<prompt> Human: Im freaking out bc my friends told me about FAFSA and how colleges want both parents to pay. My counselor told me to ask my dad lol...Im the screwup he hasnt talked to in 12 years. Hes really rich because I found my half sister on instagram. He doesnt want anything to do with me. I work part time as a tutor and baby sit. I dont volunteer or do sports but I have over 2,500 and my grandma gave me her old car. I get good grades and want to be an engineer because I hear you can make money. My mom works as an administrative assistant but my dad lives in a giant mansion and they go skiing every year. My friends say that if I dont fill out the FAFSA I dont get loans but then my counselor said my parents have to pay even though theyre divorced...I just want to go to college and make money so my mom wont work so hard...My counselor doesnt believe me when I said he wont pay!!! Im not lying!!  <response>: My counselor doesnt believe me when I said he wont pay!!! Im not lying!!The thing to remember is people see financial aid as free money, and everyone wants free money. And being told you make to much, or your parents make to much isnt agreeable to everyone. So people do lie, or they make bogus claims because its easy to say Im broke and my parents dont support me, free money please. If the financial aid office at the college believed everyone who claimed their wealthy parents werent going to pay a dime, then everyone would get federal grants and whatnot. Its not personal.I believe uElementPlanet post covers where you should start. Dont panic, plenty of people under plenty of circumstances can sort these issues out. Just get started on it, dont procrastinate and dont give up at the first roadblock.uElementPlanet: From the Federal Student Aid site Divorced or Separated Parents Who Do Not Live TogetherIf your parents are divorced or separated and dont live together, answer the questions about the parent with whom you lived more during the past 12 months. 