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The people who are behind these scholarships have views that definitely aren’t mainstream, but why be a conformist? If you feel you have a weird trait about you that deserves recognition, or better yet, a monetary award, feel free to browse the unusual scholarships listed below and see if you meet the strange conditions.

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Weird Scholarships

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This is a unique scholarship available only to those with red hair! If you’re a natural redhead, you have a chance to win a decent scholarship. For the 2013-2014 year it will be worth $500. Beyond being a natural redhead, you must also be applying to an accredited 2 or 4 year institution, live in the United States, be a junior or senior in high school and have a GPA of at least 2.5. When applying, you must answer the question “What it means to be a redhead”. You can write an essay, make a video or submit a drawing to enter.

Not a very well-known career choice which is why it’s included in the Weird Scholarships List. Vacuum coating is the process of applying UV-curable coatings to items made of plastic, wood, metals and composites. The Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation offers scholarships to those interested in this career annually with varying funding amounts. A selection committee will determine the winner based on relevancy of the applicant’s major, merit and financial need. Now if you aren’t interested in vacuum coating, or if this is your first time hearing about it, read about the profession on the website and, who knows, you might fall love. Learning about the various components that make up the vacuum coating process might earn you an arrow for cupids bow.

If you’re a Texan, the Navarro County Youth Expo Llama Show offers weird scholarship awards to students who score high in showmanship, obstacle and public relations during the competition. If a Michigander, the Michigan Llama Association Scholarship will award members renewable $1,000 scholarships to those who hold at least a 2.7 GPA for high school students and a 3.0 GPA for students in a post-secondary institution. They also have an exhibition where you can show your Llama off to cheering spectators. If you don’t own a Llama, but hold to values of compassion, humility, contemplation and courage, applying for the Dalai Lama Scholarship from the University of California could decrease your tuition payments by $10,000.

From the Vegetarian Resource Group comes a bountiful weird scholarship worth $5,000. Of course, you must be a vegetarian to receive this scholarship, so no meat-eaters allowed. They ask you to compose an essay with the provided questions they give you. Some of the questions include “Why vegetarianism is important to you?”, “What restaurants you would recommend to a non-vegetarian” and “How would you promote vegetarianism in your high school and/or community?”. The amount of money is definitely worth the little bit of effort required for this award, and possibly even a diet change. They also have a Vegetarian Video Scholarship and the Eleanor Wolf Scholarship.

This is probably one of the most selective of all the weird scholarships I’ve found. In order to receive the funds from this award, you must be attending Loyola University based in Chicago and have Zolp as your last name. If you know someone with this last name, make them aware. According to Ancestry.com, that name is of Russian origin. And even though it’s highly selective, it’s extremely easy. All you need is a copy of your birth certificate and a baptismal or confirmation certificate. A similar scholarship exists for those named Van Valkenburg and their variants.

If you’re interested in confectionery technology, applying for the American Association of Candy Technologists’ John Kitt Memorial Scholarship could award you $5,000 in college funds. Simply maintain a 3.0 GPA and be majoring in related fields to be eligible. If you’re a technological whiz with a sweet tooth, taking the time to fill out the application is highly recommended. All that’s need is a reference, answers to a few questions and a personal statement.

The Starfleet Star Trek Fan Association awards students who have been members for at least one year $500 in scholarship money. Their scholarship program runs from January 1 till June 30th and they offer ten truly weird scholarships per year. A few of those include the George Takei International Studies Scholarship, the Patrick Stewart Scholarship for the Performing Arts, the Space Explorers’ Memorial Scholarship and the Law & Order Scholarship. You can visit their site to find other scholarships connected to actors/actresses of the series. Sadly the amounts won’t guarantee a full-ride through college, but who cares when you’re on the Starfleet?

This helms from the Klingon Language Institute and awards $500 to students who are pursuing degrees in language study. The scholarship is named after Kor, a revered Klingon warrior, and is actually a memorial scholarship even though his mere existence is a few hundred years away (Treky publications date his death in 2375 in the battle at Trelka Five, weird huh?). Still though, he’s generous enough to provide scholarship money students interested in language study.

Jif offers a uniquely wierd scholarship given to young peanut butter fans who have a palate for fine cuisine. They host a Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest where kids and parents can think up unique recipes for a decadent peanut butter sandwich in hopes of winning the $25,000 college fund offered. Runners-up receive $2,500 for college and a Jif gift basket. Some of the past winners include a P-Nutty BBQ Chicken Quesadilla, Po’ Boy Peanut Butter Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwich and a Peanutty Wrapple Rolls with Maple Dipping Sauce.

This is a very lucratively weird scholarship that could potential earn you a $5,000 scholarship towards your school of choice. This contest is all over the net and is one of the most unique scholarship programs around. Create the weirdest, most creative or enchanting prom outfit out of Duck® brand duct tape to enter the scholarship. Upload your image by June 13 and hope to receive the most votes to win the cash prize. Second and third place entries win $3,000 and $2,000 respectively with the rest of the top ten earning $500 each. The contest will be judged on workmanship (30%), originality (25%), use of color (25%), accessories (10%) and use of duct tape (10%) so be experimental and add a ton of detail to have a better chance of winning the top prize.

The American Fire Sprinkler Association offers a few easy scholarships to those who don’t mind doing a bit of reading. All they require is that you read the “Fire Sprinkler Essay” and answer ten questions based on what you’ve read. This is a multiple-choice quiz and is open book so feel free to print out the essay for easy reference. Each correct answer qualifies you for another entry into the contest (ten entries total). They have another weird scholarship that functions much in the same way via their Second Chance program.

