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It's all about the Benjamins, isn't it? Love might not cost a thing, but College certainly does. Money, or the lack of it, is a huge factor in determining which college to attend. And although  

Financial Aid

  is available, many students don't think they can get it. But they can and you can, too. Understanding the facts and forging through the fiction that surround Financial aid is the first step. Read on to discover seven of the biggest misconceptions out there about aid, and the real deal on how to score it.

Fiction: Financial aid is free money.
Fact: Certain kinds of financial aid are free, meaning you get the money and never have to repay it - grants and scholarships almost always work like this. But a college loan is a loan like any other. It is money lent to you for the time being, and you'll need to repay it.

Any time you apply for financial aid, make sure you check out the guidelines and stipulations. Read the fine print to see if the money is yours, no strings attached, or if you will be expected to repay it in some way.

Fiction: Once the school year starts, it's too late to apply for financial aid.
Fact: "The earliest you can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is January 1 prior to the start of the academic year," states Jeff Hanna, vice president for public relations at Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL). According to Hanna, families often misread the years associated with the beginning and ending date to file, causing them to think they only have a six-month window to complete the application. "In fact, the last day to file the FAFSA is 18 months after the earliest day to file," notes Hanna.

However, "the early bird catches the worm" is a good motto to remember, especially when it comes to getting money. "Colleges and Universities will establish preferential filing deadlines for maximum consideration. Missing these deadlines may hinder your consideration for institutional funds and campus-based aid," adds Hanna. It's better to be safe than sorry, but "better late than never" might apply in some cases.

Fiction: The government decides who receives financial aid.
Fact: The government doesn't pick who gets the money. "The FAFSA is completed and submitted to a central processor (not the government) who applies a federally established formula to determine a family's ability to contribute to higher education," notes Anne Barton, New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association president and associate director of financial aid at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Geneva, NY).

This is often referred to as Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). "The job of the financial aid administrator at every school is to try to meet a family's financial need from the resources available," explains Barton. "The cost of attendance at any given school, minus the EFC, results in financial need." So don't blame Big Brother if you don't get all the funds you want - the processor crunches the numbers, the government gives the money, and the college distributes the Cash.

Fiction: My parents make too much money for me to get financial aid.
Fact:"Income alone does not determine financial aid eligibility," says Diego Arce, former senior student finance advisor at DeVry University (Addison, IL). What your parents make is only part of the picture. The government will look at the EFC, but that's only used as a benchmark, says Arce. Several other factors will be considered, including your year in school, your enrollment status at the college, and the college's cost of attendance.

Fiction: The financial aid I can get depends on my grades.
Fact: Officially, neither A's nor F's affect your eligibility for financial aid, nor do they affect the amount of money given. But, Arce points out that colleges and universities do require students to maintain certain grade point averages and display satisfactory academic progress in order to continue receiving aid. Also, keep in mind that scholarships are not part of the Federal financial aid application, and grades almost always impact your scholarship chances.

Fiction: My financial aid will follow me if I transfer schools.
Fact: Eligibility and financial aid dollars may follow you if you change schools, says Ellen Frishberg, university financial aid officer at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). "But you need to take care of some paperwork; nothing in the aid world is automatic," she says. When you look into transferring credits and classes, you need to investigate how to transfer the dollars and cents, too.

Frishberg offers some simple steps to help take the pain out of the process: Call 800-4FEDAID to get your student aid report sent to the new school, call the financial aid office at your new school and find out what paperwork they require, and call your state grant agency to find out how to officially notify them that you've changed schools.

Fiction: Part-time students can't get financial aid.
Fact: Part-time students can receive financial aid, but there are certain guidelines and restrictions, just as there are for full-time students. "Federal aid programs allow a student to attend on a part-time basis [at least six credits in a traditional semester program] and receive both grants and loans," says Frank Cuozzo, director of student financial aid at Montclair State University (Upper Montclair, NJ).

"Students who take less than six credits may still qualify for a Federal Pell Grant or some private educational loans, such as CitiAssist." In some cases, the amount awarded to a part-time student might be less than what is awarded to a full-time student. But some is better than none, right?

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