How to avoid scams when applying for financial aid

If you are looking for a scholarship or financial aid for your studies, there are literally hundreds of online sources, with both government funding and private funds available. What you don’t want to fall victim to is some sort of scam, which may ask you to pay for the service of applying for a scholarship or even asking you for some sort of deposit.

Here are some useful tips if you want to avoid scamming altogether.

Remember - no authorised and responsible institution will charge you anything for enquiring about financial aid, or for applying for funds.
Money up front/ Application Fee - Never send money up front for an application fee - if you are asked to do so, this is definitely a scam!
Loan Fees - When applying for a loan, if a company asks you for a loan fee before they will release the money to you, don't go through with it. Companies add fees to your loan balance and would never ask you to pay upfront.
Guaranteed Scholarships - There is no such thing as a guaranteed scholarshipand any company that says they will guarantee you one on payment of a fee will never get back to you.
Company/ Scholarship Names - If you see a scholarship service or company that is using words like "official", "national", "government" or other governmental or official sounding names be careful. They are most probably trying to sound official to cover up the scam.
Phishing schemes - It may be that you get an email, a phone call or an SMS message, asking you for details like your name, address, social security number etc, along with a link to an application form on a website. This is actually a “phishing site” designed to steal your information. In general, you should never give your personal details to anyone, unless you trust them implicitly!
Lottery-based scholarships - If you are asked to complete a survey in return for entry into a prize draw (the prize being a scholarship) be very careful. The company providing the scholarship is making money off the information you provide by selling it to third parties. Your chances of winning are very slim and are not based on merit.
Ask yourself, "Is it too good to be true?" Although you may want to believe that your dream has just come true, use your common sense and do some research on the organisation involved.
In general, never pay money - Things like application fees and service fees will be free for legitimate scholarships and you will never be asked to pay money.
Check them out - If you have a scholarship offer that is asking for money up front, contact them personally. Real companies will be transparent in their services, location etc while scammers will usually be hard to get hold of.

Lastly, always make sure that you are applying to an authorised university and that you go through their official channels when you send your personal details. You can find a comprehensive list of secondary education institutions on UniRank

Sources:

COMPARITECH: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/scholarship-scams/

Date accessed: (March 08, 2020)

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT: https://www.internationalstudent.com/international-financial-aid/scholarship-scams/

Date accessed: (March 08, 2020)

CAPPEX: https://www.cappex.com/articles/money/beware-of-scholarship-scams

Date accessed: (March 08, 2020)

UNIRANK: https://www.4icu.org/ca/a-z/

Date accessed: (March 08, 2020)

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How to avoid scams when applying for financial aid

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