Trusted College Funding Websites

In the June 2006 issue of Money Magazine, editor-at-large Jean Chatzky lists some of his “trusted” online college funding sources for scholarships, consolidation, and financial. He also write some tips on how to avoid being ripped off.

Scholarships:

The common scholarship pitch “Pay us to search our vast database, and win you a scholarship — and we will apply for you!”

The truth is that generally, you shouldn’t have to pay to find or apply for any scholarship. There are plenty of websites that have searchable databases that you can scour for scholarships and grants absolutely free.

Trusted Sources:
College Answer at www.collegeanswer.com
Scholarship Experts at www.scholarshipexperts.com

Consolidation:

The consolidation pitch “from the U.S. government: Act by midnight, or you’ll miss out on consolidating your student loan at below-market rates.

The truth is that this isn’t really from Uncle Sam. It’s from a marketer. Student loan rates [did] go up on July 1. So before then was the time to consolidate. Also, rates are set by the government, not your consolidator.

Trusted sources:
Loan Consolidation at www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov
Sallie Mae at www.salliemae.com

Financial Aid:

The financial aid pitch “We will submit your FAFSA for just $79.99 - don’t worry about a thing.”

The truth is that for starters submitting a FAFSA is free - hello, it’s called the free application for Federal student aid! This pitch likely came from a web site that had a URL suspiciously close to that of the official (urls of scam sites left out).

Trusted sources:
Fafsa at www.fafsa.ed.gov
Finaid at www.finaid.org
Ed.gov at www.ed.gov

Best wishes in your college funding search!