Are Scholarship Search Services Worth the Money?
We have received post cards touting a financial aid search service; should we enroll in such a service, or is it a scam?
I generally advise parents to stay away from any financial aid or scholarship service that charges a fee for their services. Although the service in question may find several scholarships your student qualifies for, they cannot guarantee your student will actually win these scholarships. He will still have to apply, meet the requirements, write the essay, etc.
What these services do is provide a list of possible matches, but there is no increased chance or guarantee of your student being awarded the scholarship(s) found. It’s just as easy to use one of the many free resources available to conduct your own search.
You may also run across a service that will try and charge you for filling out the FAFSA. If so, run the other way! You are most definitely on the wrong website! The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is just that…FREE. I once had a parent fill out the entire form online, get to the end, and then was charged a $50 “processing fee.” When she told me this and I went to the website she mentioned, it was clear she was not on the actual FAFSA site. The website she was on was trying to take advantage of her ignorance. The real site FAFSA site will never attempt to charge you; as I mentioned before, it’s free.
Lastly, check out the public library. They will often carry books that list many obscure scholarships which your student may qualify for, but are relatively unknown.
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