Everyone knows that when senior year hits, we all become worried about getting scholarships, financial aid and some students even have to resort to student loans. Around this time is when con artists are working to try and “help” you.

Last Saturday, I attended a seminar in West Palm Beach at the Holiday inn hotel and resort. The hotel was gorgeous of course, and the room that they were having the meeting in was very elegant and classy. I saw many students from all around the county. I even saw some old friends of mine who I haven’t seen in a long time.

Finally, It was time to go in and they had a presentation all ready to go and books for us to take notes in. When the man began the presentation, He told everyone that the organization was not affiliated with any government organizations and that they are a “private” organization, which seemed kind of suspicious, but nobody seemed to pay much attention to that.

After about twenty minutes, I realized that the man was repeating everything I’ve already been told, things such as you need a good GPA, good ACT/SAT scores, and a good activities background to qualify for financial aid and grants. But the difference was that they said they could help out people who can’t achieve those test scores or grades and help them find financial aid. I thought that was pretty amazing, if they could help me achieve that.

The lecture was over and they were going to have private interviews with the parents and the students. I sat down with my parents and one of the members of the organization talked to us about the program and how it can bring great change to my life and how it can get me into the school of my choice and I was so excited.

But then the man said there was a fee. At first I thought that there wouldn’t be a fee but I was willing to listen to how much it was going be. The fee turned out to be close to $2,000. Hearing that price drew the line for me and my parents. We left extremely mad because of how much time we wasted on some idiotic scam.

The point is if you are determined and dedicated enough, you can get good scholarships and a good amount of financial aid and even get into the school of your choice without needing the help of any “program.” If you want a better future, then it’s your responsibility to work harder to achieve it.