In many cases, your education can pay for itself if you look in the right places and ask the right people.

Financial aid is typically the first place students go to when looking for a way to pay for their education, but there are better alternatives. Scholarships are an option for students looking for free financial aid to pay for their education with no strings attached.

But not enough students apply for the free money that is right in front of them – especially community college students.

The EC foundation, a tax charitable organization, only receives about 800 applicants and 600 are granted scholarships. These scholarships are categorized by majors, which is why not every student receives a scholarship, but a lot of money is left on the table.

What makes the EC Foundation’s scholarship different is that it doesn’t entirely rely on your GPA. Write a strong personal statement that will bring your story to life, and there will be a donor for you.

The EC Foundation isn’t the end all, be all of scholarships. The El Camino Financial Aid Office has plenty to offer to all EC students, but the catch is to ask for it.

There is nothing else, no detailed description to try and trick you or give you false hope.

Just free money, lots of it.