Non-Athletic Scholarships
We know many of you will be choosing schools based on what schools your parents can afford to pay for or what schools offer you the most athletic scholarship money but keep in mind there is billions of dollars in non-athletic scholarship money available each year to anyone that applies and meets the criteria of the scholarship. Dismissing a school based on price before you have explored all your options is a common problem as families just assume they cannot afford certain schools.
Non-athletic scholarship money is an interesting phenomenon that often goes overlooked by students. Most people are familiar with the well-known scholarships like the National Merit scholarships, but there are thousands of other strange and unusual scholarships available out there that at the very least can pay for a small portion of your education when every penny counts. Many of these scholarships are donated or named after alumni who had a certain interest they were passionate about or a trait about them and they wish to pass their interests along in a meaningful way to a future student. They might donate $20,000 to a college and each year that college may offer a $1,000 scholarship to the student that best meets the criteria of the scholarship. Others are donated by companies, trusts, or families.
A few years ago there was a student (a fairly good one) who qualified for $885,000.00 in scholarship money, yes that's right, eight hundred and eighty five thousand dollars. How did he do that you ask, well, he did a lot of research and applied to as many scholarship opportunities as he could find? He obviously didn't get to use all that money; that is just what he qualified for. Part of his quest was for informational purposes to see how much money he could qualify for and he turned it into a game for himself.
Where to look
You should first start with your guidance counselor and ask them if they are aware of any school (high school) or town scholarships that you might qualify for. You could also ask them if they are aware of any scholarships at colleges you are applying to. Remember, your guidance counselor has probably been doing his/her job a long time and may be familiar with many colleges and available scholarships. At the very least they may be able to point you in the right direction if they are not aware of any.
The library is another good place to look, they should have a section devoted to resources for college and they should have books on scholarships and grants that you could possibly apply for.
The Internet may be your best bet. You can go online and run searches for scholarships based on certain criteria you have set forth. If you have a hobby or unique interest, I would be willing to bet that there is a scholarship available for you. There are also many sites online devoted to promoting college scholarships that will have scholarships listed by category and criteria. www.fastweb.org
While we could not possibly list every scholarship we came across in our research, below we have provided a sample of what we found to give you an idea of just how unusual they can be.
Scholarships not tied to a particular college or university.
The Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year. (Sammy). Awarded to senior high school athletes who have demonstrated excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, & community service. 25 available scholarships at $7,500 each. Last year there were 30,000 entries. See www.whymilk.com for more information
The Francis Ouimet Caddie Scholarship Fund: Criteria - Awarded to a student who has caddied three years for a Massachusetts golf club. Award - $500-$5,000. A summer job becomes even more lucrative.
The International Boar Semen Scholarship: $500 to Future Farmers of America who want to study swine management.
The New England chapter of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance: $500 to college-bound high-school seniors who are obese
The National Make It Yourself with Wool Scholarship offers $100 to $1,000 to knitters.
Here is my favorite. The Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck on Prom Contest. Available to students who attend their high school prom wearing an outfit completely made of Duct Tape (as a couple). First prize $2,500 per person. The secret is realizing that Duct Tape comes in more colors than just gray.
Examples of School specific scholarships.
The John Gatling Scholarship, named for the inventor of the Gatling gun, an early machine gun used in the civil war offers a full scholarship to North Carolina State University to students named Gatling or Gatlin.
The Joseph Bulova School in the New York City borough of Queens offers a $15,000 scholarship to disabled foreign students who want to study watch making.
Left-handed freshman enrolled at Juniata College who needs the money can apply to the Beckley Scholarship Foundation for a scholarship of $700.
The Gertrude J. Deppen scholarship at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., awarded each year to a student from Mt. Carmel, a town 30 miles from the school. The criteria - The recipient shall not be a habitual user of tobacco, intoxicating liquor and narcotics and shall not participate in strenuous athletic contests.
Some scholarships you come across will be for your high school only, some will be for students of your state, some will be to specific schools, while others may be national scholarships open to anyone in the country that meets the criteria of the scholarship and the money may be able to be used for any school. If you have any unique skills or hobbies, you should start researching any and every available scholarship that is offered to see what the criteria is for applying and when the application process takes place.
We cannot stress to you how soon you should start your scholarship search so you have more time to research and more time to prepare. Freshman year of high school is not too early to start searching for basic non-athletic scholarships just to see what is out there and what is available. Don't be like a lot of parents and students who find out about scholarships they were qualified for when they read about a classmate in the local paper being awarded for a scholarship. Most scholarships have specific deadlines so its critical you have an idea of when you need to meet certain deadlines for scholarships that you are interested in applying to.
For more information on the college recruiting and application process see The Making of a Student-Athlete
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