Sources of Financial Aid Available For Students, Including Some You May Not Have Thought Of

Everyone is aware of the soaring education cost. Students always try to get scholarships to pay for their education. When applying for scholarships there is always certain qualifying criterion. You need academic excellence or an athlete, parents working in military, or something else. Did you know that simply being left handed can get you a scholarship! Sounds weird! That is what wacky scholarships are!

Some require a certain level of academic performance, some are targeted towards athletes, others to students whose parents serve in the military and so on. However, there are some other scholarships out there with much more esoteric criteria – for example, there are scholarships available for left-handed students! Sound strange? It is, but there are many wacky scholarships students may want to look into.

Quite a few of these less well known scholarships end up going unclaimed every year since very few people are even aware of their existence. While these scholarships may be somewhat strange, even downright bizarre, they’re something which any student would do well to have a look at.

There is a scholarship offered by the Tall Clubs International. This $1,000 scholarship is available to students who are over 6′ 2″ in height (or 5′ 8″ and up for female students). Exceptionally short students aren’t left out either – there are also scholarships awarded to students who are shorter than 4′ 10″ by the Little People of America and the Billy Barty Foundation. If you happen to be overweight, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance may have a scholarship for you as well. The NAAFA awards two scholarships annually to members of the association on a merit basis.

Students who are on the heavy side also have specialized scholarships to apply for. Two merit-based scholarships are awarded each year by the NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) to students who are members of this organization.

There are many other wacky scholarships out there which may fit with your educational goals, even if you may find them to be eccentric, even amusing. One very unusual scholarship is the $500 Kor Memorial Scholarship – if you’re a dedicated Star Trek fan, you may be especially interested in this particular scholarship program. It’s awarded by the Klingon Language Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting the Klingon language. Whether you’re a fan or not, you may want to look into this one: no Klingon language proficiency is required.

These wacky scholarships are only a small sampling of the many unconventional sources of funding for college which are available to students who are willing to seek them out. There are also scholarships awarded to caddies, vegans, artists and really any social or occupational group you can think of!