The way need based aid works at meets need schools is that if family income goes up, your need is less so your aid is reduced. The family would then have to come up with the additional money. It makes sense, right? You earn more, you know you have college tuition coming up, so you save more. If family income goes down, the schools that meet need will give more aid.
Can schools that offer need based aid become more expensive each year for a particular family? Yes, of course. If income goes up, aid goes down. Can the increase be enough to render the school unaffordable? That’s a family decision. But yes, there are students who’ve had to leave school in later years due to finances.
Your family needs to figure out what they can affordably pay each year. You could contact the school to ask how increased income will affect aid down the road. I’m not sure they’ll have a firm answer given the current state of the economy, but you can try.