Chapter 3 When my coworkers found out I'd gotten into a prestigious university , they were completely floored . ] During lunch break , everyone was chatting and shooting the breeze . One coworker joked : " If I'd done as well as you on those tests , my parents would've put me on a pedestal . " [] " You sure you weren't adopted ? How could they be so heartless ? " [ ] I smiled sadly . I wished I was adopted . ]] At least then it wouldn't hurt so much . But my face was basically a carbon copy of Mom's - we wouldn't need a DNA test to prove I was definitely hers . [ ] An older coworker came over and patted my shoulder consolingly : " Kiddo , depending on yourself isn't so bad . Getting real - world experience early , growing up fast - that's good . " " Maybe your mom's going through something tough ? " What could someone as controlling as her possibly be struggling with ? I mentally rolled my eyes while keeping my expression neutral . ] All the hurt I'd been bottling up suddenly found an outlet . ] Fine , let's say she's going through something . Being self - reliant is pretty great ! ] I'm working a summer job here for two months and can earn $ 3,000 . ] If I perform well , there's even a $ 500 bonus . That would cover my entire first year of college living expenses , and the rest could go toward tuition . Once I get to college , I'll look for part - time work and gradually pay back some of the tuition costs . Looking at it that way , the future didn't seem so bleak . ] ] The experienced workers mentioned that universities have need - based aid and merit scholarships , plus you can apply for student loans . Her son was taking the SATs this year too , but barely scraped by with mediocre scores - only got into a regular state school . She was still thrilled about it though . || " The better the school , the more money they give you . " " If my kid had grades like yours , I'd sell everything I owned to support him . " ] With my coworkers ' encouragement . I felt more and more confident . ] ] My future's definitely going to get better and better. When the break ended , I stepped onto my university campus just like I'd hoped . ] The factory owner , after learning about my SAT scores , even gave me a sponsorship bonus . And just like that , I actually managed to pay off all my tuition ! What's more , I still had almost $ 750 left over . First thing I did at college was research all the different need - based aid and merit scholarships I could qualify for . ] But when I went to apply for financial aid , I was told I didn't meet the assistance requirements . [ ] The advisor handling aid distribution glared at me furiously : " Students like you are just plain greedy . " ] " Character matters just as much as grades - college is about building moral integrity too . " ] I was stunned . How was applying for $ 650 in poverty assistance making me greedy ? I argued back : " What gives you the right to say that ? I'm not trying to scam anyone . " The advisor sneered : " Still playing dumb ? We found large transfers in your bank account . Recently , the school had cracked down hard on financial aid fraud . Tuns of rich kids had been pretending to be poor to get assistance money . Once they got the cash , they'd blow it on designer shoes and bags , then post about it online . [ ] One notorious rich kid at school had somehow gotten aid too . [ ] He'd bragged on Tik Tok that the money wouldn't even cover his family's dog food budget - all he had to do was make up some sob stories , play the victim , and they just handed him free money . [ ] Meanwhile , students who actually needed help missed out because they didn't know how to work the system . [ ] Someone screenshot his post and it went viral , causing a massive uproar . [ ] Students from universities everywhere started calling out how their aid programs were just subsidizing spoiled rich kids . [ ] Really poor students didn't even know this money existed . ] School administrators saw the backlash and held special meetings to fix the mess- This round of poverty assistance screening was especially strict - they even checked students ' bank accounts and transaction histories . ] But … Those four words " large transfers " hit me really like a thunderclap ! ] I stared at him , confused : " What transfers ? I 7 I only h have one bank account with abou $ 750 left in it . " ] " That's from my summer job wages . " When the advisor saw I wouldn't come clean , he pulled out evidence . [] " This Citibank card ending in 8890 had $ 200,000 transferred into it a year ago . " " ] " It's in your name . Still gonna deny it ? " ]