Not Allowing Access to Dashboard for Contributor

I have adjusted the settings a great deal and tried out other plugins such as Remove Adminimize and Remove Dashboard Settings but I have seen zero effect when I try it out.

I only have 2 types of roles, Administrators and Contributors and all people who sign up are Contributors. The goal here is for Contributors to be able to access the dashboard in a limited way. I have gone into the AAM settings and given access to Contributors for Dashboard, Posts, Comments and the Users own profile. However, when I create a new account just to test this out, I see no way to access the dashboard much like the Administrator. I feel like this very fundamental (and arguably, the entire purpose of these sorts of plugins) feature is completely ignored in any instructions.

In summary, how do I access the dashboard with a Contributor account. Is there a link I am missing or some shortcode I need to input somewhere? I would appreciate any advice that is offered.