A number of organizations advertise that they can help students get scholarship money. For advance fees ranging from twelve to hundreds of dollars, some scholarship firms claim to award thousands of dollars in scholarships or to match students with sources of funding, regardless of qualifications or need.
Some companies even guarantee scholarships or refunds.
In exchange for their fees, students may receive lists of possible scholarship sources. However, the companies do not assist students in obtaining listed scholarships. Consumers complain that after paying the fee and supplying the necessary information, they never hear from the organization or they are unable to obtain refunds. Others allege that the information they were sent arrived too late to meet application deadlines or did not match the students' qualifications. Students and parents should seek scholarship information from reputable sources.