Top 5 Weirdest College Scholarships

There is no lack of opportunity for students to get into college without drowning in debt. There are many kind-hearted souls out there who are willing to go the distance to give you a future. It is just that sometimes, these guys are crazy.

Who would ever think of asking people to make a dress using duck tapes in exchange of college money?

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are hard-pressed for funds, try one of these college scholarships. Most of these are so crazy, I doubt if there many students out there trying out for these ones.

10. Ducks

High school seniors who find themselves talented at calling ducks can partake in this national competition where the champion duck-caller wins $2,000. The competition has been running for 34 years now and takes place during the Duck Festival in Stuttgart, Arkansas.

9. The Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Scholarship

Lucky pipers planning on majoring in the bagpipes at Carnegie Mellon have it easy compared to other music majors, as there is usually only one applicant at a time for this scholarship. Some years, there haven’t been any at all.

8. The American Nudist Research Library Scholarship

The American Nudist Research Library was established back in 1979 to preserve the history of the nudist movement. And if you’re a nudist, don’t mind hanging out in Florida a while, and can offer the Library assistance upon graduating, they’re more than willing to fork over some cash for your studies. To quote their website, “The Library is a clothing optional facility, however, to maintain the integrity of our aging documentation, it is air conditioned to a temperature in the lower 70’s F.”

7. The Starfleet Academy Scholarship

It’s only $500, but that’s no amount to sniff at. As long as you’ve been a Starfleet member in good standing for one year, you can apply for one of the Starfleet Academy Scholarships, all of which are named after characters and performers who have been featured on Star Trek. The celebrities in question actually sponsor their named scholarships as well. Neat!

6. The National Marbles Tournament Scholarship

Everyone loved marbles as a kid, and if you’re between the ages of seven and fifteen, you can actually win a decent chunk of change playing the game. As long as you can beat out the other 1200 competitors, there’s a purse of around $4000 to be won. Of course, if you’re between the ages of seven and fifteen, you’re probably not reading this article.

5. The John Gatling Scholarship

If you want to attend North Carolina State University and your last name is Gatlin or Gatling, congratulations, you’re in. The grant amount varies from $9,000 to $18,000, but before you run off to the courthouse to change your name, you should probably know that only those born with the surnames in question are eligible.

4. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance Scholarship

It’s not like there’s a national shortage of fat people attending universities, so rather than just setting up a scholarship that any fat person could apply for, the NAAFA came up with something more creative. This award goes to student fashion designers who express an interest in designing clothes for the plus-size figure and provide drawings of their ideas.

3. The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund

Just when you thought nothing on the internet could surprise you: welcome to the highly competitive world of junior golf caddies. Applicants for this $1,500 to $7,500 scholarship must have worked for at least two years as a golf caddy, and provide letters of recommendation from at least three golf club employees.

2. Student Donor Youth Leadership Awards

Though there’s no link for this one, if you contact your local organ donor service, you’ll find that there are a variety of Student Youth Leadership Scholarships available to students who promote organ donation and are donors themselves. Don’t worry, you don’t have to have completed the donation process to win.

1. The Excellence in Predicting the Future Award

The name may be a little snarky, but this scholarship isn’t intended to go to future Miss Cleos. Rather, it’s awarded to students who intend to study economics, to encourage them to focus on market prediction. The scholarship is run as a contest where applicants participate in a simulation prediction market, and whoever makes the most money by the deadline gets $400 in real-world money.