i haven’t read the article but this happened to us with our first kid (I’m being a lot smarter with the 2nd kid)…i didn’t really understand financial aid (as far as asset-counting went) and I just looked at our salaries and what top colleges said they would pay. On top of that, I became a lot smarter during the year but my kid had turned in almost all of her apps by the end of September…so too late. As a result, she had to take most of her acceptances off the table – from uchicago to tufts. It all worked out…but I completely see how it could happen.
(and no way were we taking out $100,000+ in loans 