Financial aid is any money that does not come from you, or your parents, to help pay college bills. There are many forms of financial aid:
A grant is money that is given to you, based on need. you do not have to repay a grant.
A scholarship is money given to you based on merit, grades, or test scores. You can earn scholarships through certain programs, such as the PSAT National Merit Scholar program, or from state colleges that provide free tuition to valedictorians. Some students receive scholarships for writing essays, while others are chosen for scholarships based on volunteer service.
A loan is money lent to you to pay for college expenses. You are expecte to pay back the loan according to the terms set by the lender when you borrowed the loan money.
A tuition waiver plan generally comes with employment. For instance, your parents may work at a university, and you receive a tuition waiver as a result. Service in the military can give you a tuition waiver for college as well.
A reimbursement plan comes from many private companies. Under reimbursement you pay for the college course up front, and then receive reimbursement from your company based on your performance in class. Some companies pay based on grades: 100% reimbursement for an A, 80% for a B, and so forth. Talk about pressure!
Sources of Financial Aid

So how do you get financial aid of any kind? The first step is to complete the FAFSA--the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. the FAFSA is a cleainghouse application that takes your income, your parents' income (until you are 24 years old), and certain financial circumstances and comes up wth a formula to determine how much aid you receive. You generally receive a mixture of grants and loans.

The FAFSA information is sent to your college, and if you get a grant, then the grant is subtracted from your college costs--you owe the rest. If you're receiving scholarships, those are paid directly to the college or, in some cases, the scholarship giver sends you a check to give to the college.

If you receive a tuition waiver, you never see the bill--the amount comes off the top. For reimbursement programs, of course, yu pay in full up front and then receive direct reimbursement after the course is complete.

Getting aid of SOME sort isnt hard--70-80% of all students receive some form of aid! Understand the basics, apply for the FAFSA, and get started on your higher education and higher aspirations.