Smart students have already started applying for financial aid for the 2012-2013 academic year. Money is a great thing and the less of your own that you have to spend, the better.

But, we don’t want you to only put your eggs in one basket. It’s no secret that federal and state budgets are running a severe deficit, bringing heavy cuts across the board.

Unfortunately, funding to higher education has also taken a hit.

The average college student in 2011 graduated with a whopping $22,900 in debt- the highest average debt ever, according to CNN.

This is an 8 percent increase from last year and a 50 percent increase from a decade ago.

Illinois-along with states like Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont-has implemented a first-come, first-serve approach. This means that if you don’t file with FAFSA within the first two months, then you are most likely screwed.

Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of FinAid.org, told USAToday that states awarding on a first-come basis will probably exhaust all of their available aid by March or April.

By completing a FAFSA form, students are eligible for more than $10,000 in federal and state financial aid, depending on the financial needs of the applicants.

Another well-known, if not controversial, grant is Illinois’ $400 million Monetary Award Program, or MAP grant.

However, some grants, like the Pell grant, are directly dependent on the cost of attending the university.

We suggest students apply for their grants and loans ASAP, but we also urge all students to look to alternative scholarship opportunities.

According to its website, the average cost to attend Eastern for the 2011-2012 school year was $22,736 for an in-state undergraduate student taking 15 credit hours with a 12-meal plan.

Eastern’s Office of Financial Aid does have a scholarship section that can help you narrow down the scholarship search by your year in school and major.

The new Facebook application “My College Dollars,” which is the product of MTV, the College Board, Get Schooled campaign and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is just short of brilliant.

The application was the brainchild of then high school senior Devin Valencia, who was overwhelmed while filing out her own FAFSA.

The application uses the information taken from your Facebook page and gives you different scholarship suggestions. It also allows students to ask experts questions while keeping a calendar of important dates.

Students can also look forward to seeing video tutorials from celebrities and musicians like Jason Derulo to explain different kinds of financial aid.

Now is the time to start getting your finances worked out for next year. Do it now before the money is gone.