DARE (Disability Access Route to Education)
A CAO course place at reduced points, plus supports in college. It is not a payment.
Last checked September 2026
What it is
A third level admissions scheme, not a payment. It covers university and other CAO courses. If you are eligible you compete for places at REDUCED POINTS, so 350 points could win you a course that asks for 360. You must still meet the minimum and any course-specific requirements. Open to school leavers under 23 on 1 January, and the list of conditions is wider than people expect: dyslexia and significant literacy difficulties, dyscalculia, ADD and ADHD, autism including Asperger's and ASD, dyspraxia, mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, neurological conditions including epilepsy and brain injury, physical disability, deaf or hard of hearing or hearing impaired, blind or vision impaired, speech and language disorders and significant ongoing illness.
Who can get it
- Under 23 on 1 January 2027, applying to a CAO course
- You have a disability, specific learning difficulty, mental health condition or significant ongoing illness from the scheme's own list
- You meet BOTH sets of criteria: the effect your disability has had on your education, and the evidence of the disability itself. Meeting one of the two is not enough
- You can apply to DARE and HEAR together on the same form
- It is reduced points, not money. Nothing is paid to you and you still have to meet the minimum entry requirements for the course
- For dyslexia there are two routes and both need two literacy scores at or below the 10th percentile. One is a psychological assessment report naming dyslexia. The other, if you have no report, is a completed School Statement showing a record of school interventions
- For dyscalculia there is one route only: a psychologist's report stating the diagnosis, plus one numeracy score at or below the 10th percentile
- The 10th percentile means a standard score of 81 or below, and for 2027 entry the testing has to have been carried out on or after 1 February 2025
- A late CAO application cannot go forward to DARE. The CAO runs an independent appeals commission that will consider a missed deadline, and a late diagnosis, including waiting to see a consultant, is one of the situations it looks at. It considers cases rather than granting them, so ask the CAO rather than assuming either way
How to apply, and the three dates
Through the CAO, and there are three separate deadlines rather than one. Your CAO application closes at 5pm on 1 February 2027. The DARE section of the form closes at 5pm on 1 March. Your supporting documents are due by 5pm on 10 March, which is the one people miss. You are told the outcome in late June, and missing any of the three can end the application.
Go to the official page →Checked against the official source on 20 September 2026. Always confirm the details on the official page before applying.
Related guides
- Bursary for Young People with Care Experience
- SUSI Student Grant
- Free Fees Initiative
- Student Assistance Fund
- Fund for Students with Disabilities
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