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.

Parents ask me this all the time, and the good news is “yes,” it is possible, but it may take some work from both you and your student to achieve. Just the other day a parent emailed me the following question:

What types of financial aid are available for my student and how can we keep up with all the application deadlines?

There are many resources available, and the first one that every financial aid department will suggest you check out is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is a Federal form used to determine the amount of state and federal aid a student qualifies for, based upon need. There are grants, loans and work-study programs available through this service. Federal Pell grants and Stafford loans are two of the most popular. There may also be state aid available, depending on your state of residence. The priority deadline for the FAFSA is March 1st, so be sure it’s submitted well before then.

Since Federal and state aid can have strings attached, some parents choose to forgo this type of financial aid, opting instead to look for other ways of financing their child’s education. Some private resources to look into are the following:

• fastweb.com

• scholarshipexperts.com

• collegenet.com

• scholarships.salliemae.com

All of these sites offer free financial aid and scholarship searches. If a website are business tries to charge for this type service, run away, as it’s either a scam, or simply trying to make a buck off of something that’s already available for free. Either way, your student will not have any better chance of receiving scholarships or other aid than if you did the search yourself.

One way to keep up with the financial aid and scholarship deadlines is My College Calendar, a free online resource that tracks time-lines and deadlines for the college admissions process. I have been very impressed with the information they provide.

Last March, Heidi Fletcher of College of Notre Dame of Maryland wrote a fantastic article on financial aid, which can read here.

To learn more tips on financial aid, scholarships, and deadlines, download your free copy of my 10 Step Guide to Stress Free College Planning.