<p>If your family has an income of ~$120K and 7 children, then with your stats (4.0, 2060) you should qualify for need-based aid at many fairly selective private colleges. The question then becomes whether the aid will be enough. What is your college budget? How much of your Expected Family Contribution is your family able and willing to cover?</p>
<p>The following table shows mean need-based aid by family income for Trinity College (Hartford), a small, private, well-regarded LAC where your stats should make you a competitive applicant:
<a href=“http://www.trincoll.edu/AboutTrinity/offices/InstitutionalResearchPlanning/Documents/financialAid.pdf[/url]”>http://www.trincoll.edu/AboutTrinity/offices/InstitutionalResearchPlanning/Documents/financialAid.pdf</a></p>
<p>For families in the $90K-$119,999 range, mean n-b aid (for those who get it) at Trinity is about $40K. It might be significantly more than that for a family with 7 children. Total COA for this school is $58K, so your net EFC - before any adjustment for 7 kids - would be ~$18K. Again, how much of that could your family cover?</p>
<p>Getting adequate n-b aid from a fairly selective private school like Trinity may leave you with lower net costs than you’d have after a merit scholarship from a less selective school. If grant aid leaves you with net costs much below $15K or so, then you may be in a range where some combination of family contribution plus “self help” (work-study, summer employment & student loans) is enough.</p>