MILWAUKEE -- You may know about the FAFSA form -- the first step in trying to get financial aid from the government.

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Many students fill one out as they prepare for college.

But if you're not careful, the search for money could end up costing you.

It is free information, as stated right in the title.

"Free Application For Federal student Aid -- FAFSA. That's the acronym for the financial aid form," Marquette University Financial Aid Director Dan Goyette said. "It should always be free," Goyette said.

But something went wrong when Tod Cruikshank of Burlington, Wis., and his college-bound son tried to fill out the FAFSA form online.

"We submit it and a thing pops up that says submit your credit card for the $49 fee," Cruikshank said.

They had made a mistake and typed FASA instead of FAFSA and ended up on the site of a look-alike company -- one that offers to help you file your official FAFSA form for $49.

Other look-alikes with similar Web addresses charge up to $80 for the same thing -- letting you fill out the official government financial aid form.

"If you knew you could get it for free, why would you pay $49 for someone else to submit your application?" Cruikshank said

It's a question that financial aid officers want more people to understand.

"Filing for financial aid should never involve a cost. It's free information. They can get it from their high school guidance counselors. They can get it from every financial aid office at every college. It's too easy for them to fall by the wayside if they don't have the right information," Goyette said.

You can fill out paper forms, but if you want to apply online, remember the official FAFSA site is a government site http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

It's the government's Department of Education Web site.

The most important thing to remember is, you don't have to pay to apply for student financial aid.