Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, René Mansi

Financial aid is becoming harder to secure in some schools. A recent NPR show reports:

"Problems on Wall Street are only going to make the situation more difficult, financial aid experts says.

"If the bailout drains all of the federal resources and money isn't available for student aid, that's a huge problem for us, " says Violet Boyer with the Independent Colleges of Washington group. "The private loans, if the banks that are left decide that that's not a profitable place to be, that would be harmful."

Don't panic - most students are still able to get aid in time to pay tuition. However, you may want to be careful to choose an online college that has student loan connections in place. Be sure to apply as early as possible.