Education For Success
Financial Aid Article
Scholarship Myths and Scams To Avoid
Kyle BesserSearching for scholarships and education grants can be very frustrating and time consuming. The reward can be worth the time, especially if you gain enough scholarship money to help cover the difference between your financial aid and your college costs.
Undoubtedly, as a high school junior or senior, you will receive offers from individuals or companies to find scholarships for you for a fee. Before you sign on for any of these offers, make sure you know what services you are paying for and decide whether you should invest your money or your time for a scholarship search. Be aware of the common scholarship scams and myths so you don't end up throwing away your money.
Myth: Millions of dollars in scholarship money go unclaimed.
As much as 85% of the so called "unclaimed" money is from employer-paid education benefits that are included in the total. In reality, almost all scholarships are awarded. Those that are not awarded are because highly restrictive requirements or timing was not met.
Myth: Only "A" students get scholarships.
Obviously students with higher grade averages can compete for academic scholarships, but many scholarship committees look for more than grades. Some scholarships look at involvement in community or extracurricular activities. Other scholarships look for a particular skill or talent.
Myth: You need a lot of community service and extracurricular activities to get scholarships.
Scholarships often look for a well rounded individual. Most scholarship winners have distinguished themselves with dedication to only a few activities and have developed leadership skills within those areas. High-quality involvement within one or two activities is more valued than low-quality involvement in many activities.
Myth: Only poor or minority students get scholarships.
Many scholarships are based on financial need or heritage, but there are many other scholarships that are based on other factors such as merit and academic interest. Some scholarships are decided a winning essay or by an audition. The key is finding those scholarships not based on need or heritage.
Myth: Scholarships reduce the amount of financial aid you receive.
You must report all scholarships as well as other funds you will be using for college when applying for financial aid. Receiving one or more scholarships may change the amount of "need" you demonstrate according to the federal government. As a result, you may receive less need-based financial aid than if you didn't have any scholarships. On the other hand, receiving a scholarship is more likely to reduce your need for loans. In many cases, receiving a scholarship will not affect your total financial aid package.
Each situation is different, and your school counselor or financial aid counselor can explain this to you in more detail.
Scam: We guarantee to get you scholarship aid and we'll do all the work.
Most scholarship search services match your profile against lists of available scholarships, probably using many of the same sources you could access for free on the internet. Be aware that most scholarship sponsors do not charge up front fees to apply, and no legitimate scholarship sponsor can guarantee you will win an award. You will be throwing away your money.
Scam: We have information you can't get anywhere else.
There are no secret sources of federal or state student aid. There are many internet sites that offer free, easy-to-use scholarship search engines that require only a small investment of your time. There is simply no need to spend several hundred dollars for information you can find yourself free.
Scam: We need your credit card to "hold" your scholarship.
Red flag! Never give your credit card information over the phone or online to anyone without getting information about their service in writing first. You may be setting yourself up for an unauthorized charge or withdrawal, or worse, for identity theft.
You can learn more about scholarship myths and scams by visiting the Federal Trade Commission Scholarship Scams, College Board Scholarship Scams, or the College Board Financial Aid Myths.
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