PERSONAL FINANCE JPMorgan says college-planning firm it bought lied about its scale. Consumers may have been misled, too

There are plenty of free resources families can turn to for help with financial aid, said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit.

“The simplest thing to keep in mind is that nobody should ever have to pay for student loan or financial aid help,” Mayotte said. “Doing so will never get you access to a program that you wouldn’t normally be eligible for.”