The College Board says it best when explaining that paying for college is a partnership. This means that students can turn to a number of resources to help them pay for their college education. Students can seek out private scholarships, apply for state and federal grants, take out low-interest governmental and nongovernmental loans, use their own savings and/or work while taking online classes to pay for their education.

You don’t have to bear the financial burden of paying for college on your own. Did you know that 66 percent of all undergraduates obtained some form of financial aid in 2007-08? That percentage rose to 79.5 percent for undergraduates going to school full time for that entire academic year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. In fact, 44 percent of undergraduates received federal student aid. Part of this financial aid is made up of state-funded grants and grants funded by the college the student is attending.

The federal government is one of the largest providers of financial aid for college students. As long as your online Christian college has the proper accreditation in place, you should be eligible for federal financial aid. To apply for federal student aid, you must complete your online FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) using your most recent federal tax return information. You can enter the name of the school you plan on attending to have your financial aid data sent to that school, where it can be processed.

Your completed FAFSA will determine your eligibility for federal Pell grants, Stafford loans, PLUS loans and work-study programs. It is also used by states and colleges to determine a student’s eligibility for non-federal loans. Once you have submitted the FAFSA electronically, you will receive a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR), which will tell you how much federal aid you will receive for your first academic year.

Loans will be a lot easier to come by than grants and private scholarships, but a dedicated search should turn up at least a few solid opportunities. One of the best places to search for grants and scholarships is the website for your state’s higher education agency or commission. These agencies provide lists of scholarship and grant opportunities, some of which will require a certain GPA in high school or college, many of which will require lengthy, thought-provoking essays and a few of which will require a bit of creativity (e.g., making a prom dress out of duct tape).