John Gyles Education Award... a scam??

[ec86]

Out of curiousity: has anyone on here ever applied to or heard of the John Gyles Education Award? This award is plastered everywhere on university financial aid department websites, but after reading information from a blog, this seems like a money making scheme.

http://www.johngyleseducationcenter.com/

Blog post & comments: http://oursesame.blogspot.com/2007/06/j ... award.html

What do you guys think of this?

[Cree8tiveGyal]

I applied once.....didn't send money for the list of winners.......never heard a thing................................so I dunno................but probably.

[ec86]

Their cheap looking website certainly does not boost their credibility. What's with the:

"Scholarships

Preservation Funding

Research Funding

Project Funding"

menu that don't have links???

Funding my ass, lol. Any investigative journalists that lurk this forum want to dig up some dirt on this so called benevolent organization?

[ChivPowers]

Even if this turns out to be a scam, what's the risk in applying?

You don't have to pay the $8.00 if you don't want to, and you don't even have to request letters of recommendation from people. I see no harm in applying.. if you've applied for ANY other funding this year, then your app. is pretty much ready to go (judging from the application posted online). They don't even need an official transcript!!! I hadn't heard of it until this thread, but now I'm applying! I could use $3000 for research supplies and scan time!

[ec86]

Even if this turns out to be a scam, what's the risk in applying?

You don't have to pay the $8.00 if you don't want to, and you don't even have to request letters of recommendation from people. I see no harm in applying.. if you've applied for ANY other funding this year, then your app. is pretty much ready to go (judging from the application posted online). They don't even need an official transcript!!! I hadn't heard of it until this thread, but now I'm applying! I could use $3000 for research supplies and scan time!

You do have a good point. The risk of applying is that you are giving out a lot of personal information to questionable hands. But then again, I might be excessively worrying about it. If anyone else planning to apply, do not include the $8 fee; you will find the same information that they provide available for free in the public domain (check out the blog site I posted above).

[Minnesotan]

While websites that do not provide owner info are sketchy at best, this fund is listed at the financial aid offices of multiple minor colleges in the U.S. and Canada.

You'll have to draw your own conclusions, but I thought the info worth sharing.

[ladymiller]

I'm almost positive (99.9 %) that this is a scam. I applied for it and, for some reason, right after sending in the envelope it hit me -- 'I was just scammed!' The sketchy website, the lack of information about the criteria for selection, etc. It just didn't seem right. The reason I applied,though, was my university -- a large public university -- had advertised for it (online and fliers in the financial aid office) so I assumed it was legit. I did, however, decline (wisely) not to send in the 8 bucks.

After much searching on the internet I could not find ANYONE who claims to have ever been awarded the scholarship. Think about how easy it is to find the name of Rhodes scholars online, Fulbright scholars -- even with most small scholarships you can find somewhere online a person who has legitimately been awarded one.I also never received any reply on the status of my application, which is right in line with everyone else, it seems. Really, why waste time or money for postage? One user said, 'why not apply? What can it hurt?' However, I think the chances are so slim that this thing is legit that it just doesn't seem worth it. And why further perpetuate a scam? I alerted my university about this, and hope that they have removed the fliers and links to the J.G. website. I hope that, unless this Mr. Gyles comes forth with a list of winners, other universities do the same.

[ajesusj]

some more info here:

http://oursesame.blogspot.com/2007/06/j ... award.html

I applied and he cashed my 8$ cheque today. If I don't hear anything in 5 days I'll call and ask and post what I find out.

[ajesusj]

Those chosen to receive an award will be advised by e-mail and by phone later this week. Those who included the optional $8.00 for a written response and a funding program will receive their letter next week.

Sincerely,

Jim Cougle

--- On Tue, 6/23/09, wrote:

From:

Subject: John Gyles Educational Award

To: cougle@rogers.com

Received: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 6:55 PM

Dear Mr. Cougle,

I had applied for the John Gyles Educational Award for the June 1, 2009 deadline. Attached is my letter of application. I was wondering if you have made decisions and how recipients would be notified. I see that my 8$ cheque was cashed yesterday. Any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for you consideration.

Kind regards,