Are you a senior now? If so, then make sure and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid – www.fafsa.ed.gov) for 0809 after it becomes available January 1, 2008. Also check at the school(s) you are applying to in order to see if they have an in-house application that needs to be completed as well. Just make sure you have any required forms/information completed before the school’s priority/on-time deadline (usually in the spring).

Schools use the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) generated from the FAFSA along with their COA (Cost of Attendance) to determine what a student’s financial aid package will be. They usually look at the pool of applicants in the on-time/priority deadline group and start their awarding there.

There are some outside scholarships you can check out also:

College Board Homepage

www.collegeboard.org

FastWEB

www.fastweb.com

Free Scholarship Search

www.freschinfo.com

Gates Millennium Scholars Program

www.gmsp.org

Talk to your high school guidance counselor as well as a financial aid officer at the school you wish to apply to for more information/guidance. Good luck!