<p>A large amount of assets other than IRAs/401Ks will affect your aid. For instituional aid at some colleges large home equity can too. Is this your only child? Family size and having multiple in college at the same time also affect your aid. As was suggested, do a FAFSA estimator to get an idea for federal aid. Do you have any schools in mind? Some schools have estimators on their website.</p>
<p>For merit aid, a general rule would be to apply to schools with merit aid where your student is at least in the top 25% of admittees stats wise, GPA, rank and standardized tests.</p>
<p>The first question to ask yourself though, is how much can you afford to contribute each year.</p>