American Scholarship & Grant Association

This company solicits students and parents via telemarketing calls, e-mails, or other advertisements to attend seminars at local hotels or other temporary locations advertising they are able to assist with finding scholarship sources for students. Although the seminar is advertised as free, the services offered are not free.

We urge caution when seeking grant sources or scholarship funds. Be suspicious of advance fees, or money back guarantees. In reality no one can guarantee that they will get you a grant or scholarship, and the refund guarantees that are offered usually have so many conditions or strings attached that it is almost impossible to get your money back. Claims of exclusive funding sources should not be believed. Actually, scholarship information is widely available in books, from libraries and financial aid offices and on the Internet, if you are willing to search for it. The company cannot do the work for you. Only parents and students can really determine and provide the financial information needed to complete the forms.

Watch out for claims like “You have been selected by a national foundation to receive a scholarship." If you have not entered a competition sponsored by the foundation, this claim is highly unlikely. Legitimate scholarship offers will not ask you for your credit card or bank account number to hold the scholarship. This is never a requirement for a legitimate scholarship offer. Legitimate scholarship offers never require payment of any kind. For more advice and information on how to avoid scholarship and grant fraud, consumers may also contact the U. S. Department of Education at 800-433-3243, or online at www.ed.gov/index.jhtml.