When it comes to scholarships, no requirement is too quirky or unconventional. The more unique the scholarship, the more creative its application process tends to be. That’s why it’s important to stay adaptable and up for any challenge. While some may shy away from the unusual demands, leaning into them can set you apart and give you a powerful advantage over other applicants.
Use your interests, abilities, or even looks to help find money for college! You may be surprised at the variety and resources available to you if you are willing to be open-minded and capitalize on all aspects of what makes you an individual.
If you're ready to get weird, here are some unusual submission requirements for some scholarship programs that may be the perfect fit for you. (And if you can't find any scholarships that fit your unique personality, don't hesitate to search for them!)
Tall Clubs International Scholarship
This club offers up to $1,000 to students under age 21 who are tall. The specific requirements are over 5'10" for women and taller than 6'2" for men. This scholarship is meant to help promote height awareness and help tall students offset the expenses their height require, such as specially tailored clothes.
Chick & Sophie Major Memorial Scholarship
Are you a skilled duck caller? Then this is the scholarship for you! Four financial aid scholarships valued from $500-$2,000 are awarded each year. Qualified applicants have ninety seconds to use four essential duck calls, including hail, feed, comeback and mating.
National Potato Council Scholarship
The Potato Leadership, Education and Advancement Foundation provides one $10,000 scholarship to a graduate student who intends to pursue a line of study within the Agri-Business field that will enhance the potato industry. Submission requirements include proof past potato related studies.
The Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
Commitment to a vegetarian lifestyle may qualify you for this $5,000 scholarship award that's given to two individuals each year. Submission requirements include proof of promotion of the vegetarianism, such as volunteer work, photographs or newspaper articles.
Sheep Heritage Foundation Memorial Scholarship
The American Sheep Industry Association has developed this scholarship for individuals enrolled in graduate school who are active in advancing the U.S. sheep industry, lamb and wool production. You must also be in a program involved with sheep or wool research in the areas of animal science, agriculture, economics, or veterinary medicine.
Create A Greeting Card Scholarship
For the artfully inclined, this $10,000 scholarship requires the submission of an original greeting card. This should include the artwork or graphics for the front of a greeting card. This scholarship is sponsored by The Prudent Publishing Company in New Jersey. Qualified applicants must be at least 14 years of age.
Stuck at Prom Scholarship
Duck Brand duct tape offers a scholarship to students who create a prom dress or tux entirely out of duct tape. The winning dress and tux each receive $10,000 with cash prizes also available to runner ups. This creative scholarship may seem strange, but can help students in their scholastic endeavors.
Eileen J. Garrett Scholarship
If you are pursuing your studies in parapsychology which is the study of paranormal phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis, then you may be eligible for this scholarship offered by the Parapsychology Foundation. Scholarship recipients are awarded $2,000 for their undergraduate or graduate studies.
Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards
Penguin Random House partnered with the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books to award college scholarships for five U.S. public school seniors. These up to $10,000 scholarships require that an original literary composition of poetry, spoken word, fiction/drama or personal essay/memoir be submitted.
Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship
With many shows and movies entertaining the idea of what the world would look like with streets filled with flesh-eating zombies, you may have envisioned what you would do if you lived in a post-apocalyptic world. High school seniors are asked to put their survival tactics and imagination to use for this unusual $2,000 college scholarship!
National Marbles Tournament Scholarship
Winners of the national Marbles Tournament are awarded scholarships at the event held each year. The annual event is held in Wildwood, New Jersey and is open to kids ages 8-14 who compete in the tournament.
Left-Handed Scholarship
Calling all lefties! If you are looking to attend Juniata College in Pennsylvania, you are welcome to apply to the left-handed scholarship established by Mary Francis Beckley who faced discrimination due to her left-handedness during her teaching career.
Make Me Laugh Scholarship
Looking for scholarships and preparing for college can be stressful, so use this scholarship as an opportunity to push all that to the back of your mind. Take any factual or fictional, funny or embarrassing event and describe it. Your retelling could earn your $1,500 for school!
Asparagus Club Scholarships
If food is what you're passionate about, the National Grocers Association Foundation Scholarship offers a variety of scholarships for those with a major that can lead to a career in grocery.
Contrary to popular belief, scholarships aren't just for students with high grades. Just like some of the scholarships above, there are scholarships available for students who demonstrate financial need, leadership abilities, devotion to community service, extracurricular activities and other criteria other than just academic excellence. With such a large pool of available scholarships, students from all walks of life and interests can work to win scholarships based on interest points other than just grades.
Scholarships with unusual requirements are looking to reward unique skills or qualities, or possibly looking to promote a specific cause or community. These may seem like strange or obscure scholarship, but know they are all legitimate opportunities for you to fund your education.
Reach out to your school counselor or your financial aid office to learn of new and upcoming scholarships that may be available to you based on your interests, your area of study, your background, or your geographic region. Anything that plays to your individual strength, check it out and see if there is a scholarship for your to apply for (and hopefully receive some money for!)
With scholarships changing each year, carefully do you research and ensure you meet all the eligibility criteria. Whether you're promoting vegetarianism, showing off your duck call abilities, or preparing for the zombie apocalypse, know there is a scholarship out there for you.
