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Not Your Usual Scholarships

Not Your Usual Scholarships
3/10/2016
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Susan Dutca-Lovell

Do you ever feel like your unique, even weird and unusual talents and interests go unnoticed? Although academic, athletic, and merit-based scholarships are some of the most prevalent and abundant scholarships out there, there are colleges, universities, and organizations dedicated to rewarding quirky scholarships. The pool of students who have these attributes or skills is smaller than others, which means if you qualify, you have higher chances at winning the scholarship. Whereas academic and merit-based scholarships may require a certain GPA or class rank, these scholarships have unique eligibility requirements. Check out our list of unique, weird, and unusual scholarships below and see if you qualify by creating a profile:

Scholarships Calling Out your Name

There are few times in life where you can earn cash for your last name. If you happen to be a Catholic with the last name Zolp, you qualify for a scholarship from Loyola University Chicago. If you're one of the bright students planning to attend Harvard and have the last name Thayer, Downer, Bright, Hudson, or Baxendale, you may qualify for one of their named-based scholarships. Do you happen to have the last name Leavenworth and are currently or plan to attend Hamilton College? You may qualify for their Leavenworth Scholarship. Lastly, if you have the last name Gatlin or Gatling and plan to attend North Carolina State University, you may be eligible to win $60,000 in scholarships throughout your college career.

Creativity is Intelligence Having Fun

While there are plenty of scholarships looking for students interested in STEM fields, some students are more creative than those interested in STEM fields. Whether you love to write creative stories or poetry, there are prestigious organizations such as the National Student Poets Program that offer scholarships to bright young poets. If you have a knack for writing short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy, Writers of the Future Contest, sponsored by the founder of Scientology, awards $5,000 to the top writer.

Body-Rewarding Scholarships

Being left-handed has more benefits than you think. For example, left-handed students attending or planning to attend Juniata College qualify for a special scholarship only for lefties. The scholarship was founded by a left-handed alumni tennis duo. Gingers deserve some love too. The Scholarship for Redheads offers a scholarship just for redheaded beauties. And since people come in different shapes and sizes, there are specific scholarships for tall and short people.

Get Paid to Play

Your parents may have told you that video games is a mind-numbing activity that will never help you with your education. Columbia College thinks differently. Their program awards skilled League of Legends players and recruit two teams of five players - they expect to participate in the Collegiate Star League (CSL) in the near future, which has awarded more than $250,000 in scholarships to collegiate champions. Similarly, New York University offers scholarships to students who study game design and show active participation in the fighting game community.

Students Got (Weird) Talent

Being bi-lingual, tri-lingual, or multi-lingual is always a plus on a scholarship application. Being able to call ducks can be worth $2,000. The Chick & Sophie Major Memorial Scholarship Duck Calling Contest awards high school students who have duck-calling capabilities. You have 90 seconds to use four calls: hail, feed, comeback, and mating. Put your quack to good use and apply for the scholarship.

Objects Matter, too

If you have a sweet tooth or general love for candy, the National Candy Technologists offer up to $5,000 for those pursuing a study in culinary science, food science, chemical science, or a related area. Or perhaps you have a knowledge of fire sprinklers or a knack for creating attire completely out of duct tape. Even if you are one of the few people interested in vacuum coating technology, there is a scholarship worth up to $10,000. Look to your unusual talents, skills, or interests for extra scholarship money, because there is bound to be an organization out there to reward you for being you.

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