Mud puddles and bitter cold: it’s that season again. No, not cold and flu season, but financial aid season, complete with PIN, Social Security, and IRS form numbers. FAFSA – it is probably the scariest acronym on the face of the planet, though FICAH is quite possibly the most hated.

College students and their parents shudder at the thought of visiting the FAFSA site. If you are wondering at this point what on earth has made me so bitter toward the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, then I must first take you back one year.

We thought it would be fine if my mom didn’t have her taxes done, we would call the helpline when we needed to and everything would be fine.

Two weeks later and a godsend of a last-minute accountant meeting for those taxes to be done after all, my FAFSA forms were finally on their way through cyberspace to nameless people who would hold my future in their hands.

Melodramatic personal anecdotes aside, there are worse ways last year could have ended. My story is nothing in the shadow of some that have floated my way.

The horror stories run rampant, from the girl whose parents filed late and had to opt for a private loan company to the guy who had to move back home to attend community college.

Missed deadlines are of course the de facto cardinal sin of FAFSA (and column writing for that matter). The bottom line here is to get it in on time; the sooner it is, the greater the chances for more aid.

But sometimes life has a way of throwing curveballs. There is the story of Student A who had to take out ridiculously high interest private loans, the sort that will follow you to your grave.

Student loans are the one thing it is near impossible to file bankruptcy on. This one unlucky soul had to find out the hard way. Student A’s parents filed her application late and there was hardly any aid left at that point.

Student B ran out of grants in his last semester and dropped out, just for one semester or two to earn some cash. Before he knew it he was earning minimum wage that had to go toward his living expenses, then the loan companies started dropping by for tea.

The lesson of the story is simple, getting to the end result, however, is not. I have since learned from my own horror story that consisted of those two weeks of after-school FAFSA hell.

I believe the problem to lay with high school seniors who are seasoned veterans of the college application by the time spring rolls around, and they think FAFSA will be a piece of cake after personal statements galore. But not so, naive soon to be freshman, it isn’t your fault of course. This time one year ago someone not so unlike yourself was a little too optimistic about the FAFSA process, and now she is giving you a warning.

So how did I fare this year, you ask? One hour on President’s Day. One hour was all it took to go from start to finish. Lesson learned. I suppose it really is true that some things can only be learned from experience. It was true in my case, but it doesn’t have to be the same for you.

This year, my mom and I were prepared. Once all the W-2 forms are received, make that appointment to have your taxes done immediately – some accountants are already close to fully booked. Then, pin number and 1040, 1040A or 1040 EZ form in hand (I swear they used ‘EZ’ as some sort of joke).

Let’s not forget the most rewarding part of the process. Besides the grants soon to be coming my way (fingers crossed), there are only 365 days until I have to look at the application again.

Now is the tedious wait for the financial award – praying, crossing your fingers and doing obscure good luck rituals that you’re going to get something decent in return for the stress.

Are you scared yet? Well that’s what FAFSA does, it scares you you-know-what-less. I can’t help but envision faceless stiff-collared men in black suits sitting around in some secluded and dimly lit board room debating my financial award eligibility like it’s a game of monopoly.

“What do you think Mr. Y?”

“Well Mr. Z, if only student X had filed one week earlier