writing speed are also issues, plus the fact that she doesn't enjoy reading books because she finds it hard so her spelling and vocab just doesn't improve at the same rate as her non-dyslexic friends. If you have a conversation with her though you'll find her bright as a button. Adjustments just don't compensate enough.

My dyslexic daughter didn't get any contextual offers.

She applied to Exeter (which is where she went), Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton.

Rather than worrying about contextual offers I would carefully research which universities will REALLY deliver on support for dyslexic students when they get there! They all say they do, but provision is widely different.

A member of our wider family has dyslexia and an ILP with funding for 1 hour's study support each week at Exeter. They have just gone into their 2nd Year and have yet to receive a SINGLE SESSION despite numerous emails etc. It's been awful.

Should do.

I received a BBC from Reading when it was usually an ABB due to my dyslexia. Most contextual offers drop the requirements by 2 grades.

DD is similarly dyslexic, but luckily picked up when she was seven. She was a good reader but absolutely could not spell. I think she would have got lost in the state sector. Low CAT scores would have led to low targets. Instead she and others were aware of her strengths and weaknesses and have made adjustments.

I don’t think a contextual offer is the solution. It is not about getting in but thriving. DD studied medicine, and her experience was that being dyslexic was a disadvantage at times. The UCAT aptitude test is long. Extra time is of no advantage to a dyslexic who has to concentrate hard so who is exhausted npby the end of normal time. However at interview (and one of the very few who at the time did not use aptitude tests) she thinks her dyslexia may have helped. First because many universities like to show good recruitment of those with SEND, but also because over the years she has developed a very good memory.

I can see why over subscribed courses, including LSE, might give priority, other things being equal, to dyslexics, as it suggests a level of resilience and the ability to overcome adversity.

I agree about looking at the support offered. DD spent a year at Imperial and was impressed by their ‘essay club’ for those who found essay writing difficult. There are plenty of scientists who are dyslexic and they also have lots of students with English as a second language, so it make sense to have good support in place.

I wish I’d been more clued up about universities’ approach to dyslexia when DS was applying. He got in to Cambridge and we thought he’d won the jackpot. But in fact he gets very very little support (despite an pretence of having support in place) and the workload for his subject is absolutely brutal for someone whose working memory is poor. I have another bright, dyslexic DS and I hope he will realise that the streets of Oxbridge are not paved with gold.

To the PP who suggested that people with dyslexia are basically thick: you are very, very ignorant.

My DD is dyslexic and received contextual offers from more than one uni. I had assumed this was due to her dyslexia as we don't live in a deprived area.

Dyslexia is a complex learning disability, simply giving extra time in an exam does not level the playing field. My dd has had to work incredibly hard to achieve her grades, which incidentally matched the non contextual offer and continues to do so in her first year at uni.

Dyslexia is a declared disability under the Equalties Act

Yes, some universities offer contextual offers for disabilities. And this would include Dyslexia. But NOT many top tier offer contextual offers based on disability.

You should make sure the university is aware.

For example this would be inlcuded in the "Dsisrupted Studies form" for Sheffield

In should also be discussed in the personal statements.

www.sheffield.ac.uk/study/policies/access-sheffield#who's-eligible-for-a-contextual-offer

none of those offer contextual offers for Disabilities

Here is Royal Holloways:

Disability or health condition that impacts your daily life
We are guided by the definitions on the UCAS form and these typically follow the Equality Act 2010.

www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/schools-and-colleges/widening-access/contextual-offers/

Here is Cambridge's

"the impact of ongoing medical conditions, disabilities, learning difficulties or mental health conditions. You can also declare these on your UCAS application. You will be asked about any adjustments you might need for interview (like extra time) at a later stage, so you don't need to submit those via the Extenuating Circumstances Form"

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/how/disrupted-studies