Need some extra cash to help cover that rising college tuition or expensive textbooks? With the economy currently in a downswing, money is more than a little tight these days for most families.

When attending college, extra available cash is needed more and more.

Fortunately, there are a wide variety of options out there to help finance one’s college education. You just need to know where to look. Scholarships are an important option since they don’t need to be repaid. Loans are helpful, but must be repaid. For information on multiple types of funding sources, visit the website www.finaid.org.

Two helpful, legitimate websites for scholarships are www.scholarships.com and www.fastweb.com. Fastweb.com updates its options daily so students can search to find which scholarships and grants best match one’s needs. To do so, searchers must register and subsequently log in each time.

Scholarships.com notes that college funding is readily available but students must be willing to do the research and apply before deadlines expire since each entity has its own rules and regulations. The free website boasts that people can search 2.7 million scholarship and grant opportunities worth in excess of $19 billion at the local, state and national levels.

Those that register to search the site fill out a detailed questionnaire about themselves. This information helps match up scholarships with one’s particular interest.

First and foremost, Dwight Dundore, guidance counselor at Ayersville High School, stresses that college-bound students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is necessary to receive any financial awards from the federal government or one’s prospective college.

To do so, go to the website www.fafsa.ed.gov. Dundore explained that one can get a personal identification number and start the application process. He also stressed the importance of families having their 2008 income taxes completed quickly since the deadline for FAFSA application is Feb. 15. These figures are necessary for the application.

In addition, seniors are reminded to check with their guidance counselors immediately about the availability of local scholarship opportunities since many application deadlines are nearing. So procrastinators beware.

Dundore also noted that many colleges also have automatic scholarships for their students with availability depending on grade-point average, ACT/SAT scores and other restrictions.