Weird College Grants

Perhaps you are in need of financial assistance in order to attend college or another type of post-secondary schooling but can't seem to find any grants or scholarships for which you qualify that can award you a significant amount of money. Searching for funding can be frustrating, especially if you don't fall into a minority, a category of "low income" or don't have outstanding or above-average academic standing. However, if you know where to look, you can find some very weird college grant opportunities for which, based on particular talents or situations, you may be able to qualify.

For example, one of the most interesting grants available today is for an individual with the "best milk mustache". The Sammy Award is sponsored by the "got milk" campaign in conjunction with USA Today and awards $7500 to an individual with notable leadership qualities and an amazing milk mustache.

Another interesting scholarship recently awarded was for the Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest. You and a date can win money for college by wearing duct tape to the prom. In other words, you can fashion a suit and dress out of duct tape, submit your design, and get a scholarship.

There are other less well known weird grant opportunities available and the best thing is that there is usually little competition for these than for larger, more common need- and merit-based grants and scholarships. Do a little digging and find a weird college grant option for which you are eligible and see if you can't win some money for school!

List of Weird College Grants

• John Edgar Thompson Foundation Grant — $500 to $4400 awarded to undergraduate student that's a daughter of deceased railroad employee and must remain unmarried until age 22.

Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.