MacBook Pro screen won't turn on

Hey guys
I have a 15" MacBook pro that I bought refurbished in Feb. that I was told was 2 years old when I got it.
Today I went to wake the computer up from sleep mode and the screen won't come on. When I restarted it the problem remained but the sleep light came on, I could hear the boot up chime and could hear the fans running. The apple on the front was not lit. I already tried the removing the battery and charger and holding the power button for 5 seconds with no avail.
Does anyone have any ideas of what to try? If it's definitely a hardware problem are there any tips that might get it fixed cheaply/free?

Thanks!

Look closely at the screen.... can you see anything at all, even shadows of video? Sometimes, when the backlight fails you can still see something on the screen but very faint.

Another test you can do is attach an external monitor to your MBP. Reboot the MBP and as soon as you hear the chime, close the lid on the machine. If the logic board and GPU are working OK, the external display should work in lieu of the internal display.

If an external display won't work there is a possibility it could be a failed GPU or the logic board itself. Both defects would require replacing the entire logic board which can be expensive.