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ALBANY, GA --
With a lot of people feeling the pinch of a down economy, students and their parents are left to wonder how they will pay for college.

The Director of Financial Aid at Albany Tech, Alfred Homely, says a lot of people turn to them for help, "We have our traditional financial aid that we offer our students. On the state level we have the HOPE Grant, HOPE Scholarship, federal level we have the Pell Grant, those are the traditional Financial Aid we offer to our students."

In order to be considered for one of these grants, a student must complete their FAFSA which is a Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  This information is used to determine if you can receive grants or a Stafford loan and whether or not your eligible for work study.

Unfortunately sometimes even that isn't enough to cover tuition says Thomas Harris, the Albany State University Director of Financial Aid, "We do find that students are still borrowing, even though they are being more economically savvy. They are starting to look at the bottom line, the totals that they are borrowing. Starting to actually look at the cost and make good decisions when making borrows."

If not being able to afford college is holding you back from applying, financial aid directors urge you to file your FASFA. You may be surprised at how little you'll actually have to pay.