Free ride for having dyslexia?

[QuestionEverything]

I just found out from a friend of mine the other day that she gets a free ride to school because she's dyslexic. Free tuition, free room and board, even free supplies from the school store (something we all spend a fortune on), and she gets to schedule her classes earlier than everyone else.

I didn't want to come across as an asshole and ask her, "Why????" So I'm asking you guys, why would you get a free ride for dyslexia?? I truly don't understand it. Is this common at all colleges or just something that mine does?

 

[DG]

She might be playing up her disability to the school and then gets to take advantage of the special offers they have to the disabled.

 

[Khadijah]

Yea thats what i was gonna say. "Im disabled....Sure, it may be a learning disability that has nothing to do with my ability to pay rent, but shit, take it for all its worth!"

 

[EgoTrip86]

There are thousands of dollars available to anyone for school... anyone who looks hard enough that is.

 

[kittyinthedark]

^Yeah, but free room and board? Free supplies? I've never heard of anything like that for simply being dyslexic! Not to somehow make dyslexia seem like not a big deal or something, but you could be much worse off when it comes to college....

 

[QuestionEverything]

^Yeah, but free room and board? Free supplies? I've never heard of anything like that for simply being dyslexic! Not to somehow make dyslexia seem like not a big deal or something, but you could be much worse off when it comes to college....

That's exactly what I thought when she told me! For being dyslexic?!?! The school already has measures in place to assist students with learning disabilities. For one they assign note takers for every class (which I do to earn volunteer hours to pay off my scholarship!) so they don't have to take their own notes, and they can have classes as Pass/Fail instead of getting a letter grade and having it change their GPA. But paying for everything ... I'd think if they had programs like that they'd pay for everything for poverty level applicants or something.

I am going to be doing my scheduling soon, I may ask my advisor about these kinds of programs and exactly what kinds of disabilities they have money alloted for.

[edit - I'm in the U.S., I should have said that]

 

[VerbalTruist]

dislikesexia isnt enough to warrant that I mean Ive been in college for five years now and I'm still battin a like a freshman1

 

[ScattyD]

I live in the UK and have dyslexia. It is very common for collages and universitys to provide addition support for us in the form of subsidised tuition fees, note takers, equipment such a dictorphones and computers (with special softwear) and support from tutors (non course based) with things like essey structure (not content as that would be cheeting ) It all depends on what course you are doing and the level of dyslexia you have to what support you recieve.

Now all this support isnt just given out willy nilly. You have to have an educational psycholagy assesment witch lasts for about 2 hours from that they determin the serverity of your dyslexia and also the best type of support to help you through your education. It is the LEA (local education althourety) that pay for all of this, not the uni/ collage.

With respect to the free ride to school, the free room and borde she is extreamly lucky. I have never heard of such a program and would assume that maybe her familys financial possition isnt great.

A lot or people think it is un-fair that we get this support and to a point I can agree. How ever my argument for it is that throughout primary/secondary/middle/upper schools there is very little support for us unless you are luck enough to get into a good school. This is slowly changing but so many young lads (as dyslexia is most commin in boys) have been writen off as usless and disruptive kids when inface they just weren't given the right support. Reaching collage/uni is almost prove to the LEA that you have some brains so they then decide to help ypu out. Too little too late IMO but as a consicuense we all get as much as we can out of the system.

There are a stupid number of stupidly clever people in the world that have dyslexia. Although I cant remember half of them I do belive Enstine was suspected to have it.

So basicaly they provide all this support to us because we are actualy very clever people when tought in the right way and supported.

 

[Khadijah]

Yea, it sucks and all that , but dont you think that like QE said, maybe that type of money should be goin towards the people who are dirt poor and wanna go to college? A learning disability is a disadvatage...but not bein able to afford school at all and wanting to go, but it only bein a pipe dream cuz ur position in life basically makes it impossible for that dream to be a reality...now thats a disadvantage....

The bitch looks like shes pretty much scammin

 

[*Venus*]

^Two words for those you described: Financial Aid. Almost anyone can go to college if they take the initiative to fill out the required Fafsa forms. It's a pain in the ass but options are out there for people who care to look into it.


As far as I'm concerned, milk whatever angle you've got. The University has tons of money and there is no reason to get pissed off about a small case like this. It''s a drop in the bucket and won't raise the tuition for everyone else like other university decisions might.

My college pays millions every year to have our *shitty* football team play and practice at Eagles stadium. I had no moral issues with bullshitting an insomnia diagnosis to get a private dorm without paying extra for it when I was a freshman.

 

[Meeko Baybee]

I don't pay a damn cent to go to school. I do take out some loans so that I can have a little extra money in my pocket... but the money I am awarded through scholarships/financial aid allows me to cover all of the money needed for classes.

 

[Amebix]

oh snap what a scam. sweet.

 

[QuestionEverything]

^Two words for those you described: Financial Aid. Almost anyone can go to college if they take the initiative to fill out the required Fafsa forms. It's a pain in the ass but options are out there for people who care to look into it.


As far as I'm concerned, milk whatever angle you've got. The University has tons of money and there is no reason to get pissed off about a small case like this. It''s a drop in the bucket and won't raise the tuition for everyone else like other university decisions might.

My college pays millions every year to have our *shitty* football team play and practice at Eagles stadium. I had no moral issues with bullshitting an insomnia diagnosis to get a private dorm without paying extra for it when I was a freshman.

I do the FAFSA and have a scholarship. My financial aid consists of two different grants, plus the maximum loans I can take out, plus the school scholarship, and my costs still aren't covered! It's a pricey private school, but cheap compared to other schools that compare with it specifically.

I guess I was just shocked to find out that there were even programs like this out there. I remember on all the application and registration papers being asked over and over and over again if the student (I) had any documented disability (which in parentheses included depression, anxiety, any psychological diagnosis, along with physical disabilities) to notify the school and show documentation of the diagnosis. I thought to myself, "Do I really want the school to know my psychological problems?" and didn't mark them down because I thought it was just if special provisions needed to be made in the classroom.

I'm wondering if that was a big (expensive) mistake ...