Scholarship scams perpetrated by predatory companies continue to target prospective students and their families as college expenses climb. Long surveys promising a pot of money at the end, an inbox crowded with spam emails, and the Department of Education emblems splashed across websites asking for an upfront fee to apply may all be encountered by a student looking for scholarships to help pay for college. This blog is dedicated to helping students identify a scholarship scam that they could encounter while applying for a scholarship.
How To Spot A Scholarship Scam
Asking For Money Upfront / Application Fee
No matter how big or prominent the scholarship organisation is, never pay money upfront or pay an application fee when applying for a scholarship. You should not have to pay money to an organisation to obtain a scholarship. The money will most certainly be pocketed by these organisations, and you will never hear from them again.
Guaranteed Scholarships
Never trust a company that advertises that they will guarantee to get you a scholarship. These companies will ask for a fee and may even offer a money-back guarantee but will never get you a scholarship. Legitimate services will never say they guarantee to get you a scholarship.
Loan Fees
Another way you can get scammed through student aid is through education loans.
Companies that need a loan charge before disbursing funds to you should be avoided at all costs. Real lending businesses will add costs to the sum of your loan, which you return over time, rather than charging you a charge upfront.
Don’t forget to read: Top 14 Best Ways To Pay Off Student Loans Quickly
Dubious Scholarship Names
Be cautious if a scholarship service or corporation uses phrases such as “official,” “national,” “government,” or other governmental or official-sounding titles. To hide the fraud, they are most likely attempting to appear official.
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How To Protect Yourself From A Scam
There are a few rules that you should follow while searching and applying for scholarships. This will help you avoid being scammed.
Ask Yourself, “Is It Too Good To Be True?”
If an offer or scholarship appears to be too good to be true, it almost always is! If anything appears to be too good to be true, just take a step back and do some further investigation. Carefully go through the terms and conditions. It will benefit you greatly if you ask about it on student internet communities.
Never Pay Money
You should never provide money to a company for any reason, including application fees, convenience fees, service fees, or anything else. Scholarships that are legitimate will be free to apply for and will not need you to pay money to receive money – this is not how it works.
Contact Them Directly
If you receive a scholarship offer that requires payment in advance or you want to double-check if they are legitimate or not, call them directly and make sure you can reach them by phone. Request their physical location and any other information you want. Real firms will gladly share this information, whereas scammers will be hesitant to do so.
Get References
Perform some background checks on the firm or organisation providing the scholarship, such as using Google to look up their name (if someone has been defrauded by them, you will most likely find their name online someplace). Also, look for that firm in the country’s company directory; for example, all UK companies are required to be registered, and you may search them for free online.
Legitimate Scholarship Resource
UniScholars
UniScholars is an online scholarship platform where students can find scholarships to more than 40+ countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany and more. Students can find more than 1,500+ scholarships offered by multinational corporations, universities, governments, trusts and other organisations, all in one place.
Apart from browsing the most popular international scholarships like The Chevening Scholarships, Fulbright Scholarships, DAAD Scholarships and more, students can apply to 11 in-house scholarships to make their dream of studying abroad a reality. These scholarships align with the ethos of making a telling impact on society, while still chasing business targets.
Among these in-house scholarships is the UniAcco sponsored – UniAcco Fly High Scholarship. The intention behind this scholarship is to enable committed and passionate students to achieve their academic goals by lightening the financial burden that comes with studying abroad. The UniAcco Fly High Scholarship helps break down any barriers that prevent exceptional students from attending leading colleges.
The total value of the UniAcco Fly High Scholarship is £5,000. There are 3 categories of scholarships under the UniAcco Fly High Scholarship banner –
UniAcco Fly High Scholarship – Responsible Leader
For the year 2021, the UniAcco Fly High Scholarship – Responsible Leader will be offering 2 scholarships worth £1000 each to students who have dedicatedly worked towards improving the environment or supported a noble social cause or worked to ensure better governance. International students currently pursuing postgraduate courses in the UK or beginning a postgraduate course in the UK in the year 2021 are eligible to apply.
UniAcco Fly High Scholarship – Passionate Scholar
For the year 2021, the UniAcco Fly High Scholarship – Passionate Scholar will be offering 2 scholarships worth £750 each to students who have either demonstrated academic excellence or worked dedicatedly to achieve significant honours at major forums. International students currently pursuing postgraduate courses in the UK beginning a postgraduate course in the UK in the year 2021 are eligible to apply.
UniAcco Fly High Scholarship – All Rounder
For the year 2021, the UniAcco Fly High Scholarship – All Rounder will be offering 2 scholarships worth £750 each to students who have put in strong efforts to develop a holistic profile. International students currently pursuing undergraduate courses in the UK or beginning an undergraduate course in the UK in the year 2021 are eligible to apply.
Other scholarships include –
UniCreds You Matter Scholarship
The UniCreds You Matter Scholarship aims to support the study of undergraduate or postgraduate Indian students who wish to study at universities based in the USA or Canada. This is a merit-based scholarship that awards 2 winners on the basis of their academic excellence or any other merit like sports, extracurriculars they have to showcase to the world.
UniCreds We The Future Scholarship
The UniCreds We the Future Scholarship aims to provide foundational support to Indian students who wish to live their dreams of studying at an accredited university in the UK. Indian students currently pursuing an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK or beginning an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK are eligible to apply. Being a merit-based scholarship, applicants will be judged on their academic excellence or any other merit like sports, extracurriculars they have to showcase to the world.
UniCreds Wings for Dreams Scholarship
The UniCreds Wings for Dreams Scholarship is meant for 2 deserving & meritorious Indian students who may lack resources to pursue their dreams. Indian students currently pursuing an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in Australia or beginning an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in Australia are eligible to apply. This scholarship is awarded to outstanding Indian students who have the intent and the calibre to change the world and fulfil their dreams to achieve excellence.
UniScholars Shine On Scholarship
The UniScholars Shine On Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that intends to uplift students to achieve greater heights. Any Indian student can be a promising candidate on the basis of their academic excellence or any other merit like sports, extracurriculars they have to showcase to the world. The scholarship enables undergraduate and postgraduate Indian students to study and conduct research at universities based in the United States of America or Canada.
UniScholars Beyond the Bridges Scholarship
The UniScholars Beyond The Bridges Scholarship believes that nothing should be a hurdle in the way of education. Therefore, this is a need-based scholarship that aims to become the backbone of Indian students who are unable to fulfil their dreams because of lack of funds or low-income backgrounds. The scholarship will be awarded to Indian students who meet all criteria for need-based financial aid.
UniScholars UniGlobal Scholarship
Every year, numerous students move to different countries from around the world for higher studies. Keeping that in mind, the UniScholars UniGlobal Scholarship, a country-specific scholarship programme, focuses on bringing a more diverse and inclusive student demographic to universities across the globe. This scholarship programme offers a scholarship to qualified applicants who wish to study for a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and France.
UniScholars You Go Buddy Scholarship
The UniScholars You Go Buddy Scholarship understands the desire to get accepted at a renowned university. So, whether you have your heart set on the dream school or you are trying to weigh out the financial aid options, the UniScholars You Go Buddy Scholarship, a college-specific scholarship, will help you to a great extent. This scholarship programme offers a scholarship to qualified applicants who wish to study for a Bachelor’s/Master’s degree at prestigious universities in the world, including (and limited to) Ivy League universities (USA), Russell Group universities (UK), Group of 8 universities (Australia) and the Top 5 universities in Canada.
UniScholars Star Student Scholarship
The UniScholars Star Student Scholarship is a student-specific scholarship meant for academically brilliant female students who wish to pursue higher education anywhere in the world. This scholarship places great emphasis on under-represented populations, particularly women and minorities. Female international students are encouraged to apply for the UniScholars Star Student Scholarship so that they can get a head start on their overseas education dreams.
One of the salient features of UniScholars is that students are free to identify and apply to as many scholarships as they want, without spending any money. There are a number of Merit-based, Need-based, Country-specific, College-specific and Student-specific scholarships listed on this platform.
We hope you enjoyed reading this blog on How To Avoid Scholarship Scams As A Student. Don’t forget to read some of our other blogs like –
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I have done Bachelor’s in Culinary Arts from India and completed my graduation in the year 2022 .I am 22 years old. After graduation, I have done 1 year paid internship from USA .Now, I would like to take occupational experience and learn culinary skills and also do masters in Culinary arts.How can I find the college n best course / country where I can persue studying further