<p>This whole discussion depends on a lot of different factors. If your family income is below a certain number, some schools will automatically give you a financial aid package that doesn’t require money from your parents. These schools as a group are pretty hard to get into though so it depends on your application strength. </p>
<p>Also, the thing about those not-well-endowed colleges is that if you have a good state university, you’re better off just going there instead. And if your application is strong enough to get you into one of the well-endowed colleges, you will almost definitely get adequate financial aid.</p>