Annie- you sound like a terrific kid.
We are trying to educate you-nobody expects a HS kid to understand everything there is to know about financial aid and assets and debt and investments. It takes some people decades to get a handle on their own finances, let alone someone else’s.
Having said that- you are making a couple of potentially expensive mistakes here, and folks (who don’t know you, and don’t know your family) are trying to help you avoid.
Applying to USC is a waste of time and money. Not my time and not my money- but there you have it. If NYU is the be-all and end all of colleges for you then go ahead and apply just so you never have to wonder “what if”. But you don’t need three “What if” schools on your list. So take off USC and Northeastern. Save your Aunt some dough, and you can bingewatch your favorite TV show instead of trying to perfect your application to two schools you aren’t going to be able to afford.
Why is your EFC so high? Because your parents have a comfortable income and lots of assets. Why can’t they afford their EFC? Because they live in a high cost of living area with high property taxes AND they own real estate in addition to your primary home, and there is more than one kid in the family (i.e. you) who they are raising and feeding and educating.
It’s really just simple arithmetic. You are not alone, there are thousands of HS kids in the NY Metro area in the same boat as you. Most of them would love to go to USC or Northeastern or BU or get Harvard’s generous need based aid… but that’s a fantasy, not reality. So they go to Queens College or Baruch and they commute from home and get a great job during the summer which helps them launch into adulthood. And once they graduate from college they get jobs in Seattle or SF or LA or Boston or Portland or Chicago or wherever the heck they want to live- and they start their life.
You had a simple question. Colleges look at your entire financial picture and see multiple homes and a comfortable living. Your parents look at your entire financial picture and see another kid to educate after you, household expenses which never seem to go down, only up, and they’ve given you a number they can comfortably afford.
The rest is up to you.