An interesting article was brought to my attention today and I wanted to share it with everybody. The article discusses a particular case where a mother searched the internet to fill out the FAFSA form, found what she thought was the FAFSA web site, but was charge $79.99 to fill out the "free" FAFSA form.
"It's been 11 years since I graduated from college, and I just assumed they started charging a fee," said Moyes, a York mother of four.
One of the things that I emphasis on the College Cost page of SMB College Life is that there are many web sites out there who claim to be the official FAFSA web site and actually scam people into paying to fill out the complete FAFSA form. Who knows what else these web sites could be doing with your information. Please, if you are planning on filling out the FAFSA form, be very weary of where you go to fill it out. The REAL FAFSA web site can be found at fafsa.ed.gov, which is a government run agency who will collect and PROTECT your sensitive credit information. The Daily Collegian at Penn State University covered the story where Mrs. Moyes had a lot to say about web sites who are scamming hundreds of uninformed parents into paying to fill out the free FAFSA form:
"It's a scam. They charge you money for something you could do for free," Moyes said.
"I don't understand ... What is the government doing?" Moyes said. "It's the federal government that's getting screwed."
"Everything from my e-mail address to the adjusted gross income -- everything I put in [at FAFSA.com] -- was either blank or needed a correction," Moyes said.
A spokesman of PHEAA, Short for Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, made a very important statement that should be heard by all:
"They should see a red flag whenever there's a cost associated with the FAFSA," Reiber said. "There's free help available, so they don't have to pay that $80 or a couple hundred dollars to have help completing that form."
Parents and students: Please read the article about the FAFSA scam, which is located at http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/01/31/applicants_confused_by_fafsa_s.aspx Also, please be informed, and make wise decisions when it comes to planning, applying and financing a college education! It's easy to fall into being scammed into paying for things that should be free, not receiving proper financial assistance for college, and paying ridiculously high interest rates on student loans. At SMB College Life we provide you with all the information that you need to successfully plan, apply, and finance your college education and we frown upon the many people out there who try to take advantage of the uninformed parents and students.
Do not blindly fill FAFSA FORM because there are so many documents and information you are expected to have at hand. Therefore, you need to get more information on what is required first, the conditions you should expect and what you should carry with you. The form is the main determinant of your Federal financial help.
It should be obvious to the vast majority of applicants, with even a cursory review, that fafsa.com's site isn't the Dept. of Ed's FAFSA application website. That's like confusing a website called (for example) ten-forty.com with the IRS's online tax filing site. It just shows remarkably muddled thinking on the part of the "confused" applicant.
Speaking of taxes, you can file your tax forms electronically via the IRS website, yet millions of taxpayers choose to employ tax preparers instead. The same idea applies to FAFSA preparers - they know the pitfalls and red flags better than the average FAFSA applicant and can save you some headaches.
Do not blindly fill FAFSA FORM because there are so many documents and information you are expected to have at hand. Therefore, you need to get more information on what is required first, the conditions you should expect and what you should carry with you. The form is the main determinant of your Federal financial help.