Wow! You just got a letter from a company saying they'll find scholarships for you. What a great deal! After all, who has time to research scholarship opportunities? But be careful—there are a lot of scholarship search scams out there. Watch for these crooked claims and make sure you're not being taken for a ride:
"For a small fee, we'll give you the most comprehensive list of scholarships for which you're eligible from the largest database available."
You should never spend your hard-earned money on a fee-based matching service. The biggest and best scholarship databases are available for free on the Web. The number of scholarships some services boast can be misleading because individual sponsors could offer hundreds of different scholarships.
"$6.6 billion in scholarship money went unclaimed last year."
Though it would be nice if there were piles of money out there waiting for someone to claim them, the truth is that most financial aid programs are highly competitive. Statements about billions of dollars going unclaimed are based on old estimates of unused employer tuition benefits that the general public can't get anyway.
"You are guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 in financial aid sources."
A service can't guarantee you'll receive funding because they have no control over the decisions made by the scholarship judges.
"Everybody is eligible."
While scholarships are awarded based on a variety of merits and needs, some set of restrictions always applies since sponsors are looking for candidates who match certain criteria.
"We have a 96% success rate."
The success rates some services advertise indicate the percentage of students they've successfully matched with the database, not the number of students who actually receive money. So consider these claims carefully.
"Our database is unique."
Most scholarship databases overlap because they use similar methods to put together their databases—and many matching services buy their lists outright from a third party.
"You must use our service to qualify for aid."
Scholarship matching services don't control who wins a scholarship, they just match you to a list of awards.
"Awards are given on a first-come, first-served basis. Time is limited. Apply now!"
Don't let a matching service rush you into paying them money. Most scholarships have set deadlines; very few have rolling admissions.
"We compile our own database."
Some companies do build their own database, but many more don't. The company might be using the database, and sometimes the testimonials, of an independent company.
When evaluating scholarship-matching services, don't believe everything you read. Just because a service sends you a fancy envelope and has an official sounding name doesn't mean it's a legitimate operation. So be cautious—and happy hunting!
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