<p>If anything physically disabled parents are essay material. And UPenn is need blind so I don’t think the 8k will help much unfortunately.</p>
<p>When you write an essay on it (if you do that is), remember to still focus on yourself.</p>
<p>Look into Questbridge. I don’t know if Penn is a partner school, but a lot of its peers are. Questbridge would let you explain your situation in depth and is designed for students like you.</p>
<p>EDIT: It looks like you’ve already read up on QB a bit. I’ve heard people with SAT scores in the ~1900 range who’ve been matched with some top schools (maybe not HYPSM) but really good colleges and LACs, nonetheless.</p>