How to Avoid Scholarship Scams
Don’t buy into claims of “exclusive offers.” The idea that one company would have exclusive information about a secret scholarship is not a credible proposition., Be skeptical of fees., Remember there are no guarantees., Steer clear of unsolicited...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Don’t buy into claims of “exclusive offers.” The idea that one company would have exclusive information about a secret scholarship is not a credible proposition.
All scholarships exist for the benefit of the public, so it doesn’t follow that a scholarship would have any incentive to keep their scholarship under wraps.Furthermore, most aid is Federal Aid, and the second largest source of aid are universities themselves.
These are about as far from exclusive as you can get. -
Step 2: Be skeptical of fees.
A number of scams charge an up-front fee to disburse the loan.
Almost all legitimate lenders simply take the loan origination fee from the loan itself, so you should be wary of any company that wants the fee up front.
What they’re really doing is tricking you into providing your credit card information.
They often have no intention of giving you a loan of any kind.
There are other companies that simply charge for finding scholarships.
While that’s not illegal, it can get unethical.
Again, scholarships have no incentive to hide their existence, so it’s usually not too difficult to find a scholarship all by yourself., Any company offering guaranteed scholarships is being dishonest if not lying outright.
The only guaranteed form of student aid is Federal Aid, and it’s the government who is providing the guarantee and not the scholarship search company.
Any other kind of financial aid will be subject to some type of conditions, whether it is creditworthiness, age, or income.There are also no real scholarships that give people money with no strings attached.
They will at least want to check on an applicant’s grades and hear a bit about their story in the form of a personal essay.
Any company that promises to do “all the work” for you for a fee should be regarded with suspicion. , As always, if you get an offer of a scholarship out of the blue, be skeptical.
A person will call you up out of nowhere to give you money just about as often as you’ve called someone out of nowhere to give them money.
These calls are typically just pretexts for mining your personal information., A lot of dubious companies charge you a fee to find scholarships for which you’re eligible.
Others charge for completing forms on your behalf.
Most of the time, the information they’re charging you for is widely available to the public.
Before you spend hundreds of dollars paying for a similar service, make sure you can’t find the same kind of information yourself.There are a number of sources of information for scholarships you might apply for.
You might want to try the Department Of Labors’ Career One Stop Page at http://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx, the Department of Education’s index of state level aid, http://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html, and FastWeb’s index of private scholarships at http://www.fastweb.com/.
Between the three of them, there are more than
1.6 million indexed scholarships.
There are some services that offer to “help” completing the Federal Application for Free Student Aid, or FAFSA.
In no uncertain terms, these services are ripoffs.
If you can read your Federal Income Tax return, you can fill out the FAFSA.
Furthermore, the FAFSA itself offers assistance with completing the form at https://studentaidhelp.ed.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/181 and https://fafsa.gov/help.htm. -
Step 3: Remember there are no guarantees.
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Step 4: Steer clear of unsolicited offers.
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Step 5: Make sure the proffered service is worthwhile.
Detailed Guide
All scholarships exist for the benefit of the public, so it doesn’t follow that a scholarship would have any incentive to keep their scholarship under wraps.Furthermore, most aid is Federal Aid, and the second largest source of aid are universities themselves.
These are about as far from exclusive as you can get.
A number of scams charge an up-front fee to disburse the loan.
Almost all legitimate lenders simply take the loan origination fee from the loan itself, so you should be wary of any company that wants the fee up front.
What they’re really doing is tricking you into providing your credit card information.
They often have no intention of giving you a loan of any kind.
There are other companies that simply charge for finding scholarships.
While that’s not illegal, it can get unethical.
Again, scholarships have no incentive to hide their existence, so it’s usually not too difficult to find a scholarship all by yourself., Any company offering guaranteed scholarships is being dishonest if not lying outright.
The only guaranteed form of student aid is Federal Aid, and it’s the government who is providing the guarantee and not the scholarship search company.
Any other kind of financial aid will be subject to some type of conditions, whether it is creditworthiness, age, or income.There are also no real scholarships that give people money with no strings attached.
They will at least want to check on an applicant’s grades and hear a bit about their story in the form of a personal essay.
Any company that promises to do “all the work” for you for a fee should be regarded with suspicion. , As always, if you get an offer of a scholarship out of the blue, be skeptical.
A person will call you up out of nowhere to give you money just about as often as you’ve called someone out of nowhere to give them money.
These calls are typically just pretexts for mining your personal information., A lot of dubious companies charge you a fee to find scholarships for which you’re eligible.
Others charge for completing forms on your behalf.
Most of the time, the information they’re charging you for is widely available to the public.
Before you spend hundreds of dollars paying for a similar service, make sure you can’t find the same kind of information yourself.There are a number of sources of information for scholarships you might apply for.
You might want to try the Department Of Labors’ Career One Stop Page at http://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx, the Department of Education’s index of state level aid, http://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html, and FastWeb’s index of private scholarships at http://www.fastweb.com/.
Between the three of them, there are more than
1.6 million indexed scholarships.
There are some services that offer to “help” completing the Federal Application for Free Student Aid, or FAFSA.
In no uncertain terms, these services are ripoffs.
If you can read your Federal Income Tax return, you can fill out the FAFSA.
Furthermore, the FAFSA itself offers assistance with completing the form at https://studentaidhelp.ed.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/181 and https://fafsa.gov/help.htm.
About the Author
Sandra Gutierrez
Committed to making DIY projects accessible and understandable for everyone.
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