School is expensive. Tuition, books, transportation, room and board...the list goes on and on. Hopefully, you managed to figure out how to get a scholarship for all that stuff. Chances are, though, that you need to take out some loans. Turns out, the government wants to help you (mostly) and has a few different options for borrowing bucks to fund that study habit. Like many worthwhile endeavours, getting your hands on that loan money will require a bit of effort from you. Here's a cheat sheet (compiled the hard way as usual. Sigh.).

After you've gotten accepted to your undergrad or grad school of choice (we knew you could do it, smarty-pants!), you need to get in touch with the financial aid office. They are there to help you figure this payment thing out, but it is up to you to take the initiative.

Cheat Tip #1: Most likely, your school will have assigned you an ID with a login to a student services site and a special school email account. The financial aid office will try and contact you through that email. Sound obvious, but don't forget to check it! Missing messages will delay your process and frustrate everyone.

You will need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student AID aka the FAFSA to qualify for government dollars. It can actually be a pretty painless process if you have all the necessary information together. Like the title says, this application is free. No excuses. Set aside some time and get 'er done.

Cheat Tip #2: Have a copy of your most recent tax forms on hand. If you've done your taxes, you will already have collected the majority of the requisite data into one handy-dandy place.

After your FAFSA gets processed, your school's financial aid office will determine the type and amount of loans to offer you. The rules just changed this past July, so now you can receive money under the Direct Loan Program.

There are three types of loans you may be offered through this application. Keep your fingers crossed for Direct Subsidized Loans, because these bad boys do not accrue interest while you are in school. Believe us, that's a very good thing. To qualify for the subsidized loan, you need to be able to demonstrate financial need. We are guessing that's not a problem.

The next best thing is the Direct Unsubsidized Loan. If you're going into grad school, this one is fixed at a 6.8% interest rate; undergrad rates vary. This interest, sadly, accrues while you are still slogging through classes. That's a bit of a bummer, but still not a bad option.

Your final option is the Grad PLUS Loan. These are available for grad students or parents of undergrads. Interest on these is fixed at 7.9%. And yes, it accrues while you’re in school. Not horrendous. It is money after all, but try to get the other ones first.

Cheat Tip #3: To receive any money after you've accepted your awards, you will need to complete Entrance Counseling. Thanks to the wonder of the interweb, you can take care of this online in about half an hour. Read some info, answer a few questions. It's not too bad and will force you to figure out exactly what it is you are agreeing to when you take out a loan. Good information, by the way. In addition, you will need to fill out a Master Promissory Note (MPN) for both Subsidized/Unsubsidized and PLUS loans separately. Set aside another thirty minutes of your life for that part.

Cheat Tip #4: When you fill out your MPNs, you will need to references. Family members are not considered good references, so ask a couple friends. This doesn’t require a huge commitment on their part, so most people will probably be accommodating. However, ask first. It's just not so cool to use someone's name without prior approval.

Take care of all these steps in a timely fashion. If you don't, you could get hit with school account charges for every day you haven't paid after the due date. We're guessing that if you need to take out loans, you don't have cash on hand to avoid those frustrating charges. And, you really can't afford to be paying extra for no good reason. Take care of business and save money.

That's all we got for you today, but stay tuned for more on repaying these loans, finding scholarships, and other important details of funding your schooling.

Special thanks to M for help on this article.