$197,000 in AGI? Did you really think you would get need based aid with that income? Really?
Expenses…like what? Everyone has expenses.
If money was really an issue, you could have gotten very very decent merit aid at Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico. Your cost to attend any of these schools would have been far less than $36,000 a year.
Plus, your instate VA schools would have been affordable too.
So, you are planning to take $300,000 or so in loans to attend one of the expensive colleges you got accepted to? If your parents want that kid of loan debt, that’s their decision. But for undergrad school…that’s insane. My opinion.
Did you already declined your acceptances to any affordable colleges? Did you even apply instate in VA?