I assure you I am nowhere near that number and I will draw a big goose-egg in institutional grant $ when my daughter completes her undergrad and my son starts his sophomore year. The financial aid Dept clearly told me the equity in my primary residence was an asset that was considered. So, it may be a school-to-school situation with how they allocate grant aid, as the endowments of schools obviously differ. My sons future school has a $700M+ endowment. Not sure where the 5% number you reference comes from, maybe that applies to a particular Ivy League school, but in my case I would do cartwheels at the prospect of paying 5% of my assets in tuition.