We want to remind anyone searching Google for of all the college scholarship scams offering free money. Better Business Bureaus around the U.S. receive numerous reports of scholarship scams every year.
Unsolicited Offers
It is extremely rare that a college student is awarded a scholarship that was never applied for… How many people do you know that have won the Publishers Clearning House Sweepstakes? If you are directly contacted by an organization offering financial assistance, be sure to ask 1) How the organization got your name. 2) Write down their company name, address and phone number. 3) Independently verify their claim with a secondary source.
Application Fee
I have been stating this for years; never pay to apply for scholarships. Some companies may claim that they can make you eligible to get aid for a processing fee. What they are really doing is filling out a free application on your behalf and will often falsify your information to ensure you receive funds.
Scholarship Services & Fees
Another devious claim that some of these organizations make is that for a fee, they will guarantee you free scholarship money. They also claim if you are not satisfied with their services, they will refund your payment. When the student applies using a scholarship sources provided and receives no money and contacts the company for a refund, their response is by a question; did you apply to all of the sources we provided? The answer is always no. No student can’t apply to hundreds of scholarship sources in such a short timeline. This gives the company a reason to decline a refund.
Personal Information
Make sure to thoroughly research any company that requires personal information, including address, bank account information, or social security number. While this should feel standard for scholarship applications, this is the exact reason that criminals target people looking for college financial aid and scholarships.
Speaking of time and applying for outside scholarships, always start the process in the student’s junior year in high school. If you don’t, you will miss many deadlines.
If you would like help vetting any college scholarship scams offering free money or ore information on scholarships and how to get more free money for college, please contact our office.
