While a junior in high school, Jocelyn Pearson spent many nights applying to dozens of college scholarships. Each took no longer than 15 minutes to complete and required nothing more than her basic information and a short essay.
Before long, her inbox was flooded with emails from the scholarship companies – but none were offering her scholarships. Instead, she was overwhelmed with marketing emails to the point where she had to create an entirely new email account. While it seemed smart to apply to as many big-money scholarships as possible, in the end it proved fruitless.
That’s when Pearson realized that some scholarships weren’t all they claimed to be.
Experts say it’s imperative that students and families use discernment when vetting scholarships and providing personal information. Scholarship scams are often a ploy to gain someone’s personal information and relentlessly market to them or potentially sell their information to other companies.
Here are ways to spot and avoid potential scholarship scams:
Identifying scholarship scams
Scammers often use clever language and official-looking branding to entice students to apply for scholarships that advertise attractive award amounts. Students may receive emails that look official and contain language that may pass the initial sniff test. But anything involving scholarships, financial aid or grant money requires a critical eye to ensure legitimacy, experts say.
Some of the most prominent red flags are when students are selected for scholarships they never applied for, the scholarship offers a “guaranteed” award or students are asked to pay a fee to be eligible for a scholarship. Legitimate scholarships never charge an application or processing fee, experts say.
Certain language in detail might also be a red flag. If a scholarship claims to be a “no essay scholarship,” asks applicants to “enter to win” or mentions a drawing, it’s likely just a sweepstakes that’s meant to attract a high amount of entries, making the chances of winning slim to none, experts say. These so-called scholarships are usually based on luck, rarely merit or need.
Tips to avoid falling for scholarship scams
Scholarship scams are less common than other scams, but the Federal Trade Commission still receives hundreds of consumer reports each year regarding illegitimate scholarships and educational grants, according to a 2023 report. The Better Business Bureau has reported that it receives numerous complaints each year regarding scholarship scams.
Anything that requires bank account information, a Social Security number or anything that could leave an applicant vulnerable to identify theft or bank fraud should be avoided. Schools may ask for this information regarding merit-based awards or financial aid, but third-party scholarships won’t until perhaps after a scholarship has been awarded, says Denard Jones, lead counselor at Empowerly, a college admissions consulting company.
Though students are busy and often juggling multiple tasks, one of the best ways to avoid falling victim to a scam is to take a little extra time to investigate a scholarship, Jones says.
Pearson recommends parents help by researching and vetting legitimate scholarships while students spend their time applying for them. This allows students to focus on their essays and make their application as strong as it can be.
Students should also consult with their school counselors, experts say.
If students encounter a fraudulent scholarship or feel they have fallen victim to a scholarship scam, experts encourage them to report the website or company to the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Additionally, those who have shared banking or financial information with a scammer should immediately get in touch with their bank, Geiger says.
