Once the clock hit midnight on Jan. 1, 2012, the filing period for federal financial aid began. Many financial aid awards are granted on a first come, first serve basis so if you haven’t filed yet, you may already be falling behind on the process.
There are three general forms of financial aid: grants, loans and employment opportunities that qualify as work/study programs.

Grants are financial awards that don't have to be repaid.

The type of grant and the amount of grant money students may receive is based on several factors which include financial need, cost of attendance at your selected institution, whether the student will attend college full-time or part-time, the type of academic program the student will pursue and how early a student applied for financial aid.

There are two main types of federal student loans: direct subsidized loan and the direct unsubsidized loan. The subsidized loan is available to students who meet financial need guidelines. No interest on the loan is charged while the student is enrolled in college at least half-time and through select other time periods.

Students are not required to meet financial need guidelines to qualify for the direct unsubsidized loan. However, interest starts accruing on the loan immediately. Additionally, some students may be eligible to obtain both subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

No credit check is required to apply for either loan.

For students who don't qualify for need based financial aid, the federal government offers their parents the opportunity to borrow money to cover educational expenses through the Direct PLUS loan program.

Other sources of financial aid are called campus-based aid programs. These include additional grants, loans and the work-study program and are only available to students that demonstrate financial need. These programs are administered at ...