Get $5,550 of free money for school from the Pell Grant. This grant has long been around to help students in need who want to attend college, and $200 more per grant was added in 2010, bringing the amount to the currently reported sum of $5,550. If your parents make too much money for you to qualify, check on the rules to see if you get your own job and pay your own rent (even to your parents) if you can qualify just via your own income by itself. Go to this site to apply. http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Get $5000 of free money for school for a year of volunteer service. Be ready to jump on this opportunity just now becoming available by obtaining free information directly from the accredited school(s) you'd like to attend. Volunteer work can often get you ahead in your career, anyway. If you want to go to teachers' school, for example, and spend a year working with underprivileged kids while getting a head start on your degree with a few evening or online classes from a community college, you don't have to get behind at school while serving, and your work experience will have you ahead of the game once you've graduated.
Find free money for school that will reduce or wipe out your student loan debt. Check with your school about the new program that does this when you use your degree for public service or to work in teaching, law and medicine in communities in need. Another way to get free money to pay for school loans is to apply for the new IBR program that became available July 2009. This allows income-based repayment of federal student loans including PLUS loans and Stafford loans based on your income and debt. You'll qualify if the total of your loan debt is higher than your yearly income, and your monthly payment will be reduced. After paying for 25 years, if any debt is still remaining, it will be completely forgiven. Go to http://www.ibrinfo.org/what.vp.html for information and to apply.
Find free money for school if you're a vet who served 90 accumulated, or 30 consecutive days starting 9-10-01. Qualifying vets can attend any public university in their state for free, and there's more free money for school with this program - a monthly housing and textbook stipend is also provided. You must apply within a certain number of years from your discharge, so contact your chosen public in-state university for details.
Get $4000 a year of free money for school if you plan to be a teacher and agree to teach in low-income schools for four years. And in this case, you get this free money for school without proving financial need. This educational grant is not as new as the Obama programs listed above, but it is somewhat new, and some aren't aware of it. You still fill out a form called the fafsa (see step one for the url), but this free money for school is based on what you do with your degree, not your income. Fill out the fafsa and contact your teacher school to see if they offer this program, which is called the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant