Waiting for a financial aid offer is a lot like waiting for a medical diagnosis. The unknown creates a fear so piercing, so all-consuming, that when the anticipated phone call or email finally comes through, holding your fate in a short string of sentences, your life halts for a second. And then, the shock: Maybe it’s a temporary loss of hearing. Maybe your heart begins to race so much you forget to breathe. Maybe you grow limp, wilting under the weight of life-altering information.