So, background real quick:
I'm a high school senior now, and of course everyone's all like "Choose a college, look at financial aid, do stuff!" I've been looking at one college in particular, Neumont University, but wondered where you all went and how it was. I'm looking for a tech-y school, so Neumont seems good for me, but maybe there's a better school?

So, where'd you go? How was it? Was financial aid a readily accessible option?

I visited a number of schools between late Junior year and early Senior year, and I of course submitted all my college applications by the end of the Fall semester of Senior year. I think I ended up applying to about eight schools in the end: two or so that were a stretch based on my GPA (but not SAT score. ), two that were "safety" schools, and the remainder that were fairly realistic. I'm proud to say that I got into all of the schools to which I applied, and that all but one of them offered me a very attractive financial aid package indeed. Keep in mind that you have two classes of potential financial aid available to you: merit-based and need-based. For the need-based scholarships, you'll almost certainly have to fill out the federal FAFSA forms, which is an annoying but necessary evil. Does your high school not have a college counselor that can help you with the process? For us, visiting the college counselor each week was practically part of the Senior curriculum. I'm not familiar with Neumont. What do you want to study?

My college career is too long ago to be relevant, but Kerm's got the general outline of things. Think about what you'd like to study, then figure out how much you can afford for tuition, room and Board, etc, then start looking.

If you don't know what you want to do, and that's not surprising in High School, then working for a couple of years can help you figure more stuff out. There's also Community Colleges to go to that would serve as a good entry point. It's just as important to know what you hate to do as what you would enjoy doing.

I'm a big fan of State schools. They're relatively inexpensive, and can get you a good education. You might want to talk to your high school counseler as well, and see what's local.

Yes, the dreaded FAFSA forms. I would definitely recommending seeking assistance from a parent and the school in completing it. For anyone unfamiliar: in the United States, the FAFSA process is basically your tool for proving your financial need. IMO, it's also harder to complete than most IRS tax forms, because you need your parent's information. This is why I always encourage students to start early.

Since there is no upper limit to the number of schools you can apply to in this country, my approach was to talk to adults who were already well-established in the industries I liked, and build up a list. They also told me that schools with certain accreditations would have an advantage, and that turned out to be true.

After that I applied to 5 schools and got accepted to each one. I chose a state engineering school like rfdave said. It was a tough experience because in a lot ways I was being academically challenged for the first time. It was no longer possible to cram for tests 18 hrs in advance and still expect a passing grade, and this took a while to sink in. Ultimately, it worked out.

My overall advice would be to get assistance on the FAFSA process, and then apply for everything Kerm mentioned. You can also apply for grants from community/scientific organizations. Loans should be taken out mostly as a last resort to cover any remaining expenses, they require you to start paying them back 6-12 months after graduation.