Financial Aid Scams

It is common for students to begin receiving letters about financial aid and scholarships as they begin their courses here at TAMIU, but many of them should be wary of scams.

Many students receive these offers through the mail, especially around the month of January. This mass mailing coincides with the date that students are given access to begin filling out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as FAFSA.

These forms provide different services to students for a price. The most common of these include offers to help students with scholarship searches, scholarships matching a student's chosen major, and help with filing financial aid forms.

Since students are anxious to receive as many scholarships and as much financial aid as possible, they submit the applications, which contain personal information, without any knowledge of the organization in which they are giving their information to or without doing further research.

These forms may seem to come from completely legitimate sources; however, a quick search through the Internet may uncover the truth.

Chances are that others have received the same form before and believed it to be a legitimate form from a national or government organization. These students may have filled out the forms and sent in all required documentation. When any feedback failed to materialize (monetary or otherwise), the students may have realized it was a scam.

The next step for these students would be to warn others not to fall into the same trap. It is common to go online and see the same students post notices about the forms being a scam.

The easiest way to avoid falling for these scams is to do some research. One of the biggest warning signs that the mailed form is a fake is a having to pay a fee. Typically, the false forms ask for a processing fee in order to be eligible for the financial aid or scholarship.  Most scholarships and theFAFSA application should not and do not ask for any money in return for student financial aid.

 Students in universities around the country, including TAMIU, have fallen prey to scholarship and financial aid scams before. Some of the most commonly seen scam forms are from the College Financial Advisory, and USA Scholarship. To see a sample of the false College Financial Advisory form, visit this story online at www.thebridgenewspaper.com.

If students are having trouble affording the cost of attendance to a university, the first step should be to contact the financial aid office. Big universities, and even small community colleges, have financial aid advisors that can provide students with scholarship and financial aid information that is available to them. Advisors are also able to find more accurate and complete information for scholarships specific to a student's major.

For students who receive fake financial aid and scholarship forms, visit the How To Report Scams page on the www.finaid.orgwebsite for steps on how to handle the issue.  

(Josefina Gutierrez may be reached at kittystomp@dusty.tamiu.edu.)