Students are faced with the daunting tasks of completing their pre-college studies, applying to numerous colleges, waiting to get accepted and then planning how to pay for their educational pursuits and the expenses that are expected to come with this endeavor. The hunt for financing is on and students as well as parents can be lured in to schemes that are anything but beneficial to them. There exist, in all forms of media, those who are looking to take advantage of the novice student or adult borrower in order to exploit their resources and gain whatever they can from this.

Some of these sales approaches that try to get money from students or their families can be called “scams”. There are scams that range from simple advertising tricks to come-ons that just plain are invented to draw attention or even to direct you to a particular site. Some of the top scams targeting college students and perspective college students have become quite inventive with their methods.

• Government Offers – These are not really from the government, though they may refer to government sites. If an offer looks like it comes from the government be sure to check out the source of the mailing. Students should know that the U.S. federal government site for applying for general financial aid is called the FAFSA and is easy to find by doing a general web search for financial aid.
• Flashy colorful advertisements – Discard any mail for financing that comes with flashing ads, music, dancers or other forms of entertainment to distract you.
• One time offers – Avoid any thing that says it is a one time offer as it is probably not from a reputable source.
• Student Loan Consolidation – Be careful of offers for student loan consolidation from companies other than banks
• Scholarship offers, especially those that charge a fee

Things to Look Out For

• Some ads offer information on how to get money for free, it’s not really free
• Do not fall for any financial aid offers that come unsolicited through email
• Sweepstakes with prizes and free money for college are a way to lure students in to deals
• Be careful of so-called financial aid finders
• Financial aid offers that charge a fee for finding sources for you