Some Scholarship Offers May Be Real, But Scammers Abound
Feds Warn Consumers of Scholarship Scammers
The Federal Trade Commission has posted a well-timed reminder at www.ftc.gov about a disturbing increase in scholarship and financial aid scams targeting high school seniors and their parents. As upcoming grads get ready for college, students and parents both ramp up their efforts to find financial aid to pay for high-flying tuition and housing costs. Overwhelmed by the skyrocketing costs, they sometimes become easy victims of scholarship scammers.
College costs money and lots of it - a fact that many unscrupulous companies are exploiting to the detriment of students interested in a good education and the improved career prospects that come with it. Companies like these often look for victims at free seminars, where smooth-talking pitchmen promise a guaranteed scholarship in exchange for an upfront fee. The FTC says the offers frequently come with a seemingly reassuring money-back guarantee, which in fact has so many strings attached that a refund is virtually impossible. Other scammers speak of "scholarship awards" requiring a fee or even checking account access in order to confirm a student's "eligibility".
Whatever the scam, students and parents should be aware of warning signs that a scholarship offer isn't legitimate. One of the red flags is any mention of a scholarship guarantee. Any scholarship offer or "award" that requires students or parents to surrender money, or even their credit card or banking information, is almost certainly fraudulent.
The FTC does acknowledge the existence of legitimate companies that match students with real scholarship opportunities for a fee, but here, too, consumers should take care to ask the right questions. Don't fall for overblown success stories. Ask companies that make such claims for the names and addresses of people in your own neighborhood that can provide references about the quality of service and the results achieved. Finally, always get any fee-for-service offer in writing.
Confronted with the challenge of funding an expensive college education, students and their parents sometimes can't see the forest for the trees and overlook the country's biggest source of student financial aid: Uncle Sam himself! The Department of Education pays out roughly 80 billion dollars of student aid annually in the form of grants, work-study programs and loans. The opportunities available here are simply too good to overlook and they're guaranteed to be scam-free. For more free information, visit studentaid.ed.gov, the home of Federal Student Aid on the Web!
About the Author
Matt Paolini works from home as a distance learner. Visit University of Pheonix Online or University of Pheonix Degrees for free distance learning info.
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