OP assuming that you will get accepted to elite schools and you do not qualify for financial aid, you and your parents need to be ready to pay full price. Elite schools don’t provide merit base aid. Definition of elite is very different for different people. For someone it is only HYPSM. Someone would think that full ride to UA is elite. So you and your family would have to determine how much you can pay or how much of the “prestige factor” you are willing to sacrifice.