Have you filled out a fafsa application? If not, the only way to know if you'll qualify for financial aid is to fill this application out. Your age puts you as a dependent student still - do you know where your parents are because you'll need to report their 2009 income on your application (as well as your own). If your parents refuse, then you will only be eligible for federal student loans, not grants. Parents refusing to give their financial information is not considered a special circumstance, and it's not uncommon for parents to "kick" their children out of the house when they're 18 - especially if they don't continue on to college. If your parents have since moved and not left you a forwarding address, and you cannot find them (ask relatives, google them, etc) - then you may qualify for independence based on being a special circumstance. Good luck to you. Your first step is to ask your parents if they'll provide their information and then fill out the fafsa application - http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
