<p>sbjdorlo, you should really start a new thread. Have you run your family’s numbers through one of the FAFSA forecasters to get your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)? That’s an important number for seeing roughly what your family will be expected to contribute. [FinAid</a> | Calculators | QuickEFC](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/calculators/quickefc.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/calculators/quickefc.phtml) You can also look at the Princeton financial aid website and run your numbers through their estimator to see what private colleges that require the college board’s Profile will estimate your family should contribute. </p>
<p>On to question 4:</p>
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<p>Some schools will allow the student to use outside merit money to reduce the family contribution. Others won’t. It’s going to vary from school to school. My two cents worth of financial advice is that your number one priority should be retirement savings. There are also two younger children, so you do not want to blow the bank and your borrowing power on kid number 1. You’re in California, and we have no idea what will happen with the state budget and the cost (let alone the caliber 
) of a UC education. My personal opinion on borrowing from relatives is that it’s best saved for emergencies, and college is not an emergency.</p>
<p>Your son has the stats to apply to top schools that offer to meet full need. That also means he has the stats to apply to a variety of schools that will offer a great deal of merit aid, comparable to the NMF offers. Do a lot of reading here, and on the parents forum, to figure out what schools would be worth considering. For starters, I’ll suggest Rice. But really, start new threads. You’ll get more eyeballs that way.</p>