Beware of Scholarship Scams
Monday, November 24th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
It happens annually. Students and their families are cheated by scholarship scammers…people who promise to help them land scholarships and financial aid they wouldn’t otherwise receive.
One financial aid organization believes these scammers defraud families out of more than $100 million dollars a year. One million dollars that could otherwise be used to cover college costs.
They do it by preying on families worried about the cost of college: families who have never been through the financial aid process before and thus know little or nothing about it.
The con begins with a letter from a company with a name that makes it appear to be a counseling organization dedicated to assisting students. Of course, the company has no interest in helping anyone.
The letter nearly always looks like it comes from a top tier college. That is by design. The letterhead, the envelope, the font style, and the logo are carefully selected to give the letter an academic look. It’s the very worst kind of junk mail, but that is not what it looks like. In fact, it looks important. Thus, instead of dropping the unopened letter in the trash, most people open it. That is their initial error.
The letters always start by creating anxiety about the high cost of college.
But, the letter goes on to say, there is no need for worry. We can work with you to ensure that you receive lots of financial aid. Often there will be rhetoric about helping students find some of the millions of dollars in unused aid. In some instances there will be talk about teaching you “secrets” that colleges and universities do not want you to know.
The letters conclude with an invitation to attend a seminar or information session, usually at a hotel not far from your home. Because the letter offers the promise of increased financial aid, and because there is no charge to attend, many students and their parents show up to learn more. That is their second mistake.
Ultimately, attendees are subject to a group sales pitch for the company’s services. The pitches are not exactly the same, but all promise that their services will result in students receiving more money for college. And, none tell you that everything they offer is either unnecessary or can be gotten elsewhere at no cost.
The group pitch is followed by individual meetings with people who are referred to in the sales profession as “one call closers”. Although they may call themselves counselors, they are anything but. Their job is to pressure families into immediately writing checks that may exceed $1,000 for an essentially worthless set of services…and they are all too good at their job.
It is very sad. And, it happens every year. Don’t fall for this kind of scam. Get all of your financial aid and scholarship advice from your high school counselor, college admissions and financial aid counselors, and the dozens of reputable publications and websites.
There is no reason to pay any individual or organization to help you secure a scholarship or any form of financial aid. If you do, you will only be putting money in the pocket of a scammer.
The author is a school social worker and independent college counselor in Wisconsin. In her spare time, she contributes articles to educationally themed websites on topics such as the advantage of attending an online college and how to get a career boost by earning an online degree.
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