(ARA) - Parents hoping
their college-bound children will scratch up a few extra dollars for their
higher education probably aren't encouraged to see them riding skateboards,
designing prom fashions with duct tape, or studying Klingon. But these
activities could, in fact, pay off.
College scholarships are no longer the exclusive realm of the gifted athletes
and flawless test takers. More organizations are making money available to
students with an array of interests and talents. Jean Danielson, director of the
educational research department for FastWeb (www.fastweb.com), the leading
scholarship search Web site, says, "Sponsors of scholarships try to help
students be well-rounded people. Academics are critical to success in a
collegiate environment, but so is one's ability to think creatively."
Creative thinkers might try to win an award from The Collegiate Inventors
Program. Their $50,000 grand prize goes to a student whose inventive idea will
be of value to society. Then there's The Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship,
which awards one $5,000 and three $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors who
skateboard. Or for the fashion conscious, high school students who attend their
prom in garments made from duct tape can win $2,500 each from Duck brand duct
tape.
FinAid (www.finaid.org), an award winning financial aid resource Web site, has
an entire page of unusual scholarships. FinAid's publisher, Mark Kantrowitz,
added the page after continually fielding questions about a scholarship for
left-handed students. (It's the Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship for
left-handed students attending Juniata College). "My personal favorite is
the Duct Tape scholarship," Kantrowitz says. "The costumes the
candidates create are amazing."
The FinAid list (www.finaid.org/scholarships/unusual.phtml) also includes the
Kor Memorial Scholarship from the Klingon Language Institute which encourages
scholarship in the field of language study. There are also awards for twins,
caddies, short students, tall students, and everyone in between.
"Unconventional scholarships acknowledge that students are diverse and
creative people. The same student who earns an honor scholarship for English
composition may also create space art," Danielson says. And that artwork
might win the student the SPAACSE Lilliane Web Art Scholarship, which is
sponsored by a group of artists who encourage space art as a means of expressing
the beauty of spaceflight.
So how do students make sense of the wide array of available scholarships? One
way is to register with a Web site like FastWeb. This free service uses a
detailed profile to match students to awards in its database. With more than
600,000 scholarships cataloged, there's a good chance you'll find an award you
qualify for. Students might also reach out to organizations affiliated with
their interests and hobbies.
Whether it comes from a Fortune 500 company or a local civic organization, today
there are more opportunities than ever for students to use their unique talents
to find money for college.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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