The OP might have just been saying what she thought needed to be said to avoid difficult questions. Let’s not forget we’re dealing with a high school student looking for an easy answer to a difficult problem. My children don’t know all the details of my finances, and the OP likely doesn’t know about her parents’ financials in great detail. No need to shine a lamp in her face and jump down her throat.
@averageapp1852 , I don’t know the answer to the question. I will say that having multiple income-producing properties is, in general, a very fortunate situation to be in. Your parents have monthly income and are generating long-term wealth. These properties very much have had a positive effect on your family’s financial situation over the years. It might not be enough to put you in the millionaires club, but it’s better than most.
The best advice I can give is to hope for the best and plan for the worst. Choose your top 3 choices if money was not a factor. It never hurts to dream. However, choose another 10 choices where you know for a fact you can afford financially if you receive no need-based aid. Maybe choose another 5 where you can’t quite afford without need-based aid, but you could afford if you had merit-based aid – merit-based aid that aligns with your merits.
You will not be doing yourself a favor by focusing only on the schools that are so expensive you cannot afford to attend. There are many great options among the affordably-priced universities. You are wise to want avoid 6-figure college debt. You would be wiser to keep that thought in mind as the time nears, the money is not there, and you have to make the real-world adult decision to not go into debt to attend a childhood “dream” school.