Comments for Student Loans

Comment on What is Student Loan Forgiveness by sarah lathem

sarah lathem — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:32:01 +0000

I work as a corrections officer at a private prison. Would I quality for this forgiveness program.

Comment on 20 Best Personal Finance Sites For Recent Graduates To Read In 2013 by Pauline

Pauline — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 19:53:30 +0000

Great list Jon! I wish students and young graduates were more aware of the importance of finance, with those sites, no more excuses!

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Jon

Jon — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:23:43 +0000

In reply to Matthew Allen.

Really good point about a private company would not allow this!

They do have small text in the header but based on the negative reviews people have clearly missed them.

I agree, their service MAY be valuable and useful to some students but they are misleading students currently.

Thanks for sharing!

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Jon

Jon — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:21:24 +0000

In reply to Mary Fallon.

Mary Thanks for the comment.

If there is any information that I have presented that is false I will happily change it to correct information. I believe I have presented my fair opinion and I hope it attracts people because if they come and see value in your service they will use you but what I also believe will happen is people will go to the correct FAFSA.gov website.

I have clearly stated several times that this is not a question of legality but morality.

You have not addressed my 2 questions…

1. What would you say to a company that was at IRS.com charging for audit protection consulting? Do you think people would be wrongly mislead thinking they were paying the government for taxation/audit consulting?

2. Why not change domains to your student aid services business name…the only reason to be on the website FAFSA.com in my mind is to trick students…you could argue it is for the search engine benefit but now that you own the domain you could simply 301 redirect it and you would still get the same traffic. So why are you on FAFSA.com vs a less confusing domain?

I really hope you respond to my questions.

Thanks

Jon

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Matthew Allen

Matthew Allen — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:29:53 +0000

If FAFSA was a trademarked brand for a private company, they would likely force fafsa.com to stop using that domain through some sort of cease and desist order or even possibly by suing them. Since FAFSA is just an acronym for a government program, they can easily get away with this.

I agree Jon, this is a huge scam. Fafsa.com should absolutely either change their domain or put something in the header of their site that boldly and blatantly tells users that their fee is not necessary and can be avoided by going directly to fafsa.org. Their services may actually be valuable, but they would earn a lot more credibility if they did this.

Comment on 20 Best Personal Finance Sites For Recent Graduates To Read In 2013 by binary option

binary option — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:17:24 +0000

Such an extensive list Jon! My personal favourite is Budgets Are Sexy. J makes saving money such a cool thing to do. Unlike some websites that’s so serious in their blog’s tone, I find J’s site a lot more comprehensive for me.

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Mary Fallon

Mary Fallon — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 04:08:42 +0000

Jon – The federal government authorizes 2 options for preparing a federal student aid application (FAFSA) – either prepare one on the US Dept. of Education’s website or get professional help from a fee-based preparation service. Your statements about Student Financial Aid Services http://www.fafsa.com are false. Serving students for the past 20 years, the company is very careful about informing students and their family members of their options. In every telephone call, website and marketing collateral, both options are clearly explained. In large type on the home page, the online service’s $79.99 price is stated, as is the disclaimer that the company is not affiliated with the Dept. of Education. The fafsa.com home page also explains the options and provides a list of free FAFSA preparation services. In addition, there is at least one and usually multiple links to the Dept. of Education’s FAFSA website on every page of Student Financial Aid Services’ website. Students who call in also know upfront about their options and the service’s cost. The fees are one-time charges, unless a student chooses our help for multiple years.
As our clients attest, the value of is getting professional help is peace of mind that their aid application is accurate and submitted before deadlines. The FAFSA’s 130 asset, income and dependency questions can be complex for many, especially first-time students. FAFSA mistakes move students out of the first-come, first-served virtual line for aid. Last year more than 750,000 of the students notified of FAFSA errors by the US Dept. of Education failed to correct their application, and thereby left money on the table. When caught by the DOE, FAFSA mistakes temporarily bump a student out of the virtual, first-come, first-served line for aid. But unfortunately some mistakes that can lower aid eligibility don’t get flagged by the DOE for correction. In contrast, Student Financial Aid Services’ clients benefit from a computer review of the 450 data points on the form where one can make an error and by having a well trained Student Aid Advisor also read each answer. Besides accuracy, some people don’t want to take the time needed to correctly prepare the application. Students new to the FAFSA spend about 78 minutes to complete a FAFSA alone, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Repeat FAFSA applicants shave only 11 minutes off that time. In comparison, Student Financial Aid Services walks a student (or parent) through FAFSA preparation in about 20 minutes if they chose our telephone service.
Suggested by syndicated columnist Terry Savage, a nationally-known personal finance expert, Student Financial Aid Services also offers free and discounted FAFSA help to thousands of low-income students each year. We also provide FAFSA assistance in Spanish, many Asian languages, and other languages. SFAS’ services are available at least 13 hours daily during Monday through Friday and on weekends. Our clients receive unlimited telephone consultations.
The company also prepares students FAFSAs via colleges and corporations that offer employees tuition reimbursement.
As for training, our Student Aid Advisors participate in rigorous training to ensure FAFSA accuracy and excellent client service. We adhere to very strict data privacy policies and offer refunds as part of our terms of service.
Your article is inaccurate and unfair in associating Student Financial Aid Services’ fafsa.com website and service with anything illegal. It is the type of headline that drives traffic to your website, but your misinformation is a disservice to your readers and our clients and employees.

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Matt

Matt — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:47:50 +0000

In reply to Jon.

“we are just like accountants” – Give me a break Robert you can’t honestly believe that! But hey I have to give you cred for having the balls to come here and post.

Great article John I am sure this will help save lots of students the $79.99!

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Jon

Jon — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:15:11 +0000

In reply to Robert Reeder.

Robert

I appreciate the response and I believe I presented what I hope is a fair representation of your services and acknowledged the positive feedback…however…

My concern is not with your legal legitimacy it is with your misleading domain name and landing page.

I understand your argument(we simply are a professional service provider like an accountant) but I counter with these 3 points/questions…
1. What would you say to a company that was at IRS.com charging for audit protection consulting? Do you think people would be wrongly mislead thinking they were paying the government for taxation/audit consulting?
2. Why not change domains to your student aid services business name…the only reason to be on the website FAFSA.com in my mind is to trick students…you could argue it is for the search engine benefit but now that you own the domain you could simply 301 redirect it and you would still get the same traffic. So why are you on FAFSA.com vs a less confusing domain?
3. Accountants have years of training, professional standards to uphold what level of training do your advisers have who fill out the FAFSA? This is an honest question and not accusation I do not know and could not find out.

My opinion is that what you are doing is misleading students and a high % of your customers are thinking they are giving money to the government and not a for profit organization.

Look forward to seeing an answer to the above 3 questions and I do appreciate you coming here to comment.

Jon

Comment on FAFSA.com Scam – 2.1 Million Students Potentially Ripped Off! by Robert Reeder

Robert Reeder — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:30:23 +0000

Jon, there are over 296,000 positive comments about fafsa.com. Check out this link http://www.fafsa.com/client-feedback . This service is authorized by Congress and, in fact, the CEO was recently a speaker at the Datapalouza hosted by the Department of Education at the White House. Additionally, we work with about 700 college campuses to accurately present the net price of their college.

I fail to understand why someone would think it is acceptable to pay an expert to assist you in filling out a tax return which can be done for free, but it is unacceptable to pay an expert to assist you in filling out the FAFSA. The FAFSA,for many families, is a much lengthier and difficult form. Also, we offer a full refund to anyone is disastisfied with our service for any reason. That is why we have such good ratings.

You may not have needed help with the FAFSA, but that doesn’t mean other people may want and need help. I think it is great that you are trying to provide information for families planning for college. I only hope that your goal is to alert them to all the options, provide complete information, and not steer them in a particular direction of your choosing. Otherwise, you are no better than your accusations on this web site.

Robert Reeder, CIO, Student Aid Service, Inc.