Your first step in finding funds for college is to look into financial assistance from the federal government, the state where you live, the colleges you're considering, and private scholarship sources. The federal government offers student aid programs for families of every income level. These include grants, low-interest loans, and student employment. In many cases, families can receive enough assistance through federal aid to cover all of their educational costs. Your Education are both free booklets from the U.S. Department of Education.
Many states offer student financial assistance.
Some require the student to be a resident of the state, while others have agreements with other states, or do not have residency requirements. Colleges often offer their own institutional awards to students based on merit, financial need, or a combination of the two. Families also locate private scholarship funding through free scholarship search services such as the one in CollegeQuest. You may be surprised to learn that many scholarships aren't tied to academic achievement. Foundations and organizations award scholarships based on a variety of factors such as the student's background, hobbies, field of study, place of employment, academic qualifications or financial need.