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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1998)
Students warned to be careful of scams By Kelly Romanski Staff Reporter A few weeks ago, students strapped for cash may have found their dream job offered on posters around campus. “Work just 10 to 15 hours a week and make lots of money doing it!” was scribbled on a homemade poster-board flier. No company name was listed, just a toll-free telephone number. When called, an enthusiastic male voice rat tled off wonderful “facts” about America’s “32n<* fastest-growing com pany.” “Make $30,000 to 60,000!” “Eventually make $100,000 ... working just 10 to 15 hours a week!” During the answering machine message, someone picked up the phone and the sound of dishes clanging together echoed over the phone line for a brief second. No one spoke. Phone calls hum the Daily Nebraskan were not returned. Many similar scams recently have targeted students nationwide, accord ing to the national Better Business Bureau Web site, http./Avww. bbb.org/. Because of their poor economic condi tion, students are common targets for scams, the Web site said. Such scams lurk at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Scott Meacham, president of the Lincoln Better Business Bureau. And one of the most prevalent scams hits students where they can be hurt the hardest - tuition payments. Several scholarship and grant scams promise big returns on invest ment in the form of tuition scholarships and financial aid. But the scams take students’ money in exchange for infor mation they could easily look up them selves, according to the National Fraud Information Center. Meacham said students should be wary of any scholarship-finding com panies that charge $100 to $200 for a registration fee or for locating scholar ships and guarantee scholarship money in return. Most of these guarantees are word ed so that unsatisfied students cannot get their money back, he said. “Some companies will provide lists of hundreds of scholarship offers rang ing from $500 to $5,000, and for the victims to get their money back, they will have to document that they applied to each and every offer and have been turned down,” Meacham said. Other scholarship-finding compa nies will provide nothing for the fee - not even a printout of scholarship sources, according to the Federal Trade Commission. On its Web site, http://www.fic.gpv/bcp/conline/pubs/al erts/ouchalrt.htm, the commission states students can protect themselves from fraudulent scholarship companies by being wary of the following hook lines: ■ “The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.” ■ “You can’t get this information anywhere else.” ■ “I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship.” ■ “We’ll do all the work.” ■ “The scholarship will cost some money.” ■ “You’ve been selected by a Please see SCAMS on 8 Fred Drasner Chief Executive Officer An Open Letter to Students Planning to Attend Law School from U.S.News & World Report Dear Student: DON’T YOU JUST HATE TO BE GRADED? Well, by their shrill protests about US.News & World Report law school rankings, so do most of the deans of the law schools you are considering. However, as a law school graduate with both a J.D. and a LL.M. degree, I can tell you that these same deans will subject you to rigorous grading. You will be required to endure lectures from tenured professors who have not changed their class notes since the Battle of Hastings. Then, after attending class for a full semester, you will be given one exam to determine your grade. One exam, one semester, one grade. One roll of the dice to measure your performance. At US.News & World Report we are far more equitable (to use a legal term). We have a multi-faceted, multi dimensional, sophisticated ranking system developed and evolved over many years to give you guidance on what may be one of your largest financial investments and certainly one of the most important choices for your career in law and perhaps beyond. While our law school rankings should not be the only criteria in your choice of a law school, they should certainly be an important part of the analysis. Get your copy of U.S.News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools guide on newsstands now Or, to make it easier for you to see the book that 164 law school deans would prefer you not see (notwithstanding their commitment to the First Amendment), call F80O836'6397 (ask for extension 5105) and I will arrange for a copy of the book to be sent directly to you at $1 off the newsstand price * This will also ensure that you have a copy of these important rankings because, as a result of publicity surrounding the deans’ determination to have you ignore the rankings, they are a very hot item. These law school rankings are a small part of our philosophy of News You Can Use": information we bring you in each issue of the magazine to help you manage your life. Good luck in law school and good luck on making the right choice. Kindest Regards. Sincerely, 5 .. •• ' ■ . * Shipping and handling charges additional. 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 600, New York, NY 10104