Fill out the FAFSA is step one. No one will give you a loan without doing that.
I recommend exhausting the federal student loans first, they typically have better interest rates.
If that’s not enough money, try major bank websites. My privately held student loans were through Key Bank (or more specifically Great Lakes Education, through Key Bank), Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo, and American Education Services. You can apply to all of them online and have an answer pretty quickly. Especially with today’s economy, you can pretty much expect to need a cosigner. I needed one all the way back in 04 when the economy was in solid shape.
As far as them paying out. The vast majority of student loans are paid directly to the school, who takes out the money they need for tuition and then sends you a refund check. Very few are paid directly to the student, and those that are typically have bad interest rates or what not.
If you get a student loan for a full year (or two semesters), you will get your money ½ at a time (or more specifically the school will receive it ½ at a time). If you’re on quarters, the school will get it ⅓ at a time. It’s paid out at the beginning of each quarter/semester/term.