AVOID SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS

Parents worried about paying for college can be easy prey for unscrupulous scholarship services that claim they will find corporate college money for your child that would otherwise go unused. Some services require an up-front "processing" fee that can range from $50 to several hundred dollars. Some offer a money-back guarantee, but attach conditions that make it virtually impossible to get a refund.

Project $cholar$cam, a campaign sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), aims to crack down on companies running fraudulent college scholarship scams. The College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act seeks to enhance protections against financial assistance fraud. Just remember, if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

GETTING STARTED

So you're ready to get your teen's scholarship search under way? Make a "To Do" list for both of you. (Warning: Make sure your list isn't the longer of the two! Your goal is to guide your teen in his or her search, not to do it all yourself.) Your teen should start with an appointment with his guidance counselor for a list of resources and Web sites to check out. Your "To Do" list might include a stop at the library for a list of local organizations that might award scholarships. You can do online research together. "If the time your teen spends filling out applications and writing essays Guidance Center ends up winning them $1,000, then it was well worth it," says Patricia Little, Malone College Director of Financial Aid and a financial aid director for the past 19 years.

Little suggests that parents stay in contact with the high school guidance office. Keep close tabs on scholarships close to home. "Local scholarships are your child's best chance to win. That doesn't mean they shouldn't apply to national scholarships. It's just much more likely that they'll win local ones," she advises.

Another key role a parent can play is to help a child not to become discouraged by the long, drawn-out, scholarship process. "You definitely can't get bummed out about it," says Hara. "Sometimes you may not hear back from the scholarship organization for long periods of time. For a couple of scholarships, I didn't even get notified that I'd won until the summer before I started college. A few of the checks are just getting to me now. It's worth the wait, though."

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Issue: December 2007