Spring Writing Contest

We are now into our third full week of the New Year, and for college students, that means you’ll be heading back to school for the Spring semester. It also means you’ll probably be looking for ways to pay for that pricy college degree. We understand that for many, a college degree may seem out of reach as the cost of a college education continues to soar.

According to a UCLA nationwide survey of college freshman, nearly one-third of the 271,000 freshman surveyed are attending schools that were not their first choice. That’s the highest percentage since 1988. Of those students who were accepted but didn’t go to their first choice college, more than one-third said money was the issue: they couldn’t afford it.  

For those of you already in college, and for the high school seniors who are planning to attend college, we want to help! We’ve brought back our Writing Contest for the Spring to give two lucky students a chance to win $1000 towards their education.

Starting today, EPEFCU will kick off its spring writing contest, open to all college students and high school seniors. One student will be chosen from each category to win $1000 to use towards their education, all you have to do is share your experience with us! (You must be a high school senior or college student to qualify.)

Students, please choose one topic from each of the following categories to write about:

1. Tell us about your saving’s resolutions for this year. How do you plan to accomplish these goals in 2011?

2. Tell us about your financial experiences in 2010. How do you plan to improve upon your financial health in 2011, and what will you do differently?

3. It is easy to rack up unnecessary debt through the use of credit cards. Do you have any high balances you need to pay off? How do you plan to pay this debt down and what advice would you give others in your current situation?

Once written:
1. E-mail your submission along with your Name, Address, Telephone Number, Contest Group (high school senior or college) to marketing@epefcu.org.

2. Become a Fan or Follower and leave a comment about your recent submission on any one of our social media sites below.

Contest Rules:

*Deadline to submit your essay is April 15, 2011, no later than 11:59 p.m. MST.

* Entries must be at least 1,000 words.

* Content must be original and cannot be published elsewhere.

* By submitting an article for this contest the writer is granting El Paso Employees Federal Credit
Union first and full publishing rights to your piece.

* The applicants will be judged by a committee. A winner will be announced in each category and monies will be given once membership has been established. For the high school category, money will be deposited into an Escrow account and will be released to the university the student enrolls in after graduation. For the college category, the funds will be released to the university which you attend. Please keep in mind that the funds are to be used for educational purposes only.

* Winners will be notied April 25, 2011 via the e-mail address with which they used to register for the contest.