Scholarships today have become incredibly unique, diverse — and often strange. Traditionally, there are eight kinds of scholarships: merit-based, need-based, student-specific, career-specific, college-specific, athletic, brand scholarships and creative scholarships. Scholarships have traditionally been based on strong academic success or need-based factors.
In recent years, more creative and nontraditional scholarships have gained popularity, allowing a broader range of students a chance for some scholarship money.
Weird, wacky and creative scholarships can be based on anything from talent, tests scores or simply having a particular last name. Sometimes, genetics can propel you to some tuition help as well. Scholarships such as the “Tall Clubs International Student Scholarship” and the “Little People of America Association” award up to $1,000 if you are of the requisite height and have a sponsor who is a part of the same club.
The Duck Brand Stick to Prom scholarship allows you the possibility to win up to $10,000 for exceptional duct tape prom outfits. Applicants can enter this contest as individuals or as couples. Once the suit and dress is complete, one need only send in a picture to potentially win $10,000.
Among the more interesting awards, you can receive scholarships for creating your own greeting card, showing your talent in mystery writing, being a twin or triplet — even being skilled in duck calling. Many of these scholarship offers vary in amount, but most begin around $500 and can reach be upwards of $10,000.
Some scholarships can be more career specific. For example, the American Board of Funeral Service Education offers a national scholarship for those interested in pursuing a degree in funeral service or mortuary science.
Websites like Scholarships.com and Fastweb.com are useful tools when looking for new and unusual scholarships — as well as internships, both paid and unpaid.
By creating a free account, these sites allow users to filter their searches by subjects of study, such as art or science; by gender; by careers; and by race or ethnicity to help students find scholarships that perfectly match their needs.
