How to Spot a Scholarship Scam

Scholarship scams work because they arrive at exactly the moment a family is anxious about money and short of time. The warning signs are consistent enough to be worth memorising.

You should never pay to apply

A legitimate scholarship does not charge an application fee, a processing fee, or a fee to release your award. Any of these means it is not a scholarship. This is the single clearest test, and it catches most of them.

Nobody can guarantee an award

"Guaranteed scholarship" and "you have been selected" are marketing, not awards. Real scholarships are competitive and nobody can promise one in advance, least of all to someone who has not applied.

Be equally suspicious of anything you did not apply for. Winning a scholarship you never entered is not how scholarships work.

Be careful what you are asked for

You should not need a bank account number, a credit card, or a Social Security number to apply for a scholarship. Those details come later, from the college, if you win. A request for them at the application stage is a request for something other than an application.

Apply through the provider

Where possible, apply on the organisation's own website rather than through a service offering to apply on your behalf. Search for the provider directly rather than following a link from an email.

Every listing on this site links to the provider's own page and records the date the listing was last checked, which is why nothing appears here before someone has read it there.

Free help already exists

Paid scholarship search services generally sell access to information that is free. The FAFSA is free to file, and its name says so. Your school counsellor and the financial aid office at any college you apply to will help without charging.

• Search verified scholarships, each linked to the provider
• Understand how aid works before paying anyone for advice