First, understand that the award letter you receive from FAFSA is an estimate. You will receive your estimated award letter 6-8 weeks after submitting your application. This estimate indicates what you are eligible for, based on the information you provided, not your actual FAFSA money. FAFSA may indicate that you are eligible for a Pell grant in a certain amount, for example. Your financial aid award is determined by the school you will be attending and their financial aid offices. While FAFSA could estimate $2,000 per semester for the above-mentioned grant, your university may only approve $1,500 of this. The same principle applies to all other government grants and loans. In turn, you will receive another document, this time from your university’s financial aid office, which outlines what you will receive in aid, should you accept it.