What to Avoid When Searching for Scholarship Opportunities

Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous individuals and organizations who will take advantage of people who are conducting a college scholarship search . While it is true that you should thoroughly investigate every possible avenue for scholarship funding, it is also very important that you take care to avoid the pitfalls of falling for a scam during your scholarship search.

What to Avoid:

• Do not trust a scholarship search service that guarantees funding.
• Do not pay a fee to apply for a scholarship.
• Do not give banking or credit card information to anyone claiming to be a scholarship provider.
• Beware of unsolicited phone calls from people claiming to represent scholarship organizations. Scam artists attempt to get personal information for identity theft in this manner.
• Do not assume that every organization with a legitimate sounding name really is legitimate.
• Beware of solicitations from individuals and organizations claiming to represent the government. You have to apply for federal financial aid; the government isn’t going to solicit you.