Can you get scholarships if you come from a very wealthy family? Serious question, I don't know about the US.
Financial aid can come in multiple forms.
The most prominent is "need-based" financial aid. This involves student loans, grants from the school itself (which are taken from the school's endowment" and other such things and the amounts are determined by (obviously) how strong your need is. If a student (or their parents) are in a lower income bracket (this is why schools ask for your financial statements when you apply) then this number goes up.
But there are also academic scholarships and these come in various flavors, too and from various outlets. A school might knock a little bit off the tuition for a student that they think is bright and will do well there, but you can also apply for scholarships from other organizations that may sponsor you for a host of reasons (like if you're a minority, or if you plan to study a particular field.)
All of this is incorporated into the final "number" that a student is expected to pay, but it's still entirely possible (given that the characters in the game are supposed to be attending a relatively prestigious institution) that even with grants from the school, scholarships from other sources and an immense set of student loans, Maya might still be in dire straits, financially, especially considering that she effectively has no support structure. (i.e. her parents aren't paying anything.) Tuition isn't the only cost, remember. There's also books, and board and food, none of which are included in just plain tuition costs. So she might be in desperate need of money for various living expenses and school-related incidentals.
