Financial Aid Overview

Scholarship Scams

Use your money to pay for college, not scholarship searches

Most information about scholarships is available for free.

Scholarship search companies may charge hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to give you a list of scholarships. That's money better spent paying for college. With a little detective work, you can find financial aid sources yourself. Here's how:

• Use the free scholarship search on GoHigherKY.org.
• Consult Affording Higher Education, a KHEAA publication that lists financial aid sources for Kentucky students.
• Talk with your guidance counselor.
• Talk with a financial aid advisor at the college you plan to attend.
• Attend free financial aid workshops offered by your school and local colleges.
• Don't confuse those free workshops with "free" ones offered by companies, often at local motel conference rooms. The "free" part is a come-on to get you to sign up for expensive consultant services.
• Attend College Goal Sunday, offered each January by the Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Common Cons

The Federal Trade Commission cautions students to be especially skeptical about scholarship search companies and Web sites that claim:

• "The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back."
• "You can't get this information anywhere else."
• "I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship."