Yep. And when you apply to top institutions they tend not to hand out very much merit aid either, because everybody applying there has top stats. That’s why top schools meet 100% of financial NEED for freshmen.
Cuny is a good affordable safety with decent FO connections AFAIK. Have you met the requirements for Zicklin? It has a separate set of requirements but as far as I remember, it is direct admit as long as you meet them.