INTRODUCTION

TO THE HIGH school students to whom we dedicate this book: There is a thought that may have already occurred to you. If not, it’s coming soon. You’ll think to yourself, “If only I had a disability.” You’ll look at your toes and think, “I could lose a toe.”

If it would give you an edge in the college admission process, you would gladly lose a toe. That could be an interesting essay, you’ll think. My life without toe(s).

Or, better yet: If only you were really, really poor; if only you were an orphan; if only you had survived cancer, or somehow overcome an enormous adversity like the “Homeless to Harvard” girl who, you think to yourself, got into Harvard. If only you had been a runaway, lived on a train, gotten an experience that could ...

Get The Financial Aid Handbook, Revised Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.