Chance Me - schools to the caliber of IU, UW Madison, U of I, or Loyola (all early action), and Match Me to other schools which could work for me please!

[EconPop]

@bv1231

I likely will qualify for need based aid, and I will talk to my parents again, as they were saying 12k as more of an arbitrary number than a hard rule. I will also look at other advice and such online about paying for colleges. I’m not sure if I could get a merit anywhere, though. I am willing to commute if the need arises, although it would not be my first choice. Thanks for the help!

Your first step would be to complete the FAFSA and discover what your EFC is. That will inform you/us whether or not you will qualify for need-based aid. That status, coupled with your ~$12K/yr budget will more or less determine what schools to focus your attention on.