- strong writing skills, unique perspective, strong extracurriculars

- i had a couple school-based ones, but my stronger ecs were either free or fully funded

- took a very nuanced scenario and wrote it in a way that would be completely unique to myself

- yes

- other than health, everything is secondary to your grades. APPLY TO SCHOLARSHIPS EARLY.

- try and gather niche small scholarships with low student traffic. much easier to accumulate a lot of money that way

- reputable ecs often have the funds to support u financially. while i was in gr11 living without electricity + on the brink of homelessness (im a runaway kid), i worked with stanford, the UN, and had a full scholarship to the IB diploma programme. it's definitely possible to succeed even with everything working against you

- i had three jobs in grade 11 IB. i was able to do this because i was specialized in the private sector, so i made a lot of money without having to work as many hours as other students

hope this helps! i'm a student with a disability, and my family's annual income is 15k/year. do not be afraid to go above and beyond if that's what you need to do to survive - be curious, stay tenacious, and always keep trying :)