@ucbalumnus, @txstella, @Zinhead thank you all.
In regards to paying for college:
I’ve run the net price calculators on as many colleges as I can, and filtered out the ones I would never be able to afford. I know I would be able to afford a college where the EFC is close to 20k (for me Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Bowdoin, and swarthmore are looking to cost around that much and are my top choices), and my parents are certainly willing to co sign for loans. The other colleges on my list where our EFC is closer to 30k I’m applying to for the chance that a) they could turn out to give more need based aid than expected and b) my parents would be able to pay more than they’ve “estimated” (they’ve been unwilling to have serious conversations about paying for college, partially because they think it’s too early and partially because of the political standing of the colleges).
After college and grad school, I fully intend to get a PHD, which will enable me to obtain a job that provides me the means to pay off what loans I accumulate (which, again, can be deferred). I’ve thought a lot about this career choice, the amount of work it would require, and how I would go about it and know it is the right choice for me.
My concern is getting my parents on my side and preventing the political standing of colleges from being a barrier, so that we can have legitimate conversations about paying for college and so that I can finalize my list. It looks like this should be a relative non-issue for me.
If all else fails, I will attend my state flagships (UF), which I know I can afford; however I would want more than anything to go out of state, up north specifically, to a small college or top-tier research university where I will be surrounded by peers with similar ambition and passion for scientific research.