For students seeking scholarship opportunities, the internet can be a tremendous resource.  There are a number of websites that maintain large databases of scholarships and allow site visitors to search their information for free.  However, there are an equal number of scholarship search sites whose only intent is to scam site visitors out of money or personal information that could be used for identity theft.

Legitimate scholarship search sites usually invite the user to set up a login id and password and complete a free profile. The details of the personal profile will be used to comb through thousands of scholarships available to find the ones that best match the student’s background, intended major, academics and ethnicity.  However, if the site asks for the student’s social security number or bank or credit card information, be aware that the site may not be legitimate.  FastWeb.com, schoolsoup.com and Scholarships.com are some well known and trusted sites that have large databases and offer free search profiles.

Red Flags- Steer clear of any site that offers to find you “guaranteed scholarships” if you pay them a fee.  There are no shortcuts to winning scholarships.  You have to start early, find scholarships you want to pursue, meet the deadline and write an impressive application and essay.  If an interview is required for the scholarship competition, the student must know how to present himself or herself effectively to the judges.

Also avoid scholarship services that offer to “do all of the work for you” or claim that they can connect you to scholarships that go unused every year.  It should also raise a red flag to you if the scholarship application process involves an application fee in order to be considered.

Once you know which schools you may consider attending, search each school’s website to find out scholarships offered through the school and find out how you can be considered for those opportunities.

Financial Aid Consulting Scams-  There are many financial aid consultants who will offer to help families navigate the financial aid process.  Using a consultant is a personal decision but beware of consultants who advise a major shift of assets or who advise parents to refile their prior year’s tax returns to alter the appearance of their financial state.  You don’t want to instigate a tax audit or raise the suspicions of the financial aid officers who are trained to spot this kind of activity.

CollegeScholarshipPlan.com advantage-  At CollegeScholarshipPlan.com we have assembled information from scholarship judges, admissions counselors and scholarship winners to create a comprehensive site that offers accurate information and sensible solutions to the scholarship search process.  We believe that parents and students should be well educated about college admission and the pursuit of scholarships.  As new information becomes available and as government funding changes, we will update this site to keep our members well informed. 

www.collegescholarshipplan.com