Who’s afraid of the big, bad FAFSA? Here’s what families can expect this fall.

You might already be familiar with filling out the FAFSA form, or you might only know it by reputation. That reputation is somewhere between filing your annual income taxes and running an Ironman triathalon. Revisions, technology issues and widespread confusion over the availability of the form over the past two years might make it seem even more sinister.
Let’s back up. What is the FAFSA? If you have a child finishing high school this school year, the FAFSA plays a big part in determining how much financial aid you could receive—including grants, loans and scholarships—to help pay for college. In Indiana, most families are now required by law to fill out the FAFSA unless they seek a waiver.

Despite recent tumult, all signs point to the FAFSA being ready to fill out this year by the traditional launch date of Oct. 1. Our guest this week is Bill Wozniak, vice president and chief marketing officer of INvestEd, a nonprofit based in Indianapolis and created by the Indiana Legislature to help families navigate the FAFSA process. He provides an overview for the uninitiated and shares some of the biggest misconceptions of FAFSA. For example, if you think you are sufficiently wealthy to put any financial assistance out of reach, you very well could be wrong. If you think you just need to get it done by the end of the year, you might want to think again. And, Wozniak says, the process isn’t nearly as arduous today as its reputation might suggest.

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