Rising tuition bills at UNCW and across the state have lead more students to scholarship searches online and within finical aid departments. Freshman Cori Cauble knows about the necessity of financial aid to a college student. A biology major from Mount Pleasant, she is the recipient of three scholarships. “Without these scholarships,” Cauble said, “coming to college would be a financial burden for myself and my family.” Cauble is certainly not alone. About 2,754 of the university’s full-time undergraduates receive some form of financial aid, said Mark Williams, director of Financial Aid and Veterans’ Services.

But, many Web sites and news sources tell stories of millions more in scholarships that go unclaimed. So, why would a needy student let all that money slip through his or her fingers? Probably, Williams said, because stories of vast amounts of unclaimed money are not true in the first place. Well-meaning educators sometimes spread the myths of about six million dollars in unclaimed funds, but more often myths are circulated by companies wishing to capitalize on the naiveté of students, Williams said. The bulk of the money comes in the form of loans from private banks with scholarships following. Most private businesses are reputable, but some online scholarship search firms can and should cause concern.

“[Student] financial aid is a $65 billion business, yearly,” Williams said.

With so much to be gained, students should be cautious of search companies hoping to cash in on high tuition bills.

“The Federal Trade Commission has investigated many scholarship search firms for unfair, misleading practices,” Williams said. He added that scholarship search firms are most often the ones responsible for propagating myths of unclaimed scholarships. Loopholes in the fine print of some search firms allow the companies to guarantee their services. One type of such a misleading guarantee is search firms that promise money back if the student applies for a certain number of scholarships and can produce denial letters from all organizations. Gathering all denial letters is often impossible since many small organizations do not have the funds to return correspondence to all students who submit applications.

The university financial aid department is responsible for the distribution of scholarships and loans to students. As opposed to banks and search firms, the university works with the federal government and, Williams said, is safer than other alternatives. On average, an undergraduate student attending UNCW and living on campus would spend about $44,000 over the course of four years. Add to this the fact that many students take longer to graduate, and the cost adds up easily for students desperately in need of cash. Information about the state of financial aid, statistics about school and money, and a free scholarship search can all be found on the university’s web site. The Financial Aid and Veterans’ Services Web site is available at http://www.uncwil.edu/finaid/.