Financial Aid Fraud Must Stop With Us

Anyone who has attempted to sift through the endless rigmarole that is the financial aid system knows that it's a difficult undertaking that potentially yield little to no results. As much as it may pain many who apply the process of applying for financial aid is to ensure that the students who need it most get it. Many would agree that the screening system is a bit flawed, and doesn't necessarily always cater to those in need. But that does not justify people trying to cheat the system for their own benefit. There are those out there who choose to, essentially, steal financial aid money with no intent of going to class, or even lie about their financial information in order to qualify for more money.

According to staff at Fullerton College's financial aid office financial aid fraud is not exactly a common practice, with the number of known cases being few and far between. But that does not mean everyone who commits fraud is caught. This factor makes the number of cases hard to determine precisely.

The problem of financial aid fraud really can not be fairly blamed on the schools inability to thoroughly check each students application however. Any questionable applications received by the federal government are sent back to Fullerton College indicating that investigation is needed. But the school is only required to investigate 30 percent of these applications. This is an unfortunate necessity due to the lack of time and manpower required to check each and every one of the hundreds of applications received each year. If Fullerton's Financial Aid staff had to check every application then students would have to wait much longer to get the funds they so desperately need.

Also Fullerton College has several safe guards in place that help make sure students are still in classes when they receive aid. Students are required to submit both their number of units taken as well as number of units completed. Based on that ratio, the school can tell if a student has been just enrolling at the beginning of the semester and then dropping all of their classes by the end.

Fullerton College and The Department of Education do just about all that is possible in order to stop people from taking advantage of the system. Even if we could examine every applicant that would not stop these would be students from trying. So, essentially, the change has to come from the applicants themselves. As alluring as the prospect of free money from the U.S. government can be, that money is for students trying to get an education. If an individual does not plan on furthering their education then they should not be applying for student aid in the first place.

Some may justify their actions by saying that they aren't stealing from anyone necessarily. The truth of the matter is that while they are getting this money that they are doing nothing to earn, someone who truly is in need may be passed up.

So in a sense they are stealing from the students who plan to actually use these funds as they are truly intended. It's difficult to call to the masses and just say "do the right thing". But sometimes all it takes is for people to understand that something is wrong to get them to stop.