If resources are limited, do you really want to be paying money to someone who will advise you on stuff that is available for free to anyone who reads English and has an internet connection? Wouldn’t you rather maximize the cash available to pay for college?
There are no “secrets”. There are relatively straightforward rules regarding need based aid, and forms to fill out which could be time-consuming if your finances are complex, but are not rocket science to understand.
There is need based aid (mostly your income and assets) and merit aid (given out with no regard to your ability to pay) and merit aid which is more generous if you also have need. There are loans.
There is no financial aid fairy, and the kind of advice the paid gurus give is either shady in terms of ethics/legality (transfer some assets to your adult siblings- they transfer them back to you during your kid’s senior year of college so it won’t “count against you”), or easy to find on your own with Google.
The “next step” for all of you is a sit down (virtual, if you cannot stand to be in the same room) to figure out how much money is actually available to pay for your son’s education. All the advise in the world isn’t going to help if you don’t have an accurate picture of what you can pay.
We can help you after that.