There’s nothing like free money – especially when it can be applied to something as productive as college tuition. However, the best free college money – scholarships – can often be difficult to obtain because of their strict guidelines.
But before you decide to give up on the idea of getting your own scholarship, take a look at 45 of the weirdest college scholarships out there. With scholarships as strange as these, you may be eligible for more free college funding than you think!
- Tall Clubs International Scholarship – If you’re a male 6’ 2” or taller, or a female 5’ 10” or taller, you just may qualify for this $1,000 scholarship. To qualify, you simply need to write an essay entitled “What Being Tall Means to Me.”
- Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award – This $7,500 scholarship, free trip to Disney World and spot in a Milk Mustache ad are available to 25 student-athlete high school seniors with 3.20 GPAs who participate in school or club sports.
- Van Valkenburg Memorial Scholarship – You can win $1,000 if you’re a descendant through birth or legal adoption of Lambert and Annetje Van Valkenburg.
- Potato Industry Scholarship –The National Potato Council awards annually one $5,000 scholarship to a graduate student pursuing Agribusiness, which enhances the potato industry.
- Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck on Prom Contest – Who would ever think that creating prom outfits out of duct tape could win a lucky couple $3,000 in scholarship money?
- American Welding Society Scholarships – Are you a talented welder – or have an interest in being one? If so, you may be eligible for welding scholarships that could help pay for education in soldering, brazing, joining and thermal spraying.
- Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation Scholarship – $2,500 is awarded to one or more students annually who love the art of vacuum coating. Is this for you?
- Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship – Scholarship funds are awarded each year to sophomores, juniors and seniors attending Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA. To quality, you must be left-handed, have financial need and a good GPA.
- Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest – If you love ducks season you may be eligible for $2,000 in scholarships. So get your favorite duck call and get prepared to win some money!
- David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship – Students attending Ball State University could win up to $10,000 in scholarship money by submitting a variety of creative media.
- Excellence in Predicting the Future Award – You don’t have to be a fortune teller to win this $400 award. You just need to be good at predicting the financial market and have a desire for economics.
- The Billy Barty Foundation – This scholarship is awarded to students who are short in stature – under 4’ 10” – and have proof of dwarfism.
- National Marbles Tournament Scholarship – This contest for eight to 14 year olds awards between $1,000 and $2,000 scholarship money to those skilled in the game of marbles.
- Common Knowledge Challenges – If you know a lot about a lot then you may be eligible for a series of Common Knowledge Scholarships that range from $250 – $3,000.
- Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship – Looking for $5,000 in college scholarship money? Simply be a vegetarian high school student who promotes vegetarianism in your school or community.
- National Make It Yourself Wool Competition – Do you consider yourself a fashion guru with a special taste for wool? If so, you may qualify for one of four scholarships with the American Sheep Industry.
- Discover Scholarship Award – This scholarship for high school juniors requires a 2.75 GPA and proof of a significant roadblock to earn $40,000 for post-high school education, training, certification or licensing.
- Alice Mcarver Ratchford Scholarship – This special scholarship goes to single female undergraduate students in financial need who live on campus, don’t have a car and no other scholarships.
- KLI Academic Award: The Kor Memorial Scholarship – If you’re a “Trekky” then you’ll love this $500 scholarship from the Klingon Language Institute for students in the field of language study. Luckily, you don’t need to know Klingon to qualify!
- Dannie Jasmine Mule Deer Foundation Scholarship – This $500 scholarship is eligible to students who love of nature, are enrolled at University of Nevada, Reno and have studied Environmental and Resources Science for at least two semesters.
- John Gatling Scholarship – Do you plan to attend North Carolina State University and have the last name Gatling or Gatlin? If so, you may be eligible for this full-ride scholarship.
- School Bank and Orchestra Magazine Scholarship – By writing a simple essay you could qualify for $1,000 in scholarship money. 2009’s entry essay is “I believe music must remain a part of the school curriculum because.”
- American Association of Candy Technologists Scholarship – College sophomores, juniors and seniors could qualify for $5,000 in scholarship funds if they carry a 3.0 GPA and major in food science or other related areas. Sounds like a sweet deal!
- Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest – If you didn’t get the Klingon Scholarship, you may qualify for this contest that awards student authors and illustrators in the genre of Science Fiction.
- National Rifle Association YES Scholarship – After being accepted to the NRA Youth Education Summit, contingents may apply to the scholarship that awards up to $30,000 in college aid – no rifle shooting required.
- American Society for Enology and Viticulture Scholarship – Being a grape lover has definite benefits, especially when it comes to this scholarship that awards undergrad and grad full-time students majoring in viticulture or encology.
- Ayn Rand The Fountainhead Scholarship – If you enjoyed the book The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and are in the 11th or 12th grade, you could receive up to $10,000 in scholarship money by writing the best essay concerning the novel.
- Hood College Heritage Scholarship – If you have a parent or grandparent who received a bachelor’s degree from Hood College, you may be eligible for a $5,000 one-year scholarship.
- OP Loftbed Scholarship – This $500 scholarship only requires that you attend an accredited college or university and answer a few quirky questions (ex. What will you type in your next TEXT, Tweet, or Instant Message to your best friend?).
- Evans Scholars Foundation Scholarship – Golf lovers could benefit from this WGA-sponsored scholarship that gives young caddies with financial need (and a great caddie record) the opportunity to pay for college.
- Zolp Scholarship – Here’s another lucky last name scholarship. This one is from Loyola University and asks that your last name be Zolp and you be Catholic in order to qualify.
- Gertrude J. Deppen Scholarship Fund – To qualify for this scholarship, you must have resided in Mount Carmel, PA for 10 years, attended Mount Carmel Public High School, stay away from tobacco, liquor and narcotics, and steer clear of strenuous athletic contests.
- Carnegie Mellon University Bagpipe Scholarship – This highly uncompetitive scholarship offers $7,000 yearly to bagpipe major students.
- Eileen J. Garrett Scholarship – The desire to study parapsychology along with proof that you’ve written about it before is all you need to qualify for this $3,000 scholarship.
- Starfleet Academy Scholarship – If you’re an active Starfleet member (an organization modeled around Star Trek) who attends any type of post-high school learning institution you could earn $500 in scholarship money.
- United States Bowling Congress (USBA) Scholarships – USBA offers a number of scholarships to bowling fans with dollar amounts ranging from $1,000 to $2,500.
- American Nudist Research Library Scholarship – If the nudist in you is itching to get out – and you don’t mind living in a nudist colony – then you could benefit from $1,000 for college.
- Surfrider Foundation Scholarship Program – This grassroots organizations awards scholarships to undergrads, grads and PH-D students who are members of the Surfrider Foundation.
- Michigan Llama Association (MLA) Scholarship – Being an MLA member or being the child of a member is all you need to qualify for this scholarship.
- Tylenol Scholarship – Tylenol offers $5,000 to $10,000 awards to 40 lucky students each year. How to qualify? Desire a career in the medical field.
- American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship – High school students who don’t mind reading an essay about fire sprinklers then taking a 10-question test could qualify for a $2,000 scholarship.
- Collegiate Inventors Competition – Students who have you been enrolled full-time at a U.S. or Canadian college or university for at least 12 months and have a new idea, process or technology could qualify for $15,000 in scholarship money.
- LaFontaine Aquatic Entomology Scholarship – The Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) $500 scholarship is for aquatic entomology lovers and scholars performing research in the field.
- Mycological Society of America Scholarships – $2,000 scholarships are available to students, teachers and researchers who study mycology (the study of fungi).
- Hiram College Hal Reichle Scholarship – Talk about quirky. This scholarship comes from the Secret Society of Serendipitous Service to Hal (SSSSH), which loves students dedicated to community service.
you should have seen the scholarships in Florida’s state community college system: one academic achievement based scholarship allowed non-whites to qualify with a half-point lower GPA than whites. How’s that for expectations?
hey glenn..too bad you could not find the time to mention that college or was that intentional based on heresay ..how’s that for passing false information
actually there’s many schools in the south that do things like that, and I’m sure there’s schools elsewhere that do it, as well. It could be that the college system in question seems to have a lower level of non-white students and want to increase that amount. I went to High School in San Antonio, Tx and have seen plenty of scholarships for people who are of one ethnicity and not available to others.
Fair, absolutely fair. Don’t deny our society ills when making scholarship available! It is not about expectations, it is about, potential.
BTW do you know what they call the LAST place person in GPA in medical school? How about DOCTOR!
How many of these scholarships are scams? That common knowledge one wreaks of data-mining.
Duck Tape’s “Stuck at Prom” contest has to go down as one of the all-time greatest word of mouth marketing strategies. What a fantastic idea.
I don’t think the common knowledge one is, a quick google search found it recommended by a number of high school advising websites.
I’m a college student and I signed up for it using my junk email account, I’ll post an update if it’s legit or not
Were you able to find out if the common knowledge one was legit?
I’ve been using since last year and it’s all random quizzes.
So if you know everything from a baseball team’s record to the process of cloning, then you might win something. And you have to wait before the quizzes are available which could be around a few weeks. :/
Oh wow, a lot of scholarships but unfortunately I can’t apply to a single one of them… Will keep checking fastweb.com… haha
Wrong, everybody can apply to the OP Loftbed one. But thanks for not applying. That’s one fewer candidates competing against me.
About 10 years ago I was researching and found one scholarship from Clairon for “natural blondes” and one for a students who had never smoked nor drank alcohol.
I happen to be a natural blonde in desperate need of scholarship money. Do you know if the clairon scholarship is still available?
Great post! We’ve included it in our recent “Best of Personal Finance Roundup.”
http://www.wisebread.com/best-of-personal-finance-roundup-where-to-find-free-antibiotics
Keep up the great work
What, nothing for straight white men? Oh yeah that’s right, everything gets handed to them…
Including all of bills and the blame…..
Except scholarships. Especially if they’re single.
Phenomenal read. I’ve already forwarded this to three adult friends who are thinking about going back to school. Surprised at the lack of UFO studies-related scholarships . . . not sure why, though.
Geez people there’s no reason to make racist remarks. Ami your statement about straight white men being handed everything is completely untrue. I sure hope you get a scholarship and go on to study about different cultures so you may learn to appreciate the fact that every culture and race has challenges.
No, it’s pretty true. As an education major, I had to take Intro to Diversity. The gist of the class? It’s all Whitey’s fault. Modern American Writers: who the hell is Whitey, we don’t need him. English 102: “Waah! Whitey is oppressing militantly anti-American lesbian Hispanics!”
Trust me, if three years of college have taught me anything, it really is all Whitey’s fault…
the loftbed one is amazing! and as for the non smoking one I want it!
Ami ur an idiot! If you pay any attention to anything, all the white man gets is what he works for. How many WHITE PEOPLE only colleges do you see? or WHITE MEN only? none. But there are college of the-some-famous-black-man university or all-some-race-women college. White ppl get NOTHING given to them! Can you imagine the back lash if there was a white people only anything? It would be HORRIBLE! the word racist would spill out of every mouth. A college for all blacks is ok & accepted & given every chance to florish & expand. If there was a white only college, it would be the center of crime & threats & vandalism. Your so…….i cant even think of a word to call you.
Everyone, lets calm down here and look at some of the facts of American history. I too am a college student and have taken enough anthropology and sociology classes to know something about race relations. Affirmative action (using race or gender as a qualification for scholarships/ jobs/ college acceptances) was created and used in an attempt to offset hundreds of years of racial oppression in the US. Granted, it is very understandable to be frustrated by this fact. After all, everyone believes that they “have never been a racist.”
BUT the social implications of racist institutions still affect us today. In response to Kim’s post- nearly every European and American college since they began were reserved for wealthy white men. And by 1900, only 2.8% of people in US colleges were women. Thats nothing! After a lot of hard work, the number of men and women in colleges is equal in most schools. Point being that if some special treatment of minorities can level the playing field, I believe we would all be better off.
Wow, Kim.
I saw an, albeit a rather rude and politically incorrect, image with text posted on someone’s myspace page that made me laugh a guilty laugh. It was an image of a “special needs” child running along a track with a subtext that read something like, “Arguing over the internet is like running in the special Olympics. Even if you win you’re still retarded.” That having been stated, let me please reiterate my point more directly by stating that I don’t want to argue and the following statement is merely an observance.
You’re obviously white and have no idea what life in America is like for people of mixed or non-white ethnicity.
Kim,
Ami was being ironic/sarcastic (look them up in your dictionary). Ami agrees with you although not as vituperatively. Misunderstanding another’s tone is unfortunately easy to do on the internet. It’s also a good example of the subtle cultural differences that non-mainstream people must learn to interpret.