behavior. Wall street, commercial banking, construction bidding - you name a
lucrative industry and some innovative charlatan has found a way to scam it.
Unfortunately, the same is also true of educational financial aid programs.
Students in the U.S. borrow billions of dollars every year to go to school.
Most people view student loan debt as "good debt." Education is an
investment in your future. If you can't afford the degree, how will you ever
get ahead in your field?
Scammers and con artists understand the desperation of students. They take
advantage of this unwitting population with attractive offers for cheap money
and reasonable terms. Students applying to programs outside the traditional
four-year university system are the most vulnerable. Financial aid programs for
students at community colleges and vocational schools aren't as closely
regulated as the federal financial aid programs available to students at
four-year institutions.
If you're currently looking for a way to finance your ongoing education, be
aware of these prevalent financial aid scams. Always remember: if it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is.
A large subset of financial aid scams present with official sounding names.
Be wary of words like "Federal Foundation" or "National Aid
Administration" - anything overly vague and official sounding. Most pay to
play scams offer realistic aid packages, but demand an exorbitant application
fee to place your name in the running. Legitimate scholarships don't charge
application fees. Remember, you're trying to get them to give you money, not
the other way around. Most "scholarship" offers that require an advanced
fee just end up collecting thousands from unsuspecting applicants without ever
doling out a dime. Even if the fee seems low compared to the potential award,
never pay out an application fee for a scholarship.
2) Advance fee loan scams These dubious financial aid offers arrive in the form of a super low interest loan. The most enticing ones offer you money at a lower interest rate than comparable federal programs, a near impossible feat for a private foundation. Before you receive the loan, however, advance fee scammers ask you to pay a nominal up-front fee. What generally happens next is the unsuspecting student pays the fee with high hopes of receiving a pile of cheap educational money, but ultimately receives nothing. The scamming foundation disappears into the ether with a wallet full of up-front fees and no paper trail.
3) Scholarship search services
There are a number of search services that take financial aid-seekers for hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. These scammers cast a very wide net, targeting students seeking PhDs and those enrolled in GIS certificate programs alike. A company will solicit a one-time fee in exchange for a list of matching scholarships totaling some outrageous sum. Once you pay the fee, however, the list never comes through or if it does it contains little if any useful information. There are no short cuts in scholarship hunting. If you want great financial aid, you're going to have to do your own research.
Source: http://www.afrugallife.org/2012/08/most-prevalent-financial-aid-scams.html
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