Oy. Yet another entertaining article in the works that will leave all too many students and families with the notion that their kid can magically do the same. The situations described in the OP are the so-rare-as-to-be-nearly-impossible events, and do not provide useful examples for the other 99.9999999999999%
If you want to write something that will truly serve the majority of your readers, go read through the Financial Aid Forum.