Scholarships and other financial aid is an important way of paying for a college education, but watch out for these signs that somebody may be trying to rip you off:
Give us money, and we’ll help you find more money… Beware of any scholarship or financial aid search program that charges you any kind of fee. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is, get this, FREE, and the best source for finding need-based financial aid. Most legitimate scholarships do not charge any kind of processing, application, or other fees. After all, they’re trying to give away money, not make it.
We guarantee we’ll get you money… No legitimate scholarship sponsor or financial aid search program can guarantee that you will win an award. If they can promise you money, then you could have found it yourself for free with the FAFSA. Even if they don’t guarantee it but promise a high success rate in securing funding, that’s a tip something is not right. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You may have already won … Legitimate scholarship sponsors will only contact you in response to your inquiry to them.
The “National Science Federation” is proud to announce … If the offer comes from an organization with an official sounding name, you may want to check with the federal or state government, or better yet, your guidance office. There is a “National Science Foundation” affiliated with the federal government, but there is no National Science Federation. And a Washington, DC, address does not make it part of the national government.
Hurry, time’s almost up … If you must respond right away, it might be a scam. Many scholarship sponsors, and even the FAFSA, have filing or application deadlines, but they shouldn’t be notifying you just before their deadline. And watch out for “first come, first served” offers.
All we need is your credit card number here … If the application asks for bank account numbers, credit card numbers, calling card numbers or other unusual personal information, it might be a scam. Just the name of your bank can make you vulnerable to a rip off.
Article from the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling