Every year, thousands of families overlook billions of dollars in free money available to help fund their child's college education.

And with the soaring cost of college tuition, every little helps.

Finding that free money can be complicated, but you should know help is out there.

Justina Jones-Savage is a senior at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle.

MORE ON THIS STORY Free Application For Federal Student Aid Northwest Education Loan Association

Next year, she hopes to be studying law at Howard University in Washington, D.C., but tuition alone is $12,000 a year.

"I'm working as hard as I can to fill out scholarships every week, and hopefully, I'll get it all paid for," Jones-Savage said.

She has also filled out another very important form -- a form that could find her free money.

The Free Application For Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, is the first step to getting financial help for higher education.

"The grants, the scholarships, the work study, some of those institutional programs are available to students for free," said Danette Knudson, with NELA, the Northwest Education Loan Association.

She says it's the goal of the non-profit agency to make sure every high school student fills out the FAFSA because not filling it out can mean a missed opportunity.

"They don't know there is aid available to them. They assume every source of aid it's in the form of a loan, and that's not true."

According to the American Council on Education, in the academic year 1999-2000, 8 million undergraduates didn't fill out the FAFSA.

Eight hundred fifty thousand of them were likely eligible for Pell grants -- grants that didn't have to be paid back.

But with questions about parents' income and taxes, FAFSA is cumbersome, complicated and often intimidating.

It's even been compared to filling out a federal income tax return.

"When I first looked at it, I was so confused I didn't know what to do."

To help out, Justina and her mother joined dozens of other students at an organized event to help answer questions about the application.

For them, finding that free money could mean all the difference in the world.

Nela's goal is to have every student fill out the form, whether they think they are eligible for financial aid or not.

The deadline for the form for most schools is right around the corner: Feb. 15.

And something else you should know: the first word in FAFSA is "free." You should never pay money to fill out this form.