There are EFC calculators. Remember, that is NOT the maximum you will be expected to pay, just a rough idea of what you’ll be expected to pay.
Did anyone mention NPC yet? Net Price Caculator. Available at each school’s web site, some more accurate than others. That will give you a good idea of what each school will expect you to pay.
We had one kid do community college, then transfer to our state flagship, where we agreed to pay tuition, and she was responsible for R&B + expenses. We had to borrow due to cash flow problems. She worked her butt off in the summers and also took out student loans. She was responsible for working with the counselors at the community college and communicating with the transfer people at the university re: requirements, ducks in order, etc.
For the second kid, hoo boy, she felt she was entitled to choose where she went to college and she wanted to shoot for prestigious and elite and those were unaffordable. With grades plus test scores, she landed some excellent merit scholarships to OOS public flagships that were not good enough for her. She is currently a sophomore at one of those OOS public flagships that offered her a full ride. She’s doing well. We have lived to tell the tale, but it was not fun.
Also, with both kids, we saw some major course corrections re: majors. Both changed.
Good luck! Focus on what you can afford and go from there!