Can colleges see bank account information?

Can colleges access and then use information about an applicant's bank account(s) to make financial aid decisions?

No! They do not have access to it. There is a little thing called the Bank Secrecy Act which is part of the US Patriot Act. They may have had you sign a release between all the paper work for your permission to see your account balances. They may also ask for your bank statement to check your spot balance and will want to see the funds for several months back.

not that I'm aware of.....

No, nor can pizza parlors.

You send TAX information through FAFSA.

Only if you let them!

i doubt they (or anyone else) would be allowed to see what goes in/out of your account, without getting police / fraud squad etc involved.

in the UK, some credit reference agencies keep lists of any payments (on time, or otherwise!) for registered firms that provide loans, credit cards etc- only AUTHORISED lenders can assess your credit worthiness based on these listings,, after you give permission.

does the aid get repaid at any time, or is it a grant?

Nope, but the school may perform an audit of your finances at the request of the Dept of Education in order to verify aspects of the FAFSA. Basically, they ask for tax forms and the like.