<p>I gotten this letter in the mail yesterday from a group named College Admissions Assistance. They want me and my parents to attend a presentation and interview. I never heard about them before. I can't attend there presentation and interview next weekend anyway because, of summer college. IS CAA a scam?</p>
<p>It may not be a scam, but it’s undoubtedly a profit-making venture. You can get all the information you need right here on CC, for free.</p>
<p>You can get excellent admissions/financial aid advice here on CC and by doing other research on your own. No need to pay for such help.</p>
<p>I believe College Admissions Assistance used to be called College Partnership, which eventually closed. College Partnership was located in Grand Prairie, less than 30 minutes from CAA in Arlington. They’re too many similarities to be coincidental. Except for some basic formatting, even CAA’s website looks the same. College Partnership’s sales representatives gave presentations at hotels. I sat through a high-pressure sales pitch and it sounded like a great program. I later learned that most of the information College Partnership provided was free on the internet. Unless CAA has adopted a new business model, as well as a new name, they’re most likely still understaffed with high turnover, meaning that you’re lucky to reach anyone, especially at night. I cant count the time calls went unanswered or messages not returned. Under College Partnership, their software program to prepare for SAT, ACT, and PSAT was a nightmare. We had a terrible time figuring it out. It was not user friendly, had a lot of glitches, and only had a few practice tests. The company charged over $1700 for their program but failed to deliver the results they promised, especially when it came to financial aid and scholarships. For that, they gave me a password to access their website and I had to do the research myself. They did a terrible job of keeping this website current. I often checked the university websites and found more scholarships or learned that the information on the College Partnership information was outdated. It’s entirely possible, as College Admissions Assistance, that they’ve completely revamped the company and improved the products and services they offer. However, in my opinion, you are much better off putting the money towards tuition. If you need scholarships or financial aid, go to the university, college or federal aid websites or use a search engine. I discovered that local community colleges offer classes to help prepare for the SAT, ACT or PSAT. I also found some great test-prep software programs at bookstores. If you need help writing essays for college or scholarships applications, pay a tutor. Classes, software programs, and tutors may be expensive, but they’ll cost considerably less than CAA. Also, high schools, universities, and colleges have advisors that will charge you nothing for their assistance. The only advantage to CAA is if you don’t have the time or energy to do any of this for yourself. They are way overpriced for what they offer and once you sign a contract, you’re stuck. If you fail to pay, it can ruin your credit. They wont tell you that you only have three days to cancel and you must send them a hard copy of your cancellation. I recommend doing that by certified mail. Please take my advice. Oh, and by the way, they do not offer tutoring. Don’t be fooled. I learned these lessons the hard way.</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s not a scam they help you but it’s costly. My mom decided it wasn’t worth it.</p>
<p>It’s not a scam. My parents and I went to that presentation and they just tell you about financial aid and stuff, but they mostly try to advertise their program. They will try to convince you and your parents to pay $1000 for their services including “helping with college applications, finanancial aid, etc.” It’s not really worth it.</p>
<p>It’s kind of funny/ironic how you have to shell out a lot of money so that they can help you get financial aid.</p>
<p>I just got off my cell phone with one of their sales representatives (with heavy foreign accent). I asked her just a few questions to see if their company was actually a scam. </p>
<p>Question 1: what sets your company apart from the other college app help groups?
Answer: We offer help for college assistance</p>
<p>Question 2: I’ve researched your company online; some users said you provided basic info that anyone could easily find on google…what info do you actually provide?
Answer: Yes, we provide general info for college</p>
<p>Q 3: Exactly what assistance do you offer?
The answer was really hard to understand…some mixed up confused words? </p>
<p>Q 4: Is there a fee involved and how much?
A: You have to attend the conference.</p>
<p>My impression: She failed to clearly answer my simple questions, had no idea how much her company charged ($2000 according to my research), and couldn’t account for the fact that they were criticized by the BBB and most users on the internet.</p>