2008 Woodie Awards
Scam concern urges security efforts
Jason Hamilton
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Paying for college is a problem students must deal with at some point in pursuit of their degree. It just got a little more difficult due to student financial aid scams conjured up by individuals and organizations.
"It doesn't cost anything to apply for financial aid or scholarships...just some time and maybe some postage, but mostly time, and maybe writing an essay - whatever is required by the scholarship program," said Phil Shreves, director of student financial assistance.
There are individuals, organizations and some agencies that take advantage of those who are unaware the services are free. These entities charge a fee to help find scholarships, loans and grants.
They are not operating illegally unless they take your money without giving you the service they claim to offer in return.
Shreves, who has a son in college now and a daughter in high school, has dealt with this kind of scam with both of them. He said his children started getting mailings urging them to use the services to find financial assistance for college when they were in middle school.
"I do a lot of evening financial aid workshops at different high schools in our area, and almost every time I do a workshop, I will hear about a family, student or parent that has been contacted by one of these organizations," Shreves said. "Some of them have unfortunately paid money, but they have not gotten any information that is different from what they could get free of charge."
Shreves said there are guidelines on who to contact when seeking student financial assistance. First, he said to contact the financial assistance office at the institution, and they will help find assistance. Second, the Web sites fastweb.com, collegeanswer.com and srnexpress.com are all free and come highly recommended by Shreves.
Virgilio and Kimberly Wright in Junction City, Kan., found scholarships for their son to Grambling State University in Louisiana.
They found information through his high school counselor who helped find the scholarships offered by people and businesses in their community.
Students should not be weary of the scams because the federal government offers protection against scholarship scams.
The College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act offers protection to victims of this type of fraud. Victims may file a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC guidelines warn students to be cautious of any scholarship offer that requires bank account number or credit card information. The entire list of FTC scholarship safety guidelines may be found on the U.S. department of education's Web site, www.ed.gov.
"It doesn't cost anything to apply for financial aid or scholarships...just some time and maybe some postage, but mostly time, and maybe writing an essay - whatever is required by the scholarship program," said Phil Shreves, director of student financial assistance.
There are individuals, organizations and some agencies that take advantage of those who are unaware the services are free. These entities charge a fee to help find scholarships, loans and grants.
They are not operating illegally unless they take your money without giving you the service they claim to offer in return.
Shreves, who has a son in college now and a daughter in high school, has dealt with this kind of scam with both of them. He said his children started getting mailings urging them to use the services to find financial assistance for college when they were in middle school.
"I do a lot of evening financial aid workshops at different high schools in our area, and almost every time I do a workshop, I will hear about a family, student or parent that has been contacted by one of these organizations," Shreves said. "Some of them have unfortunately paid money, but they have not gotten any information that is different from what they could get free of charge."
Shreves said there are guidelines on who to contact when seeking student financial assistance. First, he said to contact the financial assistance office at the institution, and they will help find assistance. Second, the Web sites fastweb.com, collegeanswer.com and srnexpress.com are all free and come highly recommended by Shreves.
Virgilio and Kimberly Wright in Junction City, Kan., found scholarships for their son to Grambling State University in Louisiana.
They found information through his high school counselor who helped find the scholarships offered by people and businesses in their community.
Students should not be weary of the scams because the federal government offers protection against scholarship scams.
The College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act offers protection to victims of this type of fraud. Victims may file a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC guidelines warn students to be cautious of any scholarship offer that requires bank account number or credit card information. The entire list of FTC scholarship safety guidelines may be found on the U.S. department of education's Web site, www.ed.gov.