** UCLA** is a state school and there really isn’t merit money for OOS students.
Stanford only gives need-based financial aid (no merit money)
BC has 15 full tuition Presidential Scholarships; other than that only need-based aid
Northeastern has $10-$25K merit scholarships for the top 10% or so of applicants. Is $10-$25K enough to make ~$70K/ year affordable?
Your parents are correct that there are colleges that will give you meaningful merit money for your 35 ACT & 96 GPA- but those colleges are typically not ones that are prestigious.
And they are correct that there are some top-ranked schools that give meaningful merit money- but those tend to be handful of highly competitive awards (such as BC’s Presidential or Duke’s Robertson).
So, overall, they are kinda right but mostly not…