AUGUSTA — Rep. Matt Pouliot of Augusta announces that help is available for Maine students and families seeking financial aid for higher education.

“If your child is planning to attend college, trade or technical school in the fall, January is when families should get serious about financial aid applications. For most families, financial aid has a significant impact on the college the student ultimately attends,” Pouliot said.

To help parents navigate the financial aid process, the Finance Authority of Maine will hold 29 In-Person Free Application for Federal Student Aid Help Sessions around the state and has ongoing support online at FAMEmaine.com/FAFSA. This is the 11th year FAME has made these In-Person FAFSA Help Sessions available to Mainers. Over the years FAME has assisted more than 6,000 families through these events.

Mila Tappan, college access and outreach manager at FAME, shares five tips with families about how and when to get started. “Significant financial aid does exist,” said Tappan, “so everyone considering college should fill out the FAFSA and any other required financial aid applications as soon as possible. The earlier students apply, the more aid they may be eligible to receive.”

Tappan continued, “Funds are limited, so families need to understand the process to make sure their student receives the maximum amount of financial aid available.”

Advice for students and parents includes:

* Fill out the FAFSA as early as possible. The FAFSA for the 2015-16 school year became available Jan. 1 and can be found at www.fafsa.gov. Many types of financial aid are only awarded to students who meet the specified deadline (each state and school has their own deadline), and some schools award aid on a first-come first-served basis. Don’t wait until your taxes are done to file the FAFSA – estimate the information and update it later.

* Have the following information (if applicable) available when you sit down to complete the FAFSA: Social Security numbers for the student and parent(s); driver’s license numbers for the student and parent(s); student and parent(s) federal tax information for 2014 (if taxes not yet filed, estimate); records of any untaxed income and a list of student and parent assets; list of schools your child is considering.

* Years ago, the FAFSA had more questions and took a long time to complete. Now it is easier than ever and most families can finish the FAFSA in less than 30 minutes.

Search for scholarships and continue to do so throughout the year. Never pay to apply for a scholarship. Visit these free sites to help you get started:

* FAME offers a searchable database of Maine-based scholarships for students at FAMEmaine.com/education.

* Maine Community Foundation: www.mainecf.org.

* Online resources for national scholarships include fastweb.com, zinch.com and bigfuture.collegeboard.org.

Speaking of scholarships, FAME is offering three $1,000 scholarships for participants who complete the FAFSA at the in-person help sessions or through FAME’s online support program. Winners will be randomly selected at the beginning of May.