Uni entry requirements and EHCP

[babylone]

Hi, my son is very pleased with his GCSEs results with lots of 9s, 8s and 7s. (And we are super proud!)
He now has it in his mind to apply for a very competitive course in a very competitive university.

i am looking at the entry requirements and well.. it will be a challenge! (He has always been driven so maybe thats possible)

Do kids with EHCP get any kind of leniency when it comes to entry requirements? He has ADHD.
Maybe instead of A*AA they would accept AAA because of the EHCP, something like this?
We do not fill any contextual admissions criteria.

Also will the university be informed of any exclusions? And will that count against him? He had a 5 days exclusion last year.
I am assuming the uni will not be informed of the (sky high) number of “negative points”.

Trying to be realistic while wanting to support him in his dreams.

My kids have ADHD/ASD and my DD didn’t get contextual offers from any of the universities she applied to, I’m afraid. We doubt DS will be eligible this year either. We didn’t fulfil any of the criteria (post code, parental alienation, looked after etc) and SEN in and of itself isn’t considered grounds.

If you are looking at Oxbridge/Imperial/etc the ability to cope when there is judged by the ability to cope at A Level so they are very brutal in not lowering grades. Their logic may be that due to ECHP/diagnosis these children get accommodations in their exams already (extra time etc) which means the grades are supposed to reflect their true ability already, so why would they need to lower the offer grades?

If your DS achieved 7-9s in GCSEs then it is very likely he will achieve A/Astars anyway provided he is supported at school/college. I’d focus on making sure this is in place, that they know from day 1 what his aspirations are so they can guide him accordingly - there are Oxbridge preparation courses at most 6th forms now so it should already be in place, it’s just a case of making sure he is signed up to them.

EHCPs don’t apply to university level education and those who have then at A level
will have had adjustments applied to ensure that they are given a fair chance to achieve their full potential (extra time, scribe, breaks etc). Because of that I don’t think that they fall into any extra category for contextual offers.

Their EHCP can be useful when applying for the disabled students allowance to help towards any additional costs that students might encounter.

Ok thanks a lot for this, that is useful to know.
He is not considering Oxbridge, but still very well regarded uni.
i will look into the DSA.
and i agree, let’s see how he copes with A-levels first and maybe after the Y12 mocks, we can decide.

My daughter got a contextual offer due to declared disabilities. We did submit her EHCP when applying (as well as all her other reports, diagnosis letters, etc) as it went in-depth into her disabilities and needs but I don’t think it got her the contextual offer in itself.

The EHCP doesn’t apply to university but they did use it to work out her DSA support package and what support the uni is providing.

There were some that gave a contextual offer for being in receipt of PIP when my DS applied but not for the EHCP. He has looking at mid-tariff unis not the highest ones though.

A small number of universities include disability in their contextual offer but not a lot. And mostly not high tariff. I would consider it a bonus but not necessarily only seek out those universities.

His EHCP will cease when he goes to uni, and his support will come from the institutions Disability team and centrally from DSA.

He should start considering very early what support he’d need at uni, and you can be having those conversations at open days to help you pick your five choices

Dd has an EHCP and many extenuating factors, none the least missing a year of school in GCSE due to poor mental health and anorexia. This all counted for nowt with uni admissions. What did get contextual offers was living in an area of deprivation, going to a state school and having an EPQ. These were not applied to ‘loxbridge’ universities, but other high tariff RG universities did give a contextual offer based on postcode/school. She will be starting at one of these next month after missing her firm. She’s a bit down, she was bright enough to get her firm, but anxiety and very low attendance probably held her back.

In terms of the exclusion, I cannot see how the uni would know, however, school will write a reference and I would want to know what was going on that. In my Dd reference, they new sixth form mentioned nothing about her extenuating factors, and I do wonder if they could have highlighted how much she had overcome and still remained committed to her studies.

@imipthank you that’s really helpful to know and yes good point about the reference!

All the best to your daughter

there is something called Sutton Trust, thst may actually help with contextual offers? Sorry, just came to mind as DD wouldn’t take part. This will all be uni specific, so narrow down unis first and try Sutton Trust, which will be more effective I think at mid tariff unis.

My DD missed a few years due to MH issues too - dropped out of 6th twice due to post covid and post GCSE autistic burnout (and a lot of other stuff). She did an Access course and only applied to ‘top drawer’ unis at 19/20yo. She did make sure to reference her overcoming those issues in her determination to do well in her access diploma and desire to attend university in her personal statement. I am positive it was amongst the reasons she received 5 offers. However none of them were adjusted - she was required to obtain the number of distinctions and merit grades/UCAS points as advertised in the admissions criteria. We did speak to Kent and Reading during the application and they were very clear that applicants with ASD did qualify there for contextual offers as their criteria for that included SEN. DD wasn’t interested however - despite our knowing several people who had gone to both universities and been really well supported.

I think she didn’t actually want a contextual offers on grounds of her ASD - she was fed up of feeling less than, of being perceived as less able and ‘needing accommodations’. Part of her journey to uni has been about realising and proving to herself as well as others that she is capable in her own right, about not being patronised (not sure if that makes sense). In hindsight I think that accommodations in exams are sufficient but also very loaded in psychological terms. Both mine are often made to feel that they only got their grades because of those concessions. The Access course, as it is all dissertation and assignment based and doesn’t involve extra time and rest breaks, was an opportunity to realise that she was smart and capable. In many respects contextual offers are a double edged sword - they can make the student feel less confident and there is more pressure to achieve and prove themselves?