FAFSA - grants?

Your aid is determined by the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) from your FAFSA. This is not what you pay the college--it is a number that determines your eligibility for need based aid. This number is determined by a number of factors. Income is the largest factor, but it is also influenced by other things, such as the number of people in the household, the number of students in college, where you live, taxes paid, untaxed income, assets, the age of the parents, child support paid or received, etc. Even though you live in the same neighborhood, your family's financial picture can be significantly different from your friend's. Just because her mom drives a Mercedes doesn't mean she can afford to--many families are up to their eyeballs in debt and make foolish purchases to impress others when they actually have very low income. There could also have been recent changes in the family's financial situation, or unusually high expenses such as medical costs. I see their tax returns every day and often someone who appears to be wealthy on the surface is actually struggling. And of course, some people do lie on the FAFSA. Although we're pretty good at spotting it, sometimes lies do get through. Another thing to consider is that the typical financial aid package can contain aid from a number of sources beside federal student aid. Grants and scholarships from the school's own resources can be based on anything--your GPA and test scores, what you're majoring in, talents or experiences that you bring to the table, etc.