That Baylor trumpet player likely is majoring in music performance, and may have gotten free tuition, not a free ride, unless he got some other awards that stacked. Anyway, the point is, he didn’t get a free ride for just being a top trumpet player; he must be majoring in performance. Just being part of the band isn’t going to get a student much in merit. (“Many [Baylor] music students qualify for academic and various additional scholarship funds, in addition to music merit scholarships.”]
Your parents owning their own business can affect aid, especially depending on what type of schools you apply to. CSS Profile schools can be brutal to those who own their own businesses.
We don’t know how much your family earns from the business, we don’t know what assets your parents have. We don’t know how if they have their retirement savings in “real retirement accts” or if they just have them in regular investment accounts.
ASK your parents how much they’ll pay each year. YOU NEED to know that answer!!
What are your stats?