Once you have selected the schools you want to attend, you can apply for financial aid. Plan to apply between January and June. Be sure to check each potential school’s deadlines for financial aid application submission. Schools may require financial aid applications due in January.

Begin by visiting FAFSA, a Web site that outlines the steps to apply for financial aid. Gather information you will need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form:

- Determine your dependency status at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/fotw0809/WorksheetServlet?wstype=WSDEP&locale=en_US. 

- Use the worksheets at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before012.htm to compose answers to the questions on the FAFSA before actually applying online. 

- Find your school codes. These codes denote the schools through which you are interested in applying for financial aid. Search for these codes at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/FSLookupServlet.

- Secure your PIN number at the FAFSA Web site. http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before004.htm explains the purpose of the PIN. Apply for your PIN at http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp.

When you have organized this information, you are ready to fill out the FAFSA. 

- Begin by collecting the personal documents you will need to supplement the FAFSA. These include bank statements, tax returns, a driver’s license, and a social security card. Required supporting documentation is listed at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before003.htm. 

- Download a FAFSA online. This link — http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before012.htm — provides various formats for the FAFSA. 

- After you have filled out the FAFSA, it can be retrieved with your password and re-edited or corrected for a limited time. The FAFSA is retrievable until 45 days have passed, or until the federal deadline for submission is past.

Once submitted, you may check on the status of your FAFSA. Three to five days after submitting the FAFSA, you will receive the student aid report, which summarizes your application information. Check the information to make sure it is correct. Once your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is calculated, your schools of choice will offer you a financial aid package, based on the EFC and your data on your FAFSA. To calculate an estimate of your EFC, check out http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml.