BY LEO RAMIREZ
EPCC gives thousands of dollars in scholarship money to their students every semester. However, a lot of students do not take advantage of the opportunities.
Applying only takes a few short steps.
“There are so many amazing opportunities for financial relief that many students do not know about,” said John Aguirre, who oversees Scholarships in the Financial Aid Office.
Applying is short and easy. All you have to do is go to epcc.edu, select “Admissions and Aid”, scroll down, click on the “Scholarships” tab, and there you have a list of scholarships to apply to.
Jorge Pedroza working on his laptop, which he purchased with scholarship funds.
Most of the scholarships require a 3.0+ GPA, students must be enrolled at least part-time and should be in good academic standing. Other scholarships may require an essay or short paragraph on why you believe you are worthy of receiving the scholarship.
EPCC student Jorge Pedroza loves taking advantage of scholarships.
“A few semesters
back I met with my counselor, and she told me to look into available scholarships,” Pedroza said. “I remember thinking it would be difficult, but when I saw the requirements, it was actually super easy to apply.”
Pedroza also said he was granted a $750 scholarship last semester and he used the money to buy himself a new school computer. Scholarships are great to take advantage of because, unlike a loan, you do not have to pay the money back.
“My favorite part about scholarships is that the money is yours,” said EPCC sophomore Elizabeth Acosta. “I feel like so many more students would take advantage of scholarships if they knew how easy they were to apply for. I remember thinking I would have to write a ten-page essay or something like that for like fifty dollars but it’s not like that at all. I wrote an essay on why I deserved extra money and was awarded a thousand dollars a few semesters ago, it was really that easy.”
There are currently two scholarships available. The EPCC Foundation Scholarship is open to all majors. The application deadline is April 1, and the Student Government Association Scholarship deadline is April 7. Information on scholarships can be found on the EPCC website under the Admissions and Aid tab, then students should click on Financial Aid and select scholarships. Scholarships are also available for international students.
For more information regarding scholarships, you can reach out to John Aguirre in Scholarships at jaguirr8@epcc.edu or contact (915) 831-2294. Visit EPCC - Financial Aid