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I'm a high school guidance counselor (this is my first year on the job) one of my students just received a document in the mail from the Educational Assistance Council stating that it can help her get money for college for the low low price of around forty dollars.

Does anyone know anything about this organization? I checked with the BBB and found nothing.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 12:56 pm: Edit

I have never heard of it.
You should NEVER have to pay for information about financial aid or scholarships
try www.fastweb.com for free personalized scholarship searches

try www.finaid.org for free generalized financial aid information and EFC calculators

By Cutie_Pie_17 (Cutie_Pie_17) on Friday, July 04, 2003 - 12:09 pm: Edit

I'm a senior in high school. I also recently recieved a letter about this EAC thing. I want to know if it's legit. Does anyone know anything? PLZ help.

By Bbhuck (Bbhuck) on Sunday, July 06, 2003 - 04:56 pm: Edit

My senior daughter just received a mailing from this same organization and I am also quite skeptical of something that requires a fee to receive info on scholarships. I am also recieving emails from fastweb which is totally free, so if anyone can shed light on the validity of the Educational Assistance Council in Washington and California, I'd appreciate it.

By Rocky (Rocky) on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 05:38 pm: Edit

I recieved the same letter and did some research. Here's what the Higher Education Information Center (at www.heic.org/scam.htm) says about EAC.

Schloarship Scam Update, Spring 2002:
The Educational Assistance Council (www.ednet.com)
One particular company has recently come to our attention as a very dubious financial aid service organization. It is the Educational Assistance Council, located online at "www.ednet.com." This organization has been aggressively mailing out highly official-looking "college aid applications" which look like governmental or institutional forms. The student is (always) identified as having "preferred student" status. Told that they qualify as fully "eligible" for aid, students are then given an urgent deadline to complete the aid application, which has a "required" processing fee of $39.95. Be very wary of such claims and promotional tricks. Many free and useful scholarship searches are available on the Internet.

I hope that helps.

By Desertcollege (Desertcollege) on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 07:23 pm: Edit

I checked these guys out on the BBB. They have a satisfactory rating and talking to the person on the phone they tell you exactly what they will provide. Since this is almost the same service that you can buy off college board, princeton review and several other organizations it is more of an issue that they make it look like it is coming from the Dept. Of Ed or some place official. It is ok to sell this type of service, I just think they should be more forthright about who they are.

By Heather17nj (Heather17nj) on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 04:08 pm: Edit

Last year my parents ordered the College Aid service from them and the Career Guidnace sevice. We found all the information provided to be very useful. They gave us just what we expected. I would recommend them to others who need help for college.

By Dearabbey3 (Dearabbey3) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 06:00 pm: Edit

Okay Folks, Listen up.....I also received one of those forms. They charge you 40 dollars to give you information that any college financial aid office can give to you. Do not fall for this becuase it is all a gimmick, though one that is profitable for this company because many people are just not aware of what is avaiable to them through any college financial aide office. I am VERY cautious when it comes to companies seeking MONEY in order to supply us with information for "free money"....Try out www.fastweb.com.....that is a great website.....also, when you start the college financial aid process, ANYONE that is seeking aid MUST fill out a FAFSA form....the best route to take when applying for college is to USE your local guidance office at your highschool or seek out assistnace at a local college.....but, one should NEVER HAVE to pay for what is already free information!!

By Computerwolf (Computerwolf) on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 05:22 am: Edit

Thanks, Guys and Gals.

My daughter recently received one of those letters and despite the official looking letterhead and envelope, her mother and I were skeptical. So I typed in "Educational Assistance Council" in Google and I came up with this site in addition to their "official" web site. What I read here confirmed my suspicions. The letter is now in the round file.

By Bradcolton7034 (Bradcolton7034) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 01:02 pm: Edit

We went through their service two years ago with my son Josh and had great results. We received their mailing again for our other son and will utilize the service again. The service was well worth the money spent. B.C.

By Facounsel (Facounsel) on Friday, October 17, 2003 - 03:16 pm: Edit

Never pay for something you can get for free. You are wasting your money.

Talk to your Financial Aid Counselor at the college you are considering. Only they can tell you the truth about your situation. I was an Admissions Counselor for a major state school with 28,000 students and now I am a Financial Aid Counselor at a small private Christian school. I can tell you first hand that I have seen the problems these companies create. They do not have your child's best interest in mind. The National Association of College Admissions Counselors is monitoring them, countless families have filed suit against them and the Federal Trade Commission has been and still is involved. You just don't need these problems. Sending your son or daughter to college is hard enough. I wish I could tell you that there would be grants and scholarships for every student to go to college for free. That is just not the truth. Please contact your school's financial aid office. If you are looking for reputable information check the following websites, finaid.org, www.fafsa.ed.gov, www.ed.gov and your school's financial aid website.