Scholarship Sweepstakes Giveaways

AFC is a leading student loan company of Brazos, a term used to refer to a group of not-for-profit corporations dedicated to the acquisition, origination, and servicing of student loans. These not-for-profit corporations contract with and are managed by Brazos Higher Education Service Corporation, Inc. (BHESC). AFC is proud to support the $50k Giveaway on behalf of BHESC.

Win up to $5,000 for college
The Sweepstakes will award two (2) $5,000 scholarships and sixteen (16) $2,500 scholarships to first-year students enrolled at an accredited U.S. Department of Education college or trade school for the Fall 2008 semester.

Entries will be accepted from 10/1/07 through 5/31/08. Winners will be selected by random drawing on or about 6/11/08. Scholarship proceeds will be sent directly to the school of attendance to be credited to the student's account.

Only one entry per person will be accepted. Duplicate entries will be discarded. See below for official rules. No purchase necessary to enter or win a prize. A purchase does not improve one's chances of winning.

Sponsored solely by Brazos Higher Education Service Corporation, Inc., P.O. Box 1308, Waco, TX 76703-1308.

If you're a high school student, sign up for Wells Fargo's CollegeSTEPS® Program & Scholarship Sweepstakes.

The CollegeSTEPS Program offers:

* $20,000 in college tuition prizes. High school seniors are eligible for a chance to win one of twenty $1,000 tuition prizes.1
* Valuable information on scholarships, financial aid, testing, and college preparation in the form of electronic postcards.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/student/planning/scholarships/

Wal-Mart ASSOCIATE Scholarship
$2,000 (one-time, non-renewable)

Available to high school/home school seniors graduating between August 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008 or students who have obtained their GED and would have graduated high school between August 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008.

Must either be actively employed with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for at least six consecutive months as of April 25, 2008 -OR- May be a dependent of a Wal-Mart Associate who does not qualify for the WALTON Family Foundation Scholarship due to the Associate-parent's part-time status or actively employed less than twelve consecutive months as of April 25, 2008.

Must have scored at least an 18 Composite ACT or 800 SAT (Critical Reading or Verbal + Math) scores.
Must be enrolled full time (at least 12 college credit hours) in the fall 2008 semester and the spring 2009 semester.

Higher REACH Scholarship
Up to $2,000 per year (may re-apply and be awarded up to 4 years)

Must have graduated high school/home school by August 1, 2007, or have obtained their GED and would have graduated high school before August 1, 2007.
Must be employed part-time or full-time with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for at least six consecutive months as of April 25, 2008.

Must have "on target" or "above target" on the last performance evaluation.

May attend individual classes or seek an undergraduate or graduate degree to be eligible.
Must enroll in at least three college credit hours in the fall 2008 semester and three college credit hours in the spring 2009 semester.

Payments are based on the following criteria of enrolled hours:
3-6 credit hours per semester $500
7-11 credit hours per semester $750
12+ credit hours per semester $1,000

http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=765

How the scholarship is awarded.

* 170 students will be granted scholarships in the amounts of $1000 and $5000
* Applicants will be judged on leadership qualities and academic performance
* Applications must be received by May 15th, 2008. Winners selected by the end of July 2008. Funds delivered by the end of August 2008.

http://scholarship.tylenol.com

Because you signed up for notices about the latest scholarship and education opportunities - you are among the first to know that our application period has opened for our 2007 scholarship season.
graduates

NMFA's Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarships, ranging from $500 to $1,000, are awarded to spouses of Uniformed Services members (active duty, retiree, Reserve, National Guard, or survivor) to obtain professional certification or to attend post-secondary or graduate school. The scholarship funds may be used to assist with tuition, fees, and school room and board, and are paid directly to the accredited educational institution involved.

http://www.nmfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Spouse_Scholarship

Official Rules for Kohl's Kids Who Care® Scholarship Program

Eligibility:
No purchase necessary. Nominees must be legal U.S. residents of a state in which a Kohl's store is located. Nominees must be between the ages of 6 and 18 and not yet a high school graduate as of March 15, 2008. Each nominee must be nominated by someone age 21 years or older. Employees of Kohl's Department Stores , Inc. ("Kohl's") and Scholarship America or either companies' respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliates and such employees' immediate family members and members of the same household are ineligible for nomination. Kohl's associates may nominate non-related children. Members of Scholarship America selection committees may not nominate a child.

Nominees may only be nominated once and may not have been a prior Kohl's Kids Who Care® regional or national scholarship recipient. Multiple nominations for one nominee will not be accepted, even if submitted by different nominators. Awards are for individuals, so please nominate only one person per entry.

https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/i-applications/kohls/

Other options include:

* Do an online search for scholarships.
* Visit your high school counselor or college resource center to research any local or school-specific scholarships.
* Check out scholarship reference books in a library or bookstore; make sure you locate the most current edition.
* If you attend or are thinking of attending a specific college, visit that school's website or call their admission's office to determine if they offer any scholarships.
* Be community-minded: does your church, bank, or other civic organization offer scholarships?

Get Your Scholarships And Grants Guide

Rules of Thumb

1. If you must pay money to get money, it might be a scam.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Spend the time, not the money.
4. Never invest more than a postage stamp to get information about scholarships.
5. Nobody can guarantee that you'll win a scholarship.
6. Legitimate scholarship foundations do not charge application fees.
7. If you're suspicious of an offer, it's usually with good reason.

Warning Signs of a Scholarship Scam

Certain telltale signs can help you identify possible scholarship scams. Note that the following signs do not automatically indicate fraud or deception; however, any organization that exhibits several of these signs should be treated with caution.

Application fees. Be wary of any "scholarship" which requests an application fee, even an innocuously low one like $2 or $3. Most scams have application fees of $10 to $25, but some have had fees as low as $2 and as high as $5,000. Don't believe claims that the fee is necessary to cover administrative expenses or to ensure that only serious candidates apply, or that applicants who do not receive any money "may" be entitled to a refund. Even if the outfit gives out a token scholarship, the odds of your winning it are less than your chances of winning the lottery. Legitimate scholarship sponsors do not require an application fee.

Loan fees. If you have to pay a fee in advance of obtaining an educational loan, be careful. It might be called an "application fee", "processing fee", "origination fee", "guarantee fee", "default fee" or "insurance fee", but if it must be paid in advance, it's probably a scam. Legitimate educational loans deduct the origination and default fees from the disbursement check. They never require an up-front fee when you submit the application.

Other fees. If you must pay to get information about an award, apply for the award or receive the award, be suspicious. Never spend more than a postage stamp to get information about scholarships and loans.

Guaranteed winnings. No legitimate scholarship sponsor will guarantee you'll win an award. No scholarship matching services can guarantee that you'll win any scholarships either, as they have no control over the decisions made by the scholarship sponsors. Also, when such "guarantees" are made, they often come with hidden conditions that make them hard to redeem or worth less than they seem.

Everybody is eligible. All scholarship sponsors are looking for candidates who best match certain criteria. Certainly there are some scholarships that do not depend on academic merit, some that do not depend on athletic prowess and some that do not depend on minority student status, but some set of restrictions always applies. No scholarship sponsor hands out money to students simply for breathing.




The unclaimed aid myth. You may be told that millions or billions of dollars of scholarships go unused each year because students don't know where to apply. This simply isn't true. Most financial aid programs are highly competitive. No scholarship matching service has ever substantiated this myth with a verifiable list of unclaimed scholarship awards. There are no unclaimed scholarships.

The most common version of this myth, that "$6.6 billion went unclaimed last year", is based on a 1976-77 academic year study by the National Institute of Work and Learning. The study estimated that a total of $7 billion was potentially available from employer tuition assistance programs, but that only about $300 million to $400 million was being used. This is a 20-year-old estimate that has never been substantiated. Furthermore, the money in question is not available to the general public, only to certain employees enrolled in eligible programs of study whose employers offer tuition assistance. This money goes unused because it can't be used. Popular variations on this myth include the figures $2.7 billion, $2 billion, $1 billion and $135 million.

We apply on your behalf. To win a scholarship, you must submit your own applications, write your own essays and solicit your own letters of recommendation. There's no way to avoid this work.

Claims of influence with scholarship sponsors. Scholarship matching services do not have any control over the awarding of scholarships by third parties.

High success rates. Overstated claims of effectiveness are a good tip-off to a scam. For example, less than 1% of users of fee-based scholarship matching services actually win an award. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Excessive hype. If the brochure or advertisement uses a lot of hyperbole (e.g., "free money", "win your fair share", "guaranteed", "first come, first served" and "everybody is eligible"), be careful. Also be wary of letters and postcards that talk about "recent additions to our file", "immediate confirmation" and "invitation number".

Unusual requests for personal information. If the application asks you to disclose bank account numbers, credit card numbers, calling card numbers or social security numbers, it is probably a scam. If they call and ask you for personal information to "confirm your eligibility", "verify your identity" or as a "sign of good will", hang up immediately. They can use this information, in conjunction with your date of birth and the names of your parents, to commit identity theft and apply for new credit cards in your name. They can also use the numbers on the bottom of your checks (the bank routing number and the account number) to withdraw money from your bank account using a "demand draft". A demand draft works very much like a check, but does not require your signature.

No telephone number. Most legitimate scholarship programs include a telephone number for inquiries with their application materials.

Mail drop for a return address. If the return address is a mail drop (e.g., a box number) or a residential address, it is probably a scam. (To verify whether an address is using a mail drop, use this mail drop search form.)

Masquerading as a federal agency. If you receive an offer from an organization with an official-sounding name, check whether there really is a federal agency with that name. Don't trust an organization just because it has an official-looking "governmental" seal as its logo or has a prestigious-seeming Washington, DC return address.

Claims of university, government, Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau approval. Be wary of claims of endorsement and membership, especially if the recommendation is made by an organization with a name similar to that of a well-known private or government group. The federal government, US Department of Education and the US Chamber of Commerce do not endorse or recommend private businesses.

If a financial aid "seminar" is held in a local college classroom or meeting facility, don't assume that it is university sanctioned. Call the school's financial aid office to find out whether it is a university approved or sponsored event.

Suggesting that they are a non-profit, charitable organization when they are not. Don't assume from an organization's name that it has a charitable purpose. Although it is illegal in most states to use a misleading business name, enforcement of the law is lax. For example, an organization with "Fund" or "Foundation" in its name is not necessarily a charitable foundation and may even be a for-profit business.

Unsolicited opportunities. Most scholarship sponsors will only contact you in response to your inquiry. If you've never heard of the organization before, it's probably a scam.

Failure to Substantiate Awards. If the organization can't prove that its scholarships are actually awarded and disbursed, be cautious.

Typing and spelling errors. Application materials that contain typing and spelling errors or lack an overall professional appearance, may be an indication of a scam. Many scams misspell the word "scholarship" as "scholorship".

Time pressure. If you must respond quickly and won't hear about the results for several months, it might be a scam. A scholarship scam might say that grants are handed out on a "first come, first served" basis and urge you to act quickly. Few, if any, legitimate scholarship sponsors make awards on a rolling basis. Take the time you need to carefully consider their offer.

Notification by phone. If you have won a scholarship, you will receive written notification by mail, not by phone.

Disguised advertising. Don't believe everything you read or hear, especially if you see it online. Unless you personally know the person praising a product or service, don't believe the recommendation. One scam set up its own fake BBB and used it as a reference. Another offered a forged certificate of merit from the local BBB. Yet another distributed a paid advertisement as though it were an article written by the newspaper. A Ponzi scheme gave out a few scholarships initially as "sugar money" to help attract victims.

A newly-formed company. Most philanthropic foundations have been established for many years. If a company was formed recently, ask for references.

Gives you a runaround or nonspecific information. Demand concrete answers that directly respond to your questions. If they repeat the same lines again and again, the caller is probably reading a standard pitch from a boilerplate script.

Abusive treatment. If the caller swears at you or becomes abusive when

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