<p>Kate,
I am not a FA guru. There are people who are more knowledgeable about it on CC, but the threshold isn’t that high (some where around 100k in income). Depending on where you live, it could be middle class or upper class. Unless your parents have been saving since you were a baby, it would be very hard for many people to afford 60k/yr/student making less than 250k a year. 60k is after tax, so it is 100k in gross. There is a huge donut hole, families making between 100k and 250k that are not eligible for any need based FA at many private schools. Their options are going to their in state public or community college. So not every student gets need based FA, even when they need it.</p>
<p>There are many schools that give out merit based aid, but most of them are next tier down schools. They give merit aids to attract highly qualified students. If you don’t have good enough stats then you coud forget about it.</p>
<p>OP - instead of being miffed at your friend, you should start looking at what your family could afford, your own stats and start to figure out what schools you could be eligible to attend.</p>