• Contact the Financial Aid Office of the college you wish to attend in the fall of the year prior to your enrollment. Ask each school to send you their financial aid requirements.
  • Make completing your tax return one of your New Years' resolutions and you'll sail through this process.
  • If you're employed, check with the Human Resources Department in your company to see if your company offers any kind of education assistance.
  • If you're an upperclassman returning to college, get your renewal applications from the college financial aid office. It's handy to have last year's application to refer back to!
  • CSS requires a form be completed by non-custodial parents and for applicants or parents who own their own business or farm.
  • Be sure to elaborate on special circumstances in all of your applications. These might include the fact that your parents pay to send a sibling to private high school or that you or your family has some kind of extraordinary debt that makes it difficult for them to finance your education.
  • Make copies of your applications before submitting them.
  • Have your credit card handy to pay CSS online. If you're sending a check, submit your application by snail mail. The FAFSA application is free.
  • Expect confirmation via snail mail within about three weeks that your application has been received by FAFSA and CSS. If you're a first-year student, the college will usually include mention of the dollar amounts of scholarships or grants you are offered in your acceptance letter. Returning students will be notified in May.

For more information buy

How to Go to College Almost for Free by Benjamin R. Kaplan