The truth is that they should evaluate need not based on your parents income, but on their net worth - the price of their home. If you struggled to make ends me

The truth is that they should evaluate need not based on your parents income, but on their net worth - the price of their home. If you struggled to make ends meet for 15 years at the beginning of your child life but then suddenly started making 200k a year, you likely don't have the savings you need to pay 200k over 4 years to send your kid to college.