Will I have a ~14.5% chance of getting accepted to Harvard? And other highly-competitive schools.

[gibby]

^^ http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2015/07/22/earning-too-much-at-your-summer-job-may-slash-financial-aid-eligibility

For the 2015-2016 school year, dependent students can have earned up to $6,310 in 2014, after certain deductions, without that income cutting into their aid award. Universities use the information families report on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year to determine whether the student’s paycheck falls below that amount, called the income protection allowance.

Above that threshold, 50 percent of a student’s earnings may be earmarked for college expenses. For example, if a student earns $2,000 above the cutoff, the student could be expected to put $1,000 of it toward college costs.

So, @JHS: Regardless of how much money a student’s parents earn per year, if a student’s business earned $20,000, the first $6,310 would be excluded, and the student would be expected to contribute 50% of the remaining balance, or $6,845 towards their education for the following year. Most financial aid packages would therefore reduce the student’s need based aid by an equal amount.