Searching for scholarships can be time consuming; the reward can be great, especially if you gain enough scholarship money to close any gaps between your financial aid and the college cost of attendance.

Undoubtedly, as a high school junior or senior, you received offers from individuals or companies to find scholarships for you…for a fee, of course. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you know what services you are paying for and decide whether you should invest your cash or your time for a scholarship search.

Here are a few common scholarship myths and scams you should be aware of.

Myth: Millions of dollars in scholarship money go unclaimed.
As much as 85 percent of the “unclaimed” money is from employer-paid education benefits that are included in the total. In reality, almost all scholarships are awarded, and those that are not awarded are because of highly restrictive requirements or timing.

Myth: Only “A” students get scholarships
Obviously, students with higher grades can compete for academic scholarships, but many scholarship committees look for more than grades. Some scholarships look for involvement in community or extracurricular activities; some others look for a particular skill or talent.

Myth: You need tons of community service and extracurricular activities to get scholarships.
Again, scholarships often look for a well-rounded individual. Most scholarship winners have distinguished themselves with their dedication to only a few activities and have developed leadership skills within those programs. High quality-involvement with one or two activities trumps low-quality involvement in many. Quantity isn’t everything.

Myth: Only poor or minority students get scholarships
While many scholarships are based on financial need or heritage, there are many other scholarships based on factors such as merit, academic interest, by writing an essay or by audition. The key is in finding them: Use scholarship searches found on CollegeBoard.com or HESC.org.

Myth: Scholarships will reduce the amount of financial aid I’ll receive.
You must report all scholarships (as well as other funds) you will be using for college when applying for financial aid. Receiving one or more scholarships may change the amount of "need" you have according to the federal government. As a result, you may receive less need-based financial aid than if you didn't have any scholarships. At the same time, receiving a scholarship is more likely to reduce your need for loans. In many cases, receiving a scholarship will not affect your total financial aid package.
Each situation is different, and your school counselor or financial aid counselor at a local college can explain this in more detail.

Scam: We guarantee to get you scholarship aid – we’ll do all the work
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Keeping this old adage top-of-mind will help you determine whether to use a scholarship-finding service. Most scholarship search services match your profile to lists of available scholarships, probably from many of the same sources you can access for free on the Internet. If the company claims to award a scholarship, be aware that most scholarship sponsors do not charge up-front fees to apply for funding, and no legitimate scholarship sponsor can guarantee you will win an award.

Scam: We have information you can’t get anywhere else
There are no secret sources of federal or state student aid. Internet sites such as CollegeBoard.com or HESC.org, offer several free, easy-to-use scholarship search engines that require only a small investment of your time. There is simply no need to spend several hundred dollars for free information you can find yourself.

Scam: We need your credit card to “hold” your scholarship
This is a red flag…do not give your credit card information over the phone or online to anyone without getting information about their service in writing first. You may be setting yourself up for an unauthorized charge or withdrawal, or worse yet, for identity theft.

You can learn more about scholarship myths and scams by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site: http://www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams .


Free Internet college scholarship search engines:


HESC
HESC.org

CollegeBoard
CollegeBoard.com

Mapping Your Future
MappingYourFuture.org

FastWeb
FastWeb.com

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