You are getting FA from NU when your parents make 240K? Were your parents aware you were applying to those need based schools? Did you really think your parents were going to be able to afford 60K+ a year for college? I don’t know why I got the sense that you knew they could never afford private schools, but you applied anyway (I could be wrong).
CaliCash, maybe give yourself a day or two to stew, and after that, it may be easier to strategize.
@oldfort I’m getting $21,000 per year until my sibling graduates. I knew that they couldn’t afford $60K per year, but that’s why I included schools that give merit aid on my list. I only applied to one school that doesn’t offer merit aid. I applied to 5 private schools and I got merit aid from one ($4,000 from Syracuse). My parents are also still convinced that I will have an extremely successful appeal where NU will be willing to give me thousands of dollars in additional aid per year.
@oldmom4896 That’s a good idea 
I’m a little confused now. I thought the budget was $0?
You likely could take a gap year. Most schools will grant that. But usually it includes an agreement that you do not apply to other schools.
I think your parents had unrealistic expectations, as many people do, that a good student is going to be so wanted by colleges, especially with certain hooks, that the schools will be fighting over them. My oldest son was a national athlete, and I was with many, many families who truly believed that this mantra. The truth of the matter is quite different. Only the top of the top in any category get such bounty as free rides at schools that do not have to pay for their students. If your kid is one of the best football players in the country, yes, he might get a free full ride somewhere, but if your financial make you ineligible for aid, even that isn’t going to get a dime from schools that give NO financial aid, such as the ivies, and no Athletic scholarships.
If your family makes so much money that the NPCs show they have to pay a threshhold amount, you have to look for merit money if they won’t pay what will be expected from them. That’s the bottom line. I’m sorry your parents did not understand that. They will when the money does not come, and they have to either pay the deposit and commit for the year, or flat out say that they won’t or can’t, whatever, and you cannot go to school. If they won’t pay ANYTHING, then you have to come up with the funds yourself. In my state, that means a local state school, a part time job and the DIrect Loans on an unsubsided basis.
If your parents decide to pay for some schools, but not others, then you have that option. Take it or leave it.
You think this is the worst? I’ve seen kids go off to school and then are forced to leave because parents did not make contracted payments. College is a business, not a charity. Then you have to leave the college and your transcripts won’t be released until the school is paid what is owed. No mercy there. There are sad posts on these forums all of the time from kids who left school without the balance paid, and they are stuck until it is paid off.
I think you should do as they want you to do, in terms of appealing to the financial aid offices,a nd ask them to help and talk to the schools too. When they see what the final upshoot is of all of this, they can either pay, or say they just aren’t going to do it, or will do it only for certain school(s). Then that is what you do. There are a lot of kids who are in the same situation as you are.
@sports870 Sorry for the confusion. It’s $21,000 in aid from Northwestern.
You’re getting $21,000 in financial aid when your parents make $240k a year?
@cptofthehouse She did try for merit money which included Alabama.
You got more than I would guess you would if your family income is $240K a year. Do you have a sibling in college? If so, when he leaves, that will likely go away.
The fact of the matter, is that even with that much in aid, you still have to come up with $40K more. Not likely for an 18 or so year old to be able to do so. If your parents won’t pay, you need to find a school you can afford.
I think you know all of this. You now have to regroup and plan out what your alternatives are.
OP would get more aid if he/she didn’t take a gap year while other siblings are in school.
I’m still not seeing a list of any affordable schools. It sounds like NU is not going to be affordable, especially if your parents don’t want to help out at all. And perhaps there is a problem with Bama (?)…so what are your other affordable choices?
I know this is really painful, but remember, many kids are in the same boat, for whatever reasons. My son expected to get into Stanford, was heartbroken that he did not, and now has to choose between five affordable schools, and three of them are big public schools, including Bama. Meanwhile, he was accepted at Georgia Tech and would love to go, but we can’t pay $32,000 per year.
I understand your situation feels worse because your parents haven’t been very realistic or straight-forward with you, but in the end you have the same bottom line as many, many students: You have to pick an affordable school.
What are your affordable options?
I agree. But if she can’t come up with $40K, what should she do? She can’t go to NWU unless her parents commit to pay for the year, and then pay the charges as they come do. And since they are so clueless about how fin aid works, they probably don’t get that they will lose that aid when the other kid leaves school. I seem to remember the sibling is in some military academy or such and they are not paying for him, so it won’t be as though more money will free up. THey are lucky that NWU is just divvying up the expected contribution as if they were paying, which is something a lot of schools are not doing anymore. This is as good as it gets. As I mentioned, some parents actually start paying and then quit and kid can’t register for the next term, can’t get transcripts and it’s an even bigger problems. THe OPs parents are not the only ones who are not with it when it comes to dealing with college costs.
I’m still confused: How are students who parents are making $240k getting financial aid?
Did she apply to any financial safeties?
The way it works is that if there are two kids in college at the same time, the institutional expected contributions are usually multiplied by .4. EFC by .5. If gross income is $240K, and there are high taxes, few or no assets, I can see some aid happening. The amount seems high to me, but I did not run the NWU NPC. OP says that is what was offered, so I’m going with that. But whether it’s the $60K+ that OP needs to pay or the $41K, doesn’t much matter if the parents won’t pay it. OP doesn’t work so she certainly can’t come up with the money. Unlikely she has that much in savings either.
Apparently, the parent is willing to pay for some school that the OP doesn’t want attend. She was under the impression from what parents have been saying that they would come up with what the school costs would be. It appears they were delusional as to what aid and scholarships their DD could get from the schools on her list. Maybe because their other child got a full ride at some military academy or something. This did not happen here.
@chris17mom They said Alabama was a racist state in the deep south. The dad offered her $1000 if she was accepted to all her choices. She was accepted to 11/12. Told her she missed out. There seems to be some control issues that are making it hard for her.
So Alabama is the only financial safety? It just seems like this kiddo needs to figure out something affordable immediately. What a shame about the parents, they do sound awful. 
I really think there is just some misunderstanding between the parents and the OP.
Can the OP not go to a local University and commute?
Or even go to a state university and live in a dorm? Seems like a state U should be somewhat affordable??? Maybe they will pay something if it’s not too much?