Does anyone know the true in's and out regarding grants for school

Question

where can you apply for them without all the bull of a 3rd or 4th party

Answer 1

Start out by familiarizing yourself with the Federal Government's Student Aid program, because that's far and away the largest source of educational assistance in the United States. I'm attaching a booklet that the Department of Education publishes, called "Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid".

The government makes educational grants - their two best known programs are the Pell Grant program and the FSEOG program. Both of these are need-based financial aid programs, which means that they are awarded strictly and entirely on the basis of exceptional financial need. You apply for both programs (and all other forms of federal educational assistance) by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (the FAFSA).

You can find that here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Many states have special educational assistance programs for their own residents. I'm not convinced that enough students take the time to find out about state funds. You can start researching those here: http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/Programs/EROD... or you can contact the college adviser or guidance counselors at your school - these are the real experts on state funds that are available to high school students.

Finally, some schools have their own institutional grants. If a school has a lot of wealthy alumni, those former graduates often donate big bucks to help subsidize the cost of attendance for promising young students. A school like Harvard has hundreds of millions of dollars - smaller schools may have little or no institutional grant funds. The only way to find out about the availability of those is to contact the financial aid department at schools that you are interested in.

You are quite right that it never a good idea to pay anyone to help you find grants - none of these people have access to information that you can't find yourself. Check the publication that I attached below, and take advantage of the guidance department at your high school and the financial aid department of your college - those are your free resources.

Good luck to you!