To be honest, I never had to worry about the financial aspect of getting into college. My grandpa set up a fund tied to the stock market when I was born. Ever since then, it has built and built to a sum that would have gotten me through my four years of college. However, as the economy crumbled, so did my beautiful cash. What was once a comforting amount of money has turned into a grim, unsettling, and still dwindling fortune. The playing field was leveled. I am now among the masses searching for a solution, a safe haven, a scholarship.

As I sifted through the results of my Google search, for “College scholarships”, I began to realize the simplicity of applying. Fill out a form, write an essay, create a video, etc. These simple tasks can all land a high school student a number of different scholarships. The best part was discovering the vast quantity of scholarships available. Looking further, I found a few odd-ball names and descriptions on the list:

1. Tall Clubs International Scholarship: If you are a guy and reach the height of 6”2 or a girl who makes it to a not-so-uncommon height of 5”10, then you are eligible for this particular scholarship. All you have to do is log on to http://www.tall.org and write an essay about what being tall means to you. If you win, a nice amount of $1000 would be yours.
2. The Billy Barty Foundation: Although I have a tall family, I was not given this particular gene. I am short. This has always seemed to burden me, but now it can be used for my benefit. The Billy Bart foundation awards a scholarship for those who are 4”10 and under and also have medical proof of dwarfism. I guess I am not short enough to be awarded this scholarship, but the organization hands out a total of $30,000 to students all over the country.
3. The School Band and Orchestra Magazine Scholarship: This scholarship is worth $1,000. The only thing you have to do is write an essay about why you think music should remain a part of the school curriculum. Go to http://www.sbomagazine.com/ to submit your essay.
4. National Make It Yourself with Wool Competition: This scholarship is for aspiring fashion designers who can work with a piece of wool. Construct a garment made from the itchy fabric, enter it into the competition, and possibly win money. Go to www.sheepusa.org/Make_It_With_Wool for more information.

Those were just some of the numerous scholarships that could be yours if you follow a few simple instructions. Go to www.collegeandfinance.com/32-weird-scholarships-almost-anyone-can-get to find a full list of strange ways to get money for college. Through this site, I was able to find five scholarships to apply for with a huge probability of actually winning. I would have never thought that I would be in this boat, scavenging for money to help get me through four years of college, but you never know what can happen. You never know what could happen in this unpredictable world, and it never hurts to be prepared for the worst.