Tue, Feb 8, 2011
Scholarship Secrets: 5 Weird Ways To Pay for College
Posted by Mark Kantrowitz
Excerpted from Secrets to Winning A Scholarship, available for purchase today from Monster’s Fastweb.com – the leading scholarship search site.
Scholarships are free money for your college education. More than 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.5 billion are awarded by donors, philanthropists, foundations, corporations and other charitable organizations every year. Most scholarships are based on special qualifications, such as academic, artistic or athletic talent.
Some are based on special circumstances (e.g., one of your parents is a cancer survivor) or even where you live (e.g., community-based scholarships). Some are based on demonstrated financial need. Then, there are some whose unique prerequisites defy categorization.
Talk show hosts like David Letterman have popularized the use of top ten lists, so it is only fitting that the David Letterman Scholarship appear on the following list of most unusual scholarships.
Top Five Most Unusual Scholarships
1. Scholarship for Left-Handed Students: The only scholarship for left-handed students is the Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship of up to $1,000. This scholarship is awarded to left-handed students who are enrolled at Juniata College. For more information, write to Office of Student Financial Planning, Juniata College, 1700 Moore Street, Huntington, PA 16652. With your left hand, of course.
2. Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest: The Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck on Prom Contest is open to students age 14 years or older who are attending a high school prom in the spring. U.S. citizenship is required. Entrants must enter as a couple (two individuals) and attend a high school prom wearing complete attire or accessories made from duct tape. The submission must include a color photograph of the couple together in prom attire. The first place prize consists of a $3,000 scholarship for each member of the winning couple and a $3,000 cash prize to the school that hosted the prom.
Other prizes include $2,000 for second place, $1,000 for third and $500 for runners up. The winning couple will be selected based on a variety of criteria, including originality, workmanship, quantity of duct tape used, use of colors and creative use of accessories. The Duck Tape contest web site, includes photographs of the winning costumes in addition to application information and materials.
3. David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship: The David Letterman Scholarship was established by David Letterman in 1985 to provide scholarships for telecommunications students at Ball State University The awards are intended for average students who nevertheless have a creative mind. Winners are selected primarily based on creativity. Projects may involve a variety of media, including written work, research, audio, video, graphics and film. The winner receives a $10,000 scholarship. The first runner-up receives $5,000. The second runner-up receives $3,333.
4. Zolp Scholarships: Your last name could be worth some money for college, if it happens to be Zolp. The Zolp Scholarship is restricted to students at Loyola University in Chicago who are Catholic and whose last name is Zolp. The student’s last name must appear on their birth certificate and confirmation certificate. The scholarship provides full tuition for four years.
There are many other “named” scholarships established by alumni at other colleges. These include scholarships for students with a last name of Scarpinato at Texas A&M University; Gatling or Gatlin at North Carolina State University; and Baxendale, Hudson, Thayer, Downer or Bright at Harvard University..If your last name is Van Valkenburg or one of several variations and you are a descendant of Lambert and Annetje Van Valkenburg, who emigrated to the U.S. in 1643, you may be entitled to a $1,000 scholarship.
5. Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship: The Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship awards one $5,000 and three $1,000 scholarships to skateboarders who are high school seniors with a GPA of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Recipients must enroll as a full-time undergraduate at an accredited college or university the fall after high school graduation. U.S. citizenship is required. The award is given to skateboard activists. The deadline is in late April. For more information, click here.
Click here for more information on these, the rest of our Top 10 list and dozens of other unusual scholarships.
This post was excerpted from Secrets to Winning a Scholarship, a guide for any parent or high school student looking to reduce the cost of going to college. Written by Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Fastweb, with a forward by Suze Orman, the new eBook provides insider tips on the best strategies for winning scholarships, how students can make college more affordable and access to useful resources. The book also includes several top ten lists of the different types of scholarships, such as the most prestigious, most generous and even the top ten scholarships for children under age 13.
Check it out at http://www.fastweb.com/content/scholarshipsecrets
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