I know the topic of paying for college is probably a frequent (but not very enjoyable) thought right now, especially for high school seniors and their families. 
Although I'm not a financial aid counselor, I have learned some great bits of advice from my colleagues in the profession. Today I'd like to share my top 5 tips to help you navigate this (potentially confusing) Financial Aid season.
1. File the FAFSA. The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is available online at www.fafsa.gov. Plan to file in the spring of your senior year of high school (anytime after January 1st of the year you plan to start college). If you have questions, just contact the Office of Financial Aid at any of the schools you're applying to, they'd be happy to help you through the process. Be sure to check with your individual schools to find out if they have a Scholarship Priority deadline, so that you don't file too late and miss out!
2. Once you've filed the FAFSA, you should receive a Financial Aid package from the schools you're considering. Read through them and make sure you understand your options, including the differences between scholarships, loans, grants, and work study. I don't want to get into too much detail here, but once again, don't be afraid to contact the Office of Financial Aid with your questions-- that's what they're there for!
3. Apply for additional outside scholarships. There are several scholarship search engines online (note: all of which should be free-- if a scholarship search engine tries to charge you a fee, it's probably a scam.) Valpo has also accumulated a list of TONS of scholarship opportunities here. Apply to both local and national scholarships, and remember, every little bit helps-- even $100 scholarships can add up after you've won a few!
4. Consider working to help pay for college-related expenses. Most schools have lots of on-campus jobs available. Here at Valpo, students work in the library, Career Center, Office of Admission, and Union- just to name a few! Once again, even working only 10 hours a week adds up after a whole semester, and can really help with extra expenses like books and travel.
5. I know you might get a bit of sticker-shock when seeing the cost of a school, especially if it's private and/or out of state; however, I always recommend that you wait until you've received your Financial Aid package before you make your final decision. You never know what types of scholarships, grants, and loans might be available to you-- they might actually make a school with a higher "sticker price" cost less than you expected. In addition, some schools offer a Financial Aid Estimator, basically a mock-up of the FAFSA, that you can fill out during your sophomore or junior year. Although these results are tentative, they can help give you a better idea of what you might actually have to pay to attend a certain school. (You can find Valpo's Aid Estimator here.)
I hope those tips were helpful! I have to give thanks to my colleague, Robert Helgeson, Valpo's Director of Financial Aid, for sharing much of this information with me. Robert gave an excellent presentation on general Financial Aid information this past week at Valpo's Regional Spring College Fair, and I learned quite a bit! If this post sparks any more specific questions about financing college, just let me know and I'd be happy to help, or get you in touch with someone who can! :)
Enjoy your weekend, and keep up the hard work with your college search!