College students and their parents should brace themselves for a tumultuous financial aid season. With declining revenue at private universities, financial aid for the 2010-11 academic year could be hard to come by.

Although most universities won t announce their new financial aid budgets until February, schools are clearly nervous. For the current academic year, private institution spending on aid jumped a median 9.3%, while tuition rose by a median of just 4.1%, according to an October survey by Moody s. That leaves a gap. How big? Moody's says nearly 30% of private institutions are projecting a decline in net tuition and fee revenue for fiscal year 2010. That is up significantly from recent years, when less than 10% of institutions anticipated drops in revenue.

What s more, many private university endowments which impact how universities subsidize their operating budgets were hit hard by the market downturn earlier this year and still haven t fully recovered. This month, Dartmouth announced that its endowment fell by $835 million, more than 20%, during the 2009 fiscal year. And according to news reports, impending budget cuts may affect the university s financial aid program. A Dartmouth representative wasn t available for comment.

Last year, a lot of institutions took money out of their endowments to ensure students wouldn t be adversely affected by the downturn in the economy. That was under the assumption things would turn around quickly, and now colleges are planning for long-term cuts, including financial aid reductions, says Rod Bugarin, a former financial aid officer for Columbia University and Brown University.

Financial aid could also become an issue at public institutions; many have recently come under fire for increasing tuition as they face state budget cuts. In November, the University of California raised fees by 32%. This month, the city of Pittsburgh proposed a 1% tuition tax for students enrolled in its colleges. And Massachusetts slashed higher-education spending by 10% this year.

So what does this all mean for students and their families? Here are six strategies you can use to boost your financial aid package.

Search for Scholarships

Think of any major, specialty or talent and chances are there s a scholarship program intended for it. High school seniors, returning college students and their parents should consider this route as a source for financial aid especially if their college will be minimizing its financial aid offers.

Most deadlines range between October and March. Stick to free scholarship search engines, such as Sallie Mae s Scholarship Search and FastWeb.com. And reach out to your local community and clubs you re involved in.

However, should a student s total financial aid exceed his financial need by more than $300, certain types of federal financial aid, like the Perkins loan and the SEOG grant, could be reduced, says Mark Kantrowitz, founder of FinAid.org, which tracks tuition and financial aid changes, and publisher of FastWeb.com. Make sure that you re using scholarships to replace federal loans and you re not losing out on free money that you don t have to repay like grants.

Look at Grants

Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2010-11 academic year will be available. By submitting the FAFSA, students are applying for federal and state aid as well as college aid.

When it comes to state grants, the state you re residing in and the state you ll be attending school in determine how much you ll qualify for. On the federal levels, grants are the same across the board.

Qualifying for the federal Pell grant is determined by your expected family contribution, and in general 96% of recipients will have family income under $50,000, says Kantrowitz. Grant amounts also vary based on the cost of attendance as determined by the college and whether the student is enrolled full or part time.

Students who qualify for the Pell grant and display a rigorous high school curriculum may also qualify for the Academic Competitiveness grant. This grant is available to first- and second-year college students who graduated high school after Jan. 1, 2005. It provides up to $750 for the first year and up to $1,300 for the second year.

Undergraduate juniors and seniors who qualify for the Pell grant can also qualify for the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) grant, assuming they enroll in a certain college major including physical, life or computer science, math, technology, engineering or a certain foreign language. The grant provides up to $4,000 for each year.

Students who want to pursue a teaching career can apply for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant. To qualify, you ll need to teach for at least four years after graduating college.

College students can claim up to $2,500 in college costs under the American Opportunity Education tax credit for 2009 through the fall semester of 2010.

To qualify, students must be in their first four years of an undergraduate education. (This credit replaces the Hope Scholarship credit, which offered up to $1,800 during the first two years of undergraduate studies, for 2009 and 2010.) It s phased out for single filers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of more than $90,000 and for joint filers with an AGI of more than $180,000.

There s also the Lifetime Learning credit, which allows students to claim up to a $2,000 credit based on $10,000 in tuition costs. The credit is phased out for single filers with an AGI of more than $58,000 and joint filers with an AGI of more than $116,000.

Prepare Paperwork

To truly maximize financial aid, prepare to fight for it with detailed paperwork that proves your case.

During the financial aid application process, most private universities will require the College Scholarship Service (CSS) profile where you ll have to report estimated household income, parents employment status and whether your parents own or rent a home. In addition, you ll need to report detailed information including what portion of your family s income comes from wages, interest and dividends and how much pretax cash your parents contribute to flexible spending accounts, says Kalman Chany, the president of New York-based Campus Consultants, which advises college students and their families on financial aid.

Once you receive a school s financial aid package, you can appeal for more aid, but you ll have to work for it. We get appeals every year for financial aid packages, and the only way we re entertaining them is when families show a change in circumstances that occurred after they filed their FAFSA, says John Strassburger, the president of Ursinus College, an independent liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. This includes paperwork confirming a parent s job loss or decrease in wages as well as sudden emergencies like an illness that leads to hefty medical bills.

Work the Phones

In the end, the factors that determine just how much financial aid a student receives vary widely by college and applicant.

A lot is in flux at these institutions, says Roger Goodman, a vice president at Moody s. It s a very good idea to be in close contact with the college or university you re interested in and staying in touch with their financial aid office.

Call financial aid offices to make sure you re applying for all the need- and merit-based aid that you qualify for. By forming a phone relationship with a school s financial aid officer, you ll have a better shot at receiving a financial aid package that best reflects your family s financial situation.

Compare Out-of-Pocket Costs

When comparing the financial aid packages you ll receive, pay close attention to the free aid you qualify for vs. the loans you ll have to repay.

To get a complete sense of your out-of-pocket costs, subtract free aid (scholarships, grants and work study) from the total cost of attendance.

And don t assume that state colleges will be cheaper than private ones. Students who attend state colleges at a different state from the one they reside in could end up paying more than they would at a private college, says Chany.