News Release: For Immediate Release

www.bbbhou.org * bbbinfo@bbbhou.org * Council of BBBs: www.bbb.org *
24-Hour Information: 713-868-9500, (800) 275-3626 (from area code 409 only)

Beware of Bogus Scholarship Offers

“Millions of dollars in unclaimed scholarship money just waiting to be tapped. . . .” So some recent advertising messages and sales pitches have claimed, even offering guaranteed scholarship opportunities. By paying up-front fees ranging from $20 to hundreds of dollars, the bogus scholarship offers will result in sending the prospective college students long lists of possible scholarship sources. Most do not help students obtain scholarships.

The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston advises students and parents that guaranteed approval may only be offered by the source of a scholarship, not the company providing data about sources of funding. Information provided by some firms for a fee is usually available free of charge from high school guidance offices, college and university financial aid offices or in the reference section of libraries.

The “guarantees” many of these services offer requires the student to prove, through documentation, that they were denied a scholarship by every source on the long list. For more information, students should contact the Better Business Bureau at 713-868-9500, or 1-800-275-6466 (from area code 409 only).

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