Scholarship Scams & How to Aviod Them

With all the talk around the web about scholarship scams, I thought I would take the time to explain what they are and how to avoid them in my second blog entry.

Scholarship Scams are happing all over the country, and in growing numbers, but there is one easy way to avoid them: Don't pay money for any scholarship information or forms, period!

There is nothing that you need to obtain a scholarship that costs money, plain and simple. However, because many people aren't aware of this fact, businesses are taking advantage of people by charging fees for scholarship applications and FAFSA completion. This is an unnecessary expense in an effort to make money by taking advantage of the ignorant, and should be avoided at all costs.

I recommend visiting FAFSA.com to obtain and file your FAFSA. It is free and easy to do.

There are also several free websites you can visit for scholarships. I mentioned SchoolSoup and the Princeton Review in my last blog, and I still recommend those sites as the best place to find free scholarship information. There are also several other sites you can visit that are free. They generally will want you to fill out a form and enter some basic information about yourself, but they won't ask for your credit card number or any other information for billing.

Finally, student loans should also be easy to find and apply for. There are banks and student loans websites all over that are just waiting to give you a loan for college - don't pay anyone for this information, just use google.

In short, don't pay for free information - it's just doesn't make sense.