I haven’t really read all of the details in this thread because there have been some tangents.
- Where are you getting all of these strange ideas about the California universities? Are you making these up???
- You are panicking, needlessly, about everything. Get a grip and read what these posters, with years of experience, are telling you. Stop listening to your rumor mill.
- The people, on this web page, are some of the most schooled and experienced advisors in the college admissions realm. Let them give you their benefit of their wisdom.
READ:
I am experienced with Calgrants because I was a recipient of them many years ago, and have worked with the Calgrant personnel because I had several former HS students who received them for their California schools. Not much has changed about how they grant awards. The only significant changes are the amounts.
As a mother, California resident, and SDSU alumna, all three of my children were admitted to the UC’s and to the ivies. My son was top 5, in his class of 1000 students and no-one knew who would be valedictorian until graduation day-missed it by a percentage point. My middle daughter just graduated from UCSF, a medical/professional school where there are ONLY professional level students (Med, Dental, Pharma) and one of the best medical schools in the country. My husband is also an alumnus of UC and Stanford in engineering. Our eldest went OOS and graduated in EECS.
I have two neighbors in admissions-One is at the UC and one is at a large, private catholic university. I speak to them frequently, because I see them frequently.
DOLLARS: Firstly: Get thee to an NPC-(Net price calculator).
These are pretty accurate unless your family owns a business, (or a divorced couple). It will give you ballpark numbers and then you can return and let us know where you stand financially. This should be done with a parent.
TRACKING FINANCIAL INFO 
Our eldest is an EECS (Electrical engineer/Computer Software specialist working in cyber security) and, not even she, has mentioned that colleges can now track who looks at a public web page -unless you are talking about imaginary tv shows.
NEED BLIND=
When the ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE reviews your application, they don’t have, nor do they consider, how much you can pay. They don’t look at finances, at all, and are “BLIND” to your “NEED”. If they want to admit you, they don’t care if you have the money or not, to attend, they admit you if they want you.
The FINANCIAL AID DEPARTMENT is usually in another office and receives the financial documents. They prepare the packages for every student based on the requests for FINANCIAL AID. They usually don’t find out which students have been admitted until later in the year, so their information comes separately.
MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMISSIONS: One of my best friends in undergrad, attended a Cal State-SDSU, used their medical school advising, got into med school and became a physician and teaching professor.
There are well over 3700 colleges and universities. A large majority of these charge $$$$ application fees. Since your family is on a budget, this makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever.
FINANCIAL AID:
You need to look at the financial aid pages and see what scholarships are available for your situation. Making a ridiculous list of schools, hoping that one provides you with a full ride, is really pointless because you may end up hating the location, size, weather, and temperament of the school. It does affect your mood, study time, and med school EC’s.
UNIVERSITY GRANTS: Some of the Cal States, as well as the UC’s do have “university grants”. These are derived, sometimes, from alumni and private donations’ funds. If the university really wants you and knows your financial situation, they will make it worth your while to attend by providing those funds.
GET OFF THE RUMOR MILL AND QUIT MAKING UP stuff. It is not beneficial to anyone. You are in a weird panic mode and this does not bode well for your admissions essays when they ask: “why us?”