Consider These 4 Unique College Scholarships

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Parents and students are looking for ways to keep the cost of college tuition down. While researching this topic on the web for my blog post, I came upon this web post by Matt Conrad from  Scholarship America.  Read below to learn about four very different scholarship opportunities available from some unusual sources.

Generally, we think about college scholarships and financial aid as pretty serious business. You spend precious hours searching out opportunities, crafting perfect essays, finding the ideal recommendations, and making sure your application is up to par—and the cost of college is certainly no joke.

But that's not to say you can't have some fun in the midst of your scholarship search. For every hyper-competitive national scholarship, there are dozens of options geared toward uncommon pursuits, unusual interests, and unlikely skills. These four scholarships may not appeal to everyone, but if you fit their criteria they can mean real money toward your college education.

One of the most ubiquitous elements of any student's college life is the lofted bed. When dorms are as small as they often are, every bit of space counts, and one of the easiest unusual scholarships to apply for is the OP Loftbed $500 Scholarship.

Sponsored by one of the leading manufacturers of bed lofts, this scholarship competition's unique twist comes via the application. Rather than asking about your grades, goals, or achievements, the judges are looking for the most creative short answers to a set of nontraditional questions. These range from "What song would you want to play every time you walked in a room and why?" to "What should be celebrated with a new holiday every year?" OP Loftbed runs the contest a few times a year; if you have a little time to think creatively, it's well worth submitting an application next time.

If it's hard to imagine college life without a bed loft, it's even harder to imagine everyday life without duct tape—and everyone's favorite adhesive can mean up to $5,000 in college cash for a creative couple. The Duck Brand Stuck At Prom Scholarship Contest, now in its 12th year, challenges high school prom goers to create entire outfits out of duct tape for the chance to win scholarships. Duck will choose its top 10, and then the public will vote for the first-, second- and third-place winners (who win scholarship funds for themselves and their schools).

You can start submitting your entries on March 7, but before you start planning, be warned that this is a little more intense than your average duct tape wallet project: Last year's grand prize winners didn't just make a suit and a dress from duct tape; they constructed flowers, lace and a vest and tie combo that, frankly, was nicer than the tux I wore to my prom.

While we're on the subject of ducks, did you know you can turn your passion for duck calling into scholarship dollars? Every November, the city of Stuttgart, Ark., hosts the World's Champion Duck Calling Contest; in conjunction with the main contest, any high school senior is eligible to enter the Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest, which awards scholarships to the top four finishers. Over the past 36 years, the memorial contest has given out $60,000 in scholarship funds; 2011 winner Gavin Roberts received a $2,000 award. If you're a skilled caller and will be graduating from high school in spring 2013, bookmark the contest page, and you might just find yourself on stage with next year's Queen Mallard.

Last but not least is one of the highest-paying unusual scholarships out there: the Ursinus College Creative Writing Award. The award may not actually sound that unusual, until you learn that it was formerly known as the J.D. Salinger Creative Writing Award—and that the writer receiving the award not only gets $30,000 per year, but also the chance to spend his or her freshman year living in the former dorm room of the reclusive Catcher in the Rye author.

While this scholarship is a big and competitive award, the college does treat it with the appropriate sense of humor as well: "In the spirit of Holden Caulfield … we are looking for an unusual perspective, for quirky brilliance, for a voice, not necessarily the kind that can be measured by conventional standards. Mr. Salinger never graduated, but we like to think that if his genius had been recognized with an award like this, he might have." If you're serious about writing, this unusual scholarship could be the ticket to a bright future.

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Matt Konrad, Scholarship America

Grants and Scholarships: Is Your College Stingy With Financial Aid?

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    Figuring out how to fund your college education can be overwhelming. If you've already been hunting around, it's clear that there's a massive amount of financial aid information on the web. Knowing where to look and what you should be looking for when you're applying for grants, scholarships, and other need-based financial aid can save you a huge amount of time and frustration.

Murray Miller, CEO of College Resource Center, LLC, wrote an article for StudentAdvisor.com on this topic.  I am reproducing it in its entirety because it is an excellent reference guide. 

Here are 3 steps for getting started with financial aid research:

1. Determine what percentage of financial need each college on your list has met historically.

All things being roughly equal, wouldn’t you rather attend a more generous school compared to a stingy one? StudentAdvisor's college profile pages offer information on what percentage of financial need has been met based off recent Department of Education data. Select a school from this list of US colleges to get started.

2. Determine how that college meets need.

This is the breakdown between free stuff (grants and scholarships) and self-help (loans/work study). Two colleges could meet the same overall percentage of need, but your financial aid could be vastly different between the two.

3. Pin down the priority deadlines!

Some schools require forms as early as November 1! Others may want you to file by February 15th. Make sure you research deadlines for each college on your list, since a lot of financial aid is first come, first served.

Now, a quick word on how to use the information uncovered in #1 and #2...

The ‘formula’ used by each school to determine your financial aid award is as follows: COA (Cost of Attendance) – EFC (Expected Family Contribution) = Need. Schools award financial aid based on how much need you show. As noted above, once you identify the percentage of need that your college meets, you have a decent handle on what your award will look like. Here is a simplified example:

Assume two colleges with a $50,000 Cost of Attendance and a $25,000 EFC. Your Need is $25,000. If “College A” meets 100% of need, you’ll receive an award of about $25,000 and your cost will be your EFC of $25,000. However, only the most elite, competitive colleges in the country will meet 100% of need. Most do not.

If “College B” only meets 80% of need, you may only receive $20,000 in aid, and you’ll have to pay about $30,000 (this is your EFC + the 20% unmet portion). So your total out of pocket for one year at the second school is $5,000 more than the first school, even though their sticker prices may be the same.

 Where to Look for the Answers

How can you find this information? Always check the official websites for each college. Understand that you will have to click around for a while – colleges don’t make this information easy to find. Typically there will be a section of a college website dedicated to the financial aid department. Sometimes this information can be tucked away on an admissions or prospective student section. If you're having trouble finding information on the school website, you can also call the financial aid office. But we warned - you may end up frustrated by the lack of responsiveness, according to most of the parents we work with. 

If you're still feeling lost you’d be well-served to consult a qualified college finance specialist. For example, our firm has all of this information at our fingertips and we get a lot of it directly from the colleges and some from the Department of Education. Our Smart Track™ Toolkit website has the tools (many of them for FREE) to help you project what each college will award within a small margin of error, and suggest legal and ethical ways to qualify for more grants and scholarships than you would on your own. No matter whether you seek out expert help or do it yourself, preparation and research can pay off in a big way.

Don’t put it off or you could lose out – on tens of thousands of dollars in financial aid.

If you have any other questions about selecting a college, or the admissions process, feel free to contact me through my website at www.Prep4CollegeNow.com  or call me at 760.877.7200.  I'd love to answer your questions!