2. If you're not a spoiled only child and your parents have to divide that money up then you're screwed.
#1 angers me especially. Parents I know don't do that anymore, especially when colleges rape us with such obscene tuitions while doing relatively little to improve the education.
3. If your parents make 100k+, but through financial stupidity, have nothing saved up for your education and no disposable income.
Happened to me. Here is a financial tidbit for anyone out there... don't buy a $40k car every two years. They tend to depreciate severely and leave you with nothing to show for it and a big monthly car payment. </bitter>
With tuition and expenses running 40k+ a year, I think that could put a crimp in the budget of a family making a little more than 100k+.
But anyway, how the heck can you blame the kid if the parents are tight with their money?
It is possible to become not-a-dependent through paperwork-fu, also, in which case a student would qualify if they make under $100k (likely).
Financial aid calculations typically take siblings into account.