As the year begins, financial aid offices remind students to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but this year, they added a warning.
An e-mail sent out Tuesday by the Office of Student Affairs of the College of Communication warned students the Web site www.fasfa.com requires students to pay for a service they can perform themselves for free.
FAFSA forms are used by scholarship and work study programs and the University to determine student eligibility for financial aid.
R. Denise Rocha, an administrative assistant in the OSA of the College of Communication, sent the e-mail, which asked students to be aware of the links they use to submit financial aid information. She said the www.fasfa.com site is not related to the official government Web site, www.fafsa.ed.gov.
The company being targeted, Student Financial Aid Services, which owns fasfa.com, charges students for using their employees to fill out the FAFSA application.
"[Our service is] similar to taxpayers using H & R Block and other tax-preparation services who complete 'free' IRS forms," said Michael Alexander, founder and CEO of Student Financial Aid Services.
As the year begins, students and parents start the process of renewing the FAFSA or filling one out for the first time. As students and parents begin filling out FAFSA forms for the next school year, Vincent Carales of the UT Office of Student Financial Services said they want to warn students about scams like fasfa.com.
"Fasfa.com is one of the biggest scams," Carales said.
Carales informed counselors who deal with students applying for financial aid about the Web site.
Rocha, one of these counselors, then e-mailed students in the College of Communication, warning them about fasfa.com's operation.
Alexander, whose company is a member of the Better Business Bureau, said his business is not a "scam."
"We offer a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on our site that we are not the Department of Education or the FAFSA on the Web site," Alexander said. "We save students and parents up to a month in the process over the paper application with PIN numbers and ensure the application will not be rejected."
The company does charge for its services, and informs visitors to the Web site it costs between $49.99 and $79.99.
"Many students and parents want experts to complete such an important form, as one item wrong could mean the difference between a child going to college or not," Alexander said.
The free FAFSA is always an option, and counselors from the OSFS point directly to www.fafsa.ed.gov for financial aid information.
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