If you really like Northeastern, you will increase your chances of admission exponentially if you elect to attend any campus they choose for you (including Oakland, CA and the various abroad options). The “Boston only” spots are extremely competitive.
biology major with concentration in computational biology - so probably no contract 
I’m not that surprised. I figured that there would be a cash business with hidden unreported, untaxed money, but from what you say, it sounds more as if your father’s income was from employment, and it’s just that he’s hidden it from your mother. It still doesn’t add up - there are no government jobs that pay for a family to live decently on Long Island while also socking away hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even with pensions and social security.
Just a warning. Things can blow up, financially, when there is financial dishonesty in a marriage, which in the US is considered to be a full legal and financial partnership, unless there was an airtight prenup - not a thing that most government workers would bother with, because their incomes are not that high! If your mother decides to file for divorce before you’re done with college, you could have the financial rug pulled right out from under you. Also, people who are financially dishonest with their spouse (sounds as if the victim is your own mother, in this case) might also be financially dishonest with their child, so you might not be able to depend on him for tuition for four years of college.
For this reason, I would strongly urge you to add Stony Brook to your list. Because you live on Long Island, it’s the closest SUNY to you. It’s also currently considered to be the highest ranked SUNY overall, also strong on sciences and math. And if your mother figures out that your father has hidden money from her, and files for divorce, and the money is all tied up in the divorce, you can still finish up, living from home, and just paying for tuition with federal loans and a part time job.
The CSS form that your parents will have to file for fin aid asks very specifically about cash on hand, savings, pensions, etc, so unless your father lies about it, you’re unlikely to get financial aid.
Be safe. Be stable. Choose a great school that is commutable from home and inexpensive for you. Start out living on campus, but know that you’ll be able to finish up if things blow up in your parents’ marriage.
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It seems that CALS, a contract college, may be suitable for this combination of interests.
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Thanks for the encouragement! Do you think the history of school acceptances to colleges will affect my own chances? For example, we average 2-3 Cornell acceptances and 4-5 umich/northeastern/nyu acceptances.
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Your school counselor would be the best person to ask this question to.
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We don’t really know enough to speculate. It’s entirely possible that Mom knows about the savings but really doesn’t want to disclose the amount to their kid, which is why Dad doesn’t want Mom to know he’s shared this information with OP. As far as the amount of savings – we can’t know. No, government salaries are not high enough to sock hundreds of thousands of dollars away. But there could have been an inheritance. Parents could be on second careers after having worked in higher-earning fields. Perhaps they have income-generating property. We don’t know, so we have to assume that what Dad told kid in confidence was the truth. Perhaps he opened up to put kid’s mind at ease. In any case, that’s the financial reality they’re working with.
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And if dad didn’t tell the full truth, with Buffalo and Binghamton plus SB in their backyard, OP will be fine.
Hopefully though OPs dad is right and OP will be able to attend any college they get into and thus, having done their due dilignece wrt SUNYs, only needs to worry about Honors apps and Supplements.
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