Universities with lowest entry requirements

[Umbrellasaregood]

Where can we start?
DS wants to go to Uni but is dyslexic and predicted Ds (or Cs at a big push). Looking at humanity/ social science type courses, possibly with a view to teach or social work.
Yes, it's vague but we would rather find a course that would accept him and compromise a bit on the subject than face rejections.

I never read anything about low entrance universities.
Everything is Oxbridge or Russell Group.

Hope this makes sense.

There are plenty. Roehampton Unuversity, De Montford University, Southbank University, Westminster University, plus many others.

First question I will ask is university right for them? If they are heavily dyslexic then it could be three years of really struggling, especially in an essay intensive course. Are there alternative routes to the careers they want to do? Have they fully considered non university options? Straight into work, or apprenticeships? Honestly, will he get the 2:1 required for teaching/social work?

To find courses then WhatUni has a good search function. Select the subject and then you can add expected grades - you will find there are a lot that accept those grades.

Also look at foundation years, these offer lower requirements by adding on another year to build up basic skills, but it way of accessing a more prestigious university.

Some degrees actually have statistically negative earning potential, www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46345527 . And that isn’t taking into account fees. So for some university won’t increase income or quality of life but just increase debt!

I’m not saying don’t go to university, just don’t panic and go to anyone that has the grades. Look around there are many more possibilities out there.

Have a look at foundation courses. Sussex is CCC for example . Make sure you get DSA which will get them lots of help. My dyslexic son is doing better at University than school as it’s much more continual assessment than exams. He has one to one for an hour a week helping him manage deadlines etc…

Good luck and don’t let people tell you university isn’t for your child. Things have moved on from that and if you choose the right course with good support it can be brilliant. My son has flourished academically and has gained really good life skills too

I’m with @OhBeAFineGuyKissMe Given the massive financial implications for you as parent and for the student you really need to be realistic about what Uni will give to your son at this sort of level. Employment rates at the bottom end of the scale are woeful.

What support does he get with his dyslexia? If the d's are with good support in place I would question if uni now is the right route for him. Maybe look at a foundation degree or FE college courses which could help him develop study skills and fill in learning gaps.

@bitachey Thank you! That's exactly what I needed to hear.

I have questioned if Uni is a good fit. But there is so much more to it than job prospects at the end.
Independent living is a huge factor.
And DS won't be mature enough to enter a work environment just yet.

DS has an older sibling with As in everything. It's a hard act to follow and we have had tears over not being like them. He finds it hard to accept support as sibling made it all look easy and so he thinks that how things should be.

I want DS to feel anything is possible.

I suppose I'm looking for a reverse league table with low entry.
I don't want him to start reading about courses and getting excited only to find he won't get the grades/ points.

Foundation courses are interesting, something to find out about.

Universities are much better at removing barriers for students with dyslexia than secondary schools, in general. Look at the 1992 group. Don’t listen to the people telling your son not to go. Some courses will be coursework only and offer the right support for him to achieve his potential. We definitely need more social workers and most I know, who are really good at a difficult job, didn’t get 3 As and go to a Russell Group University! If he wants to follow one of these routes it’s impossible without a degree, so don’t limit his potential. It’s much harder to go back as a mature student later on when you may have other financial responsibilities. Is he getting all the support he needs at sixth form? Extra time, computer use etc?

Does his school use Unifrog at all? You can put in a course and predicted grades and it pulls up options.

And remember the majority of universities accept lower than their published entrance requirements - have a look at clearing grades.

I would really recommend a course with a foundation year. Lots have 72 ucas points as entry score.
Also help through uni disability services ( Ds had an assessment for extra help before going) . He got things like a printing allowance to print lecture slides how he needed them . He also had help mentoring and help with managing deadlines . Also help in labs.

He also got extra time in exams

BNU is low tariff and offer social work and other allied health subjects

What about a BEd?

Happy for you to DM me.

I think foundation is a great idea and actually a high proportion get firsts at some universities. Brilliant on study techniques, essay writing etc…

One thing that is particularly hard for them is managing workload/reading emails so try and make sure there’s support with that as that is where the wheels can come off. And it quickly becomes overwhelming /head in the sand stuff. A one to one supporter can make a huge difference here and teach them brilliant life skills.

Worth remembering that there are scores of universities and only a small fraction are Oxbridge or RG. It's just that on here, not RG only means Bath, Lufbra or At Andrews! Lower ranked places also, in general, obviously not always,, seem to be prepared to drop grades (not just one) at results time. Look at the UCAS website.

Given the massive financial implications for you as parent and for the student you really need to be realistic about what Uni will give to your son at this sort of level. Employment rates at the bottom end of the scale are woeful.

I too wonder whether Uni is worth it, given the high cost. In Europe students with lower grades tend to go down the apprenticeship route - they learn at a special industry specific school and rotate different areas of the business, all while earning a good salary. The job prospects for successful apprentices are very good.

Unfortunately the excellent Unis charge the same £9K per year as the mediocre ones...

Without sounding awful, why bother? You'd be better off subsidising him living away and doing an apprenticeship or something useful for himself and society than a useless degree from a second rate university that will do nothing for his future prospects. I assume he wants to go to university for the "lifestyle" - ie living away from home/with friends/new city/having fun. Like I said, pay his rent in a city of his choice and get him doing something he actually wants to do with an actual future career

Don't listen to those saying for him not to go. I attend a Russell Group university and though I'm not dyslexic myself, the university provide great support for those who are. I also know of at least five people with dyslexia within family and friends who have highly successful careers.

Goldsmiths in London have a great course called SOCIAL SCIENCE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND YOUTH WORK. Requires two Cs, so 3 Ds is a similar number of UCAS points.

If he wants to teach or do social work he does need a degree so ignore those who are saying don't bother. I totally agree that some degrees aren't worth it as they don't result in any improvement in career opportunities but that's not the case here.
I have friends with children at the following unis with relatively lower A levels but I have no personal knowledge: Brighton, Edge Hill, Coventry, Lincoln, Portsmouth, Essex, Bournemouth.

Foundation courses can be great, but add a year on so cost more. Look for second of even third unis in each city, e.g
Sheffield Hallam not uni of., Nottingham Trent, Liverpool John Moores, Manchester Met etc. All will have some courses with the lower reqs, and they tend to have better support. Or look for small city unis; Aberystwyth, Lincoln etc can have far lower requirements than you think.
On Ucas.com you can use the filters to reduce choices. They're not super accurate annoyingly but do narrow it down. Three Ds is 72 UCAS points, so use the filter to shoe options with that requirement.

I agree with @OhBeAFineGuyKissMe and @VanCleefArpels too.

I think he should forget trying to emulate his sibling and think about where his strengths lie.
More people don't go to university than do. I am not sure someone who "isn't mature enough to enter a work environment yet" is mature enough to live away from home either.
Why not have a look at work opportunities and apprenticeships and see what might be interesting.

My GS is dyslexic tried to do a university course but could not keep up and dropped out, he is now training to be an engineer as an apprentice with a local firm, and will qualify on the job. That is the way to go for dyslexics, they often excel at hands on careers.

I think some people are missing the point HE wants to go to university and just because he can't get to Cambridge why shouldn't he try to find somewhere he can go?
There is more to life than money and the experience itself could be priceless.

Putting DDD into this website for social work degrees gives 12 possibilities including Goldsmiths, Sheffield Hallam etc some with foundation years

www.theuniguide.co.uk/search/course?utf8=✓&c%5Bq%5D=Social+work&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_0%5D=5&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_1%5D=5&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_2%5D=5&c%5Bgrade_ALEVEL_3%5D=&c%5Bgrade_HIGHERS_0%5D=&c%5Bgrade_HIGHERS_1%5D=&c%5Bgrade_HIGHERS_2%5D=&c%5Bgrade_HIGHERS_3%5D=&c%5Bgrade_HIGHERS_4%5D=&c%5Bgrade_HIGHERS_5%5D=&c%5Blower_points_bound%5D=60&c%5Bupper_points_bound%5D=84