The best place to begin your quest is the financial aid office of the school that you are planning to attend. Not only will you get non-biased information and much needed help, but also it is a 100% free resource. You don't need to start with scholarship placement services or the like. All you need is a good financial aid advisor. They can tell you about federal, state, and school tuition programs, fees, aid, etc. Not only this, but they can help you find the forms that you need, the offices to contact, and the addresses of the letters you need to send out. This is my #1 recommended resource for finding out everything that you ever wanted to know about financial aid.
If federal aid is what you have in mind first, I would like to suggest a call to the US Department of Education at 1-800-4 FED AID (1-800-433-3243) (TDD 1-800-730-8913) Monday - Friday, 9:00 to 5:30 EST. Their operators are trained to assist you in finding out the answers you need to federal financial aid questions. This is a very good resource and one that should be used more often. More than 70% of federal aid comes from the US Department of Education, but not too many people know that, or know how to get in touch with them.
You may also call the above number to get more information on a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the FAFSA, which is the form you need in order to apply for any and every type of federal aid available. This is a very valuable resource for questions about the FAFSA as well.
The US Department of Education can also help you with obtaining information and applications for the following programs, and are not limited just by these:
For state aid, I recommend contacting your state's educational agency. This agency is normally located in your state's capital, and usually you are provided with 1-800 numbers to call them toll free. They have a wealth of information to give you about all state aid programs. You don't need to ask any really specific questions, but keep in mind that grants are based on gross/net income, scholarships are based on scholastics, and loans on credit history (in some cases). So you might want to write those figures down and keep them by the phone when you call. It will speed up the process.
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