Caution about Scholarship Search Offers

The Financial Aid Office has received reports of direct mail marketing aimed at college students from “College Financial Advisory”, 825 College Boulevard, San Diego, CA. The letter has a pre-printed college name at the bottom and lists a "Student Profile Number" assigned to the student. The number is configured in the same format as a Social Security Number, xxx-xx-xxxx. The “College Financial Advisory” encourages the family to send in a "Student Aid Profile Form" along with $44 to be considered for additional aid.

We urge students and parents to be cautious about sending personal financial information to “College Financial Advisory” or any other organization which sends you unsolicited direct mail marketing materials. We have received no evidence that their services are effective or worth the $44 that you must pay to use them.

The Financial Aid Office warns students to be cautious of scholarship search firms that have any of these elements:

    * You have to pay a fee
    * Money-Back Guarantee
    * Credit Card/Bank Account Information Required
    * Offers Exclusive Information
    * Promises cash if you pay a registration fee
    * Pay a fee and they guarantee you will win awards
    * Pay a fee and receive a low interest rate education loan
    * Promises to replace loans with grant if you pay a processing fee

The U.S. Department of Education also reports that someone claiming to work there is offering students grants or scholarships, asking for bank account numbers so a processing fee can be charged. Sometimes the caller tells the student he or she understands the student has federal student loans and offers to replace the loans with an $8,000 grant. The caller explains that a processing fee must be charged and asks for the student's checking account information.  There is no ED program to replace loans with grants. There is no processing fee to obtain grants from ED.

The Department of Education offers this advice to students who think they may be victims of fraud:

* REPORT THE FRAUD to ED's Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or oig.hotline@ed.gov. Special agents in the Office of Inspector General investigate fraud involving federal education dollars.