<p>OP – We were in a similar boat 2 years ago. Our income is about $160-180K/year and we have 2 kids 8 years apart. Our son did not apply to a state flagship, because a big party school is just not his thing (we are not in Michigan). We were prepared to pay a full price, though. We saved some money for college, paid off our house and our 401K funds were funded nicely, so we could afford to put less money there for few years. Nevertheless, we avoided binding decision like plague. Your son has been already accepted to UofM and it’s a great option, now look for some private schools that offer merit scholarships and apply there RD. Duke has several (insanely competitive) merit scholarships as well, so don’t count it out. You might qualify for some fin aid at HYPS, if your son gets admitted, but it wouldn’t be a lot. </p>
<p>Our son got accepted to 9 colleges and we got either fin aid or merit from all of them. The worst one was the fin aid that offered $5.5K/year loan. The best one was a full ride. The others were between $10K and $25K a year.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your son.</p>