Think you have researched all of the college scholarships that are out there? Think again, I bet you haven't seen some of these unusual, crazy and odd scholarships. Shout out to our friends at Dualmasters.org for compiling this list.
Michigan Llama Association Scholarship: If your folks are alumni of the Michigan Llama Association, you can send an application in this scholarship worth $500, the cool thing is that is it renewable up to 3 times. All you have to do is write an essay about your family’s involvement with llamas.
Zolp Scholarship: Here are the three criteria for this scholarship: Is your last name Zolp? Are you Roman Catholic? Do you attend Loyola? If you meet these three requisites then you can a full-tuition scholarship as Loyola.
Van Valckenburg Memorial Scholarship: If anyone can Van Valckenburg can. Win a scholarship that is if you have that last name. In fact it is good for up to $1,000 towards tuition at any college.
Tall Clubs International Scholarship: Are you really tall? If so, you can take advantage of this “higher ed” scholarship. As long as you are at least 6′2″ and male, or at least 5′10″ and you are a female, then you can enter in for a $1,000 college scholarship.
Little People of America Scholarships: If you are a little person, you can qualify for this scholarship. Preference given to those who have a medically diagnosed form of dwarfism.
National Gay Pilots Association Scholarship: If you are gay, and planning to study aviation, this scholarship might be for you. You do have to be active in the LGBT community.
Gertrude J. Deppen Scholarship: Those attending Bucknell University, and who have lived in Mount Carmel for 10 years and graduated from the public high school, can get this scholarship. Oh, and you can’t be using narcotics, tobacco or intoxicating liquor.
Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Scholarship: If you are willing to study bagpipes from a world-famous instructor, majoring in the pipes, you can get $7,000 a year — and a discount on your kilts.
Coven of the Sacred Waters Scholarships: Do you have a talent for witchcraft? If so, you can apply for a $500 scholarship from the Coven of the Sacred Waters. You can also apply for a community service award — even if you aren’t a witch.
The Kor Memorial Scholarship: This is a scholarship offered by the Klingon Language Institute for those who have the talent of tongue. No, you don’t have to speak Klingon; but you do have to be studying language.
Starfleet Academy Scholarships: The International Star Trek Fan Association’s Starfleet offers a number of scholarships, based on different talents, including engineering, medical, performing arts, writing and business.
Excellence in Predicting the Future Award: If you are good at figuring out what the market will do, you can join in this contest to see whether you can win $400 by accurately predicting the market and increasing your account.
With a record number of students heading to college in America, we thought it would be cool to take a look at what the average college student could expect. This is a great breakdown of information ranging from tuition prices, drinking and the importance of social networking. It's crazy that 85% of college students are on facebook, but I guess that's not surprising. Also pretty interesting was that 1 and 10 admissions counselors look at a perspective students facebook page before deciding their fate. So make sure your social profiles aren't too crazy while you are going through the admissions process. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it is accurate?
I came across an article recently discussing America's Most Expensive Colleges. In this article Forbes.com lays out the 10 most expensive schools in the country. It amazes me that America can be in the midst of a recession and these colleges can still recruit students to their campuses. For the amount it costs to go to some of these schools for a year, you could have paid for four years at other colleges.
Here is a peek at the Top 10:
#1 Sarah Lawrence College
Courtesy of Sarah Lawrence College
Annual cost: $57,556 Tuition and fees: $43,556 Room and board: $14,000
#2 Columbia University
Courtesy of Columbia University
Annual cost: $54,385 Tuition and fees: $43,815 Room and board: $10,572
#3 Bard College
Noah Sheldon/Bard College
Annual cost: $54,275 Tuition and fees: $42,465 Room and board: $11,810
#4 Wesleyan University
Courtesy of Wesleyan University
Annual cost: $53,976 Tuition and fees: $42,384 Room and board: $11,592
#5 Vanderbilt University
Luis Anthony Munoz
Annual cost: $53,660 Tuition and fees: $40,602 Room and board: $13,058
Click here to see the rest of the Top 10 on Forbes.com. To find a college that may be more in your price range, visit our college search engine at AnyCollege.com.
Higher education is one of the biggest expenses a person incurs during a lifetime. Many people attend college thanks to scholarships for college freshmen and student loans. If you're fortunate enough to be attending school on a scholarship or with a lot of help from parents or family, then you may not be considering your financial situation carefully enough. In fact, many freshmen waste their college scholarship.
Those who pay for their own college, work their way through college or make big sacrifices to get there often do better financially because they are already well-trained in money management and time management. College preparation isn't just about taking entrance exams and attending parties, after all. Money management and budgeting will help make your freshman year less stressful.
First of all, if you don't already have your college textbooks, be prepared for the high cost of them. Depending on the classes you take and the required books, it's not unusual to spend $300 on textbooks for just one semester. The cost can actually be much higher than that. Look into buying used books through various places online that offer them, eBay and through the college library. There also may be a rental program that allows you to pay a fraction of the cost of the book and allows you to return it when the semester is over.
If you worked a job during high school then you already have some money management skills. Perhaps you've been saving for years through odd jobs or an allowance. But if you're not familiar with handling a budget and juggling money to make ends meet, your year as a college freshman could be an eye-opener. Just as you're now living independently in a dorm and essentially learning to be an adult, you're also now in charge of a budget. If you have a meal card with a set number of dollars loaded on it and that has to last to the end of the week or month, you'll very quickly find that making wise food choices means that you won't be forced to grab something out of a vending machine and call it a meal when you're food allotment runs out.
If you want to make your food dollars and your general budget stretch and still have some money to go with friends to a movie or to get a pizza on whim, sit down at the beginning of every week or month and write out a tentative budget. It doesn’t have to be too detailed or complicated, but make yourself aware of how much you can safely spend on different things instead of just guessing as you go along and then finding that you're running short. Financial maturity is part of being adult, and as a freshman year college student, it's one of the things that you'll learn that's at least as valuable as any class credit.
Visit AnyCollege where you can compare colleges and universities and find college tips on how to handle financial independence.
There was a good discussion on NPR this morning about a non-profit group that was formed to help U.S. Veterans pay off their student loan debt. It is actually two Veterans who started the group, Leave No Veterans Behind. This focused group is making strides to help relieve them of their Veteran student loans.
One of the founders shared a story about when he was deployed overseas he actually received a call from his student loan originator asking him to make a payment. Student loans are supposed to be deferred when a soldier/sailor is deployed, but for whatever reason the loan originator still called them. They ended up working it out in the end and it helped spark the idea of helping other Veterans out with their loans. If you would like to help a Veteran, please visit their website.
The average Veteran who attends school has an average student loan debt of $42,000. This eye-popping figure is what Leave No Veterans Behind is out to help with. The group has already helped wipe the student loan debt clean for 3 Veterans and they continue to seek out donations so they can help out the hundreds of thousands of other Veterans struggling to pay off their loans.
If you are Veteran, AnyCollege works with many schools that offer exclusive scholarship and financial aid options to Veterans, so be sure to check out some of these great colleges today. While you are at it, swing over and submit an entry for our scholarship drawing!
Starbucks announced today that they will begin offering free Wi-Fi at all of its locations nationwide starting on July 1st. Even better, you won't even have to register for an account and the Wi-Fi will not be limited. I have a feeling that the Starbucks near Colleges and High Schools are going to be a lot more busy starting in July.
While you are taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi, be sure to stop back by and read our blog or apply for our scholarship drawing!
Follower of AnyCollege.com on Twitter
Fan of AnyCollege.com on Facebook
Friend of AnyCollege.com on MySpace
Note: Increase your odds of winning by adding AnyCollege.com on more than one social network!
Step 2 Must have the provided logo as your profile picture on August 12th
See http://www.anycollege.com/contest/index.cfm for images
Step 3 Make the following post to your profile on August 12th:
' Win a $2,000 AnyCollege.com Scholarship! Take five minutes to apply at http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm '
Special Instructions:
Twitter followers, RT @anycollege
Facebook fans, post to 'What's on Your Mind'
MySpace fans, post to 'What are you doing right now?' or 'Bulletin Space'
Full Contest Rules:
1. Must be an incoming college freshman as of 2009 or 2010.
2. Must be a fan, friend, or follower of AnyCollege.com on Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter. Note: Joining more than one network increases your odds of winning!
3. Must have the provided AnyCollege.com logo as your profile picture on August 12th (all day!) AND post the following link to your page – Win a $2,000 AnyCollege.com Scholarship! Take five minutes to apply at http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm.
4. Winner will be chosen at random for a $250 giftcard and will be notified on August 13th through instant message on Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter. No information submission is necessary to win, however the winner must provide us with a mailing address for the giftcard.
No no, it's not the latest trendy store in the Gap line. It refers to an article recently posted by Inside Higher Ed (http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/dialog/news/2009/08/10/parents) about how low income parents are more likely to say there is no way their kids can attend college because there is no financial help and loans are too expensive.
Frederick and Mary F. Beckley “Left-Handed” Scholarship: Are you left handed? Are you going to Juniata College? Are you at least a sophomore? Then you can qualify for this left-handed student’s only scholarship. 
Little People of America Scholarships: If you are a little person, you can qualify for this scholarship. Preference given to those who have a medically diagnosed form of dwarfism. 
Carnegie Mellon Bagpipe Scholarship: If you are willing to study bagpipes from a world-famous instructor, majoring in the pipes, you can get $7,000 a year — and a discount on your kilts. 
Starfleet Academy Scholarships: The International Star Trek Fan Association’s Starfleet offers a number of scholarships, based on different talents, including engineering, medical, performing arts, writing and business. 
Starbucks announced today that they will begin offering free Wi-Fi at all of its locations nationwide starting on July 1st. Even better, you won't even have to register for an account and the Wi-Fi will not be limited. I have a feeling that the Starbucks near Colleges and High Schools are going to be a lot more busy starting in July.
