College Scholarships

Unusual College Scholarships

2009-03-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

There are college scholarships out there for just about anything. Literally. I have a scholarship for having my had shaved with a scar above my left eye. Okay, I'm kidding...but you get the point. Check out these 10 unusual college scholarships just to get an idea on how you can pay for college...and if you are eligible for one of these bad boys...apply today!

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. US citizenship is required. The award is given to skateboard activists.

Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award
The Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award is open to graduating high school senior scholar athletes. Candidates must demonstrate excellence in academics, athletic performance, leadership and community service. Candidates must also be a resident of one of the 48 contiguous states or the District of Columbia. There will be one scholarship of $7,500 awarded to each of 25 regional winners.

AACT National Candy Technologists Scholarship
The American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT) sponsors an annual $5,000 scholarship for college freshmen, sophomores and juniors (for use in the next academic year) who have demonstrated an interest in confectionary technology. Candidates should be attending an accredited, four-year college or university in North America, be majoring in food science, chemical science, biological science or related area, and have a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Zolp Scholarships
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.

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. US 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 Duck Tape sportswear for honorable mentions. The winning couple will be selected based on a variety of criteria, including originality, workmanship, quantity of Duck Tape used, use of colors, and creative use of accessories.

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 will be attending Juniata College. This scholarship is only available to students who are enrolled at Juniata College

Tall Clubs International (TCI) Scholarship
Tall Clubs International (TCI) offers a $1,000 scholarship for tall people, the Kae Sumner Einfeldt Scholarship. Individual chapters may also offer local awards. Women who are at least 5'10" and men who are at least 6'2" are eligible for the award. Candidates must be under 21 years old and plan to attend college in the fall.

Evans Scholars Foundation
The Western Golf Association sponsors the Charles "Chick" Evans Jr. Scholarship for golf caddies. Caddies must be nominated by their club, rank among the top 25 percent of their high school class, have a superior caddie record for two or more years, demonstrate financial need, and have outstanding personal character. More than 200 new Evans Scholars are chosen each year.

National Marbles Tournament Scholarships
The annual National Marbles Tournament awards $5,000 in scholarships to mibsters (marble shooters) aged 8 to 14. The tournament is held in June each year. The children crowned King and Queen of Marbles each receive a $2,000 scholarship. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to the boy and girl who win the spontsmanship award.

Illustrators of the Future Contest
The Illustrators of the Future Contest is open to artists from all nations. An entry consists of three black and white works illustrating a science fiction or fantasy story with no recurring theme. Entries may not have been previously published. The award is up to $4,000

Information found at FinAid.

Find Scholarships for College

2009-03-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

So you have heard the numbers, what is it now...like 10 billion or something in scholarships are out there?

But where?

Where can you, the student, find free money for college?

Well for starters, THE SINGLE BEST PLACE TO FIND SCHOLARSHIPS is....drum-roll please....

FASTWEB. Fastweb has 1.5 million scholarships available worth about 3.4 billion dollars. The Fastweb scholarship search is the largest, most accurate and most frequently updated scholarship database around, period. Google Fastweb, join by providing some information about yourself and your email, and start searching for scholarships that you are eligiable for.

The best thing about Fastweb: there are scholarships for low GPA's, high GPA's, any GPA, contest scholarships, scholarships chosen by drawing, for just about anything. You don't need to be the 4.0 college jock in order to really do some damage to that 20 grand tuition bill with the free money from Fastweb.

Secondly, my favorite place to get free money in the form of college scholarships is national banking websites. Usually this involves a little more work to find, but most national banks offer some form of scholarship that you can apply for. Google your favorite bank and check it out.

Next, ask your academic advisor in high school about college scholarships. Usually this person has many, many forms and packets to willingly hand you. Just fill them out and submit.

Finally, try the college you are applying to financial aid office. Usually you can find some hidden gems that aren't advertised greatly and apply to just that college.

So you want to pay for college without taking out loans? Start looking for college scholarships.

Scholarship and Grants 101: The FAFSA

2009-03-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

When dealing with college scholarships and grants, one document is key. The FAFSA. I know you have heard about it, but you probably don't fully understand it.

FAFSA stands for Free Application For Financial Student Aid.

Basically the FAFSA is a form the student and his/her parents/guardians fill out in order to determine how much a family is expected to contribute to the cost of a pos tsecondary institution; basically college.

FAFSA results also determine eligiability for grants, work-study, and federal loan amounts. The The FAFSA is critical because it is used for the Federall Pell Grant-and boy do I love this grant. Thanks to the Pell Grant I get approx. 4500 a semester of my college tuition payed for.

It is very important to fill this form out with your parents or gaurdians accurately and on time. If information is not accurate you can loose all elgiability for recieving any type of aid from the government.

Some basic information requested by the FAFSA includes:

Information about the student
Information about the student’s dependency status
Information about the student’s parents
Information about the student’s finances
A list of the schools that should receive the results of the FAFSA

You can find the FAFSA online here.

Finding College Scholarships

2009-03-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

College scholarships are out there, you just need to find them. But you may be telling yourself only students with 4.0 GPA's and 100 extracurriculars get scholarships right?

Wrong.

There are scholarships for virtually anything. I personally get scholarships and grants from the government because my parent's income sucks, because I am a work-study student, and because I am studying biology.

How much can this add up to you ask?

The answer: I get all my school's tuition, fees, room and board payed for, and then some.
That's right, I get paid to school, and the kicker: my high school GPA was 2.75. Thank you Uncle Sam.

Here is a list of the best places to find scholarships for college. I will go into more detail about specifics in a later post.

U.S. Government
The Government gives out more money for college tuition every year than any other financial aid resource in the world. The amount you can receive from the government varies from student to student based on factors such as GPA, need, family assets, state-funded programs, and so forth. The best thing you can do for yourself is to fill out a free FAFSA online and see if you are eligible for any awards from the government. It's free and it won't hurt you to try.

Local Organizations
Often, local organizations such as the American Legion, Boosters chapters, and the Rotary Club give out scholarships to high school students in their area. The best place to discover these hidden gems is to visit with your high school's career office.

Merit-Based Scholarships
Scholarships are often awarded based on achievement; either academic of athletic. Furthermore, scholarships are based on categories such as ethnicity, religion, club memberships, career plans, talent, and so on. In order to figure out what you could possibly be eligible for visit your schools career office.

Employers
In addition to these options, another potential college resource for student grants and scholarships is your employer. Often times, companies will award the children of employees with college scholarships and grants.