Buyer Beware: Before You Check Off To Receive Info From Colleges

<p>Today I got a strange offer for senior photos in the mail. I was curious and asked if they were the official contractor for my school - they aren't. I asked how they got my address then, and was pointed to the American Student List Corporation (<a href="http://www.studentlist.com)%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.studentlist.com)&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Disturbed that they were selling so much information, I did a little background work. I found this FTC Complaint: <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/01/aslcmp.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/01/aslcmp.htm&lt;/a> that stated that ASL got information from The National Research Center for College and University Admissions (<a href="http://www.nrccua.org)%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.nrccua.org)&lt;/a>. This unsettled me more as I remembered how many emails I had gotten from NRCCUA. </p>

<p>NRCCUA has a powerful source: The College Board</p>

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<p>Like many students, I checked off for the Student Selection Service on my SAT, imagining only colleges and accredited institutions would receive my info. Little did I know how easily and cheaply access to this info had become. </p>

<p>I'm not saying don't check off the box; I am recommending students think harder about how privacy concerned they are.</p>

<p>For more info I encourage you to Google "American Student List"</p>