Tech
Accessibility settings that help almost everyone
They are built into every operating system, they cost nothing, and most people never open the menu.
Text size, contrast and bold text are adjustable system-wide rather than application by application. For anyone reading on a phone in poor light, these make more difference than any app.
Screen readers and read-aloud functions are built in, and are useful well beyond their original purpose: having a long document read aloud while doing something else is a common everyday use.
Captions can be generated live on most platforms, which helps in noisy environments as much as anything else. Reduced motion settings help with discomfort from animation and also make older hardware feel faster.
Dictation has become accurate enough to be the fastest way to write on a phone, and is worth trying by anyone who finds typing slow or painful.
What to do next. Open the accessibility menu on your phone and try text size, live captions and dictation.
studentaid.gov outranks this page. Rules, figures and dates change
between academic years. This is written to help you read the official sources, not to
stand in front of them. Start there.
Nothing here is a determination. We cannot tell you what you qualify
for, and no website can. The programme and the office that runs it decide that, after
you apply.
Still have a question?
Describe what you are trying to work out and a member of the team will answer, or direct you to the office that makes the decision.