How can I get financial aid for college?

How can I get additional grants from financial aid to attend college and for school supplies?

• I'll be a college freshman starting in Spring 09 (graduated early in Jan 2008 and moved to Az to gain residency and go to my college of choice) going for a B.S. in Psychology. I have a $2400 Pell grant $5500 in federal student loans. My EFC is $0. They offered a parent plus loan but my parents won't qualify and if they did wouldn't accept it. Which leaves the amount of that loan, $1500 to be paid for still. I've applied for scholarships, it doesn't mean I'll get them and doesn't help me for this semester. I don't have any credit, my parents have awful credit, my grandpa won't co-sign.. I went to three different high schools and lived in three different homes during high school, one of them being drug house, but I kept clean. I don't have ANYONE to co-sign a student loan for me. My father is an alcoholic. My mother thinks I have some demon spirit in me because I am gay. What it all comes down to is I don't have any money to pay for school supplies and equipment. I can't get a loan or money from relatives. How do I get my financial aid office to get additional grants for me, or is that possible?

• Answer:

  You should speak with a financial aid counselor at the college you will be attending and discuss your financial situation with them. You could ask about an appeal for more financial assistance. You should also ask about the process if one of your parents applied for a Federal PLUS Loan and was denied, you can borrow up to $4,000 in additional unsubsidized Stafford Loan eligibility. Ask if the State of Arizona has any grant programs for which you can apply.