<p>If your parents can pay $30K a year, with what you can earn over summers and during the school year jobs, and the DIrect Loan of $5500 for freshman year (increasing slightly thereafter) can buy you a number of options. Look at the full tuition, hefty tuition stickies at the top of this forum for schools that give good merit money. </p>
<p>We can argue all day as to whether the OP’s family income/asset levels are middle class or not, but the big issue at hand is how the colleges will view the financial situation and what the parents are willing and able to pay. That’s what’s going to make the deal work. </p>
<p>What kind of aid did your brother get when he applied to college? Is he going to a state school, or get a lot of merit money, any financial aid?</p>