Feeling torn between my dream colleges and overbearing parents.

It seems like you can honestly tell your parents that you have no idea if you’ll have to take out a loan or not at any of these schools. It’s not until you file the application (and the FAFSA) that you find out.

Once acceptances / offers are in hand, you can have another discussion with them about where to go. And you can decide how much you want to listen to them, if they disagree with you.