Students Seeking Financial Aid Beware: "FASFA" Is Not The Same As "FAFSA"

<p>"Students seeking financial aid from the government to go to college can apply for free online — that is, if they make sure they're actually on the federal site, and not one that's really close and charges a fee.</p>

<p>WBZ-TV calls attention to the site FASFA.com, which is just so close to FAFSA.gov, and will take $79.99 from loan seekers to help them apply for federal student aid ..."</p>

<p>Students</a> Seeking Financial Aid Beware: "FASFA" Is Not The Same As "FAFSA" - The Consumerist</p>

<p>"Students applying for financial aid don’t have to spend a dime, all they have to do is log onto the government website FAFSA.GOV for a free application for federal student aid, but a website with a very similar name is causing some controversy.</p>

<p>'The amount of money they’re charging for something that’s free is the biggest concern,' says Elsa Martinez.</p>

<p>Some students believe the website FAFSA.COM is where they need to apply, but there you have to pay $79.99 ..."</p>

<p>Students</a> Warned About Site That Charges For Financial Aid Application CBS Boston</p>

<p>I don’t understand the confusion. For one, it’s not a .gov website. That should be clue #1 for anybody who’s using a service of the federal government. Secondly, it says right on the page: “Searching for FASFA? Did you mean FAFSA?” as well as “We are not affiliated with the Dept. of Education.” And lastly, they claim: “We are a FAFSA preparation and filing service dedicated to helping students and their parents complete and file their FAFSA application form quickly, accurately and on time.”</p>

<p>If this is misleading people, then they are being fairly careless. Preparing for the SAT is free yet people pay hundreds, if not thousands, to get their kids extra help, which is just as much of a “scam” as this is.</p>

<p>There’s this statement on the site’s home page: “Like filing your taxes, the FAFSA can be filed for free via paper or electronic forms without professional assistance at [Home</a> - FAFSA on the Web-Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov%5DHome”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov) Many people, however, choose to use a FAFSA preparer, just like a tax preparer, to provide personal advice, consultation and review of their important FAFSA application.”</p>

<p>Also, if you get to the site using the fafsa.com URL, you see this on the home page: “If you are looking for free services to assist you with your FAFSA or the financial aid process, be sure to check out these support services.” If you get to the site using the fasfa.com URL, that information is available, but it’s not on the home page.</p>

<p>The site really doesn’t appear to be a scam; there was one allegation of a form not reaching the government, but one wonders if that was user error. Seriously, look at the site; they couldn’t be more obvious about what their service is, and they provide ample information about how to file FAFSA for free. People try to make a buck lots of different ways. Maybe some people want help filling out the FAFSA. I can’t imagine how you could get $79.99 worth of value out of this service, but some people seem to get flummoxed by the form. It does seem, based on reading various posts on CC, that students sometimes fill out FAFSA with little help from their parents, and it’s easier to imagine kids getting sucked in. At the same time, how many 17-year-olds have easy access to credit cards? (Someone’s going to say they can grab cards from their parents’ wallets; please tell me that’s not routine so I don’t have to figure out a way to put mine under lock and key.)</p>