Weird Scholarships

The definitions of usual and normal have changed considerably over the past couple of decades. Earlier, normal used to be that which was considered correct in the light of traditional societal norms and were in conformity with social moral standards. Nowadays, anything that is followed by even a small niche falls outside the purview of unusual. And indeed, I see nothing wrong with that! In fact, this is a kind of a much-awaited attitudinal awakening that offers acceptance to practices and actions that were previously touted as abnormal, weird, useless or insane. For instance, twenty years ago, could anyone have accepted the job of a cartoonist as a proper, paying career? Coming to weird scholarships, these scholarships come across as a means of support and encouragement to those people who were not/ are not eligible for conventional scholarships for the purpose of furthering their causes.

Most of us may not be aware but there are a lot of unconventional and wacky scholarships available that have helped many people to carry on with their academic pursuits despite conventional scholarship opportunities shutting the doors over their faces. From a scholarship for being among the tallest in your campus to a scholarship for the left-handed (yes, those are the criteria whose fulfillment makes you eligible to earn these weird scholarships!), there is a wide range of these unusual scholarships that can take care of a significant part of your academic expenses. Read right ahead to find out which of these weird scholarships YOU qualify for!

Tall Clubs International Scholarship
This is one of the top weird scholarships for girls as well as guys as any girl whose height measures more than or equal to 5'10" and any guy whose height measures more than or equal to 6'2" is eligible to apply for it. Besides your God given height (thank your parental genes!), all you need to do is to write a composition on the subject What Being Tall Means to Me to earn a scholarship of $1000!

Van Valkenburg Memorial Scholarship
This one has completely got to do with your luck. To be eligible for this $1000 scholarship, you must be a descendant of Lambert and Annetje Van Valkenburg either through birth or legal adoption.

National Rifle Association YES Scholarship
This is one of the best weird scholarships for guys who are a part of the NRA Youth Education Summit. Of course, female members can also apply! Wondering what's weird about it? Well, applicants are not required to shoot rifles to apply for up to $30, 000 under this scholarship!

Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck on Prom Contest
This one tops the list of weird scholarships for high school seniors! To be eligible for this $3000 scholarship, a couple needs to craft prom outfits out of duct tapes. The winning couple gets $3000 as scholarship!

Zolp Scholarship
Is your last name Zolp and are you a Catholic? If you are, then you are automatically eligible to apply for this Loyola University scholarship!

Some other weird scholarships have been enlisted as follows. Just take a look and try guessing what their eligibility criteria might be!

• Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year Award
• Potato Industry Scholarship
• Sophie Major memorial Duck Calling Contest
• Excellence in Predicting the Future Award (ahem, before you get any ideas, it's about predicting the near future of the financial market!)
• The Billy Barty Foundation Scholarship (for short statured people; does it rival the Tall Clubs International Scholarship by any chance?)
• National Marbles Tournament Scholarship
• John Gatling Scholarship (planning to go to North Carolina University and happen to have the last name Gatling? Well, just go ahead and apply!)
• American Association of Candy Technologists Scholarship
• Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest
• Ayn Rand The Fountainhead Scholarship (Liked the novel? Then write an essay about it and you might just win $10, 000 as scholarship!)
• American Nudist Research Library Scholarship
• Collegiate Inventors Competition
• Mycological Society of America Scholarships
• Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation Scholarship
• Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
• National Make it Yourself Wool Competition

You can also check out the following Buzzle resources to get a load on weird scholarships:-

• Wacky Scholarships 2011
• Random Scholarships
• Scholarships for Left-Handed People

So, what route would your weird scholarships 2011 applications take? Are you game for that duct tape prom dress or would you rather preach vegetarian values within your college premises? Whichever route you take, I'm sure you'll find more than one scholarship among these for which you qualify! So, move on from the past of scholarship application rejections. These weird scholarships give you the perfect platform to fuel your academic journey!