<p>Are you necessarily set on the part of your plan where you join the military for four years, then go to college? With ROTC, you could do it the other way around.</p>
<p>Also, are these financial aid calculators from Ivy (and similar) schools? Ivy aid can be a lot better than FAFSA. And it’s pretty easy to get student loans.</p>
<p>If you did go to the military now, the post 9/11 GI Bill would conveniently pay a maximum of almost exactly your parents’ expected contribution.</p>