Scam college applications?

Applying to College
1

<p>First of all, I'm not really sure if this is in the right forum so if it's not, I'm sorry!</p>

<p>So, I've gotten emails from two colleges now telling me that I'm a "choice" student so that I get to apply to these schools without having to pay for the applications and various other things.
Here's one of the emails:</p>

<p>Dear (my name),</p>

<p>Congratulations! Given your outstanding performance, I can see that you deserve the best. That's why I've designated you a Scholar's Choice candidate and I'm eager to review your application.</p>

<p>As a Scholar's Choice candidate, the following benefits are yours:</p>

<p>You're invited to apply with our online Scholar's Choice Application or the Common Application.
You'll receive automatic scholarship consideration.
You'll be a step ahead ... we've started the application for you.
You'll enjoy personalized access to the Babson portal with your My Babson account.
You'll become a member of an exclusive online community where you can connect with other Babson applicants.
I'm looking forward to learning even more great things about you. The fastest way to tell me about your accomplishments is online, so please submit your Scholar's Choice Application right away! By the way, if you're already using the Common Application, I'm happy to review it that way, too.</p>

<p>Best wishes,
Grant M. Gosselin
Vice President of Enrollment and Dean of Admission
Babson College
231 Forest Street
Babson Park, MA 02457-0310</p>

<p>P.S. Whether you use your Scholar's Choice Application or the Common Application, you'll get the same benefits I mentioned earlier.</p>

<p>I received your contact information from the Student Search Service of the College Board. If you'd prefer not to receive e-mail from Babson, please let me know.</p>

<p>I also got one from Fordham.</p>

<p>This is where things get fishy...
I opened up the Fordham one and it asked me for my social security number and stuff. Oh and the emails they send me are .orgs instead of .edu. </p>

<p>Like <a href="mailto:BabsonCollege@babson-info.org">BabsonCollege@babson-info.org</a> and <a href="mailto:fordhamuniversity@fordhamu.org">fordhamuniversity@fordhamu.org</a>.</p>

<p>What do I do?</p>

2

<p>It’s mostly for advertising purposes, but it’s not a scam. I never paid attention to those e-mails unless they were from colleges I was genuinely interested in.</p>

3

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<p>Based on the addresses not being from the colleges’ relatively well known domains, this is probably a phishing scam email trying to get your social security number for identity fraud purposes.</p>

<p>Do not give any information to any email address or web site other than one which is under the college’s usual domain, or that of a well known third party like College Board or Questbridge. (And unencrypted email or web browsing should be considered potentially insecure.)</p>

4

<p>You do not need to reveal your social security number in order to apply for college (nor for many other purposes for which you might be asked.)</p>

5

<p>I think the Babson application is legitimate, because clicking on the Babson application link on the Babson website took me to a Babson-info.org website.</p>

<p>I have my doubts about the Fordham email because it appears from Fordham’s website that students can apply only via the Common App.</p>

6

<p>They got your info from College Board.You had the score they are looking for along with thousands. If you like them apply.If not throw it in the recycling bin.</p>

7

<p>Hi there, my name is Tommaso and I work in the admission office at Babson. It looks like you’ve already received a few responses to your question, but I just wanted to clarify that the Scholar’s Choice Application you received does come from our office and is not a scam. As mentioned in the e-mail, we received your information from the College Board and identified you as a student whom we believe may have the qualities we seek when selecting our incoming class. If you have any additional questions about the application process, I encourage you to reach out to the admission office directly, either by e-mail at <a href=“mailto:ugradadmission@babson.edu”>ugradadmission@babson.edu</a> or phone at 800-488-3696. Best of luck with the admission process!</p>

8

<p>LOL! I got this exact letter and email. It is very annoying.</p>