Spotting scholarship scams

Sad to say, there are people out there looking to make money off of your desire to find money for college. But when you know the signs of a scholarship scam, they won’t fool you. Here are some tricks to watch out for:

Don’t get fooled by lottery websites

Take a close look at the “You Deserve It” offer below. The odds of winning are 1 in 140,000 (see here for proof). And if by some nearly impossible chance you do win, they have total rights to your personal information and likeness. You deserve better than that.

What kind of organization would offer a “no essay” scholarship? Think about it. They’re not concerned with your skills, talents or life story. They just want to do the following:

  • Sell your info to colleges and marketers
  • Sell you products or “services” from their site
  • Put you on mailing lists

Look at the web address for the “scholarship”

If the place making the “offer” is a research business or marketing firm, stay away.

Avoid fee-based scholarship searches

Don’t pay to have anyone or any site ‘find scholarships.’ They won’t do anything you can’t do on your own.

These sites will help you spot a scholarship scam.

Anyone smart enough to go to college can learn to identify and avoid a scholarship scam. Here are some great sites that show you how.

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