While on the scholarship hunt you might come across programs that aren't particularly in the mainstream. Scholarship providers are a pretty diverse people and they may want to recognize and honor students that don't exactly fit the mold. Weird scholarships can definitely be a breath of fresh air to those regularly pumping out essays and filling out applications in hopes of winning a traditional program, but there are scholarships out there that can definitely take you way from the mundane road-mostly-traveled-on-path and give you an exciting experience that might offer interesting dinner conversations later on. If you're in the search for a few weird scholarships, here's a small list of the strangest that have been concocted by different organizations and companies across the nation.

Stuck At Prom Scholarship: This program is one of the weirdest scholarships out there. Essentially, you have to build prom dresses out of Duck? Brand Duct Tape and send in the most photogenic images of you and your partner to the website. It's a lucrative program awarding the couple with the best decorated outfit a $5,000 scholarship. Judging is based on workmanship (30%), originality (25%), accessories (10%) and use of duct tape (10%).

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance: As the name suggest, this organization wishes to spread the news about fat acceptance through various means. Obesity is an epidemic and can present obstacles to those who suffer with it. Sadly, some of those obstacles come from discriminatory tendencies from people or companies who aren't as understanding. The New England chapter of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance provided scholarships to individuals who fit the description. There are also scholarships for short and tall people as well.

Zolp Scholarship: This weird scholarship comes from Loyola University in Chicago. Basically, if you're last name is Zolp and you can provide a birth certificate and a baptismal or confirmation certificate proving that Zolp is your last name, you are eligible for this scholarship. The funds awarded vary and are only available to students of Loyola University that have been admitted by February 1. If your last name is Zolp, this sort of entitlement certainly increases your net worth!

Left-Handed Scholarship: Juniata College offers a neat little left-handed scholarship for those who are either left-handed or ambidextrous. According to an article from Scientific American, "Why are more people right handed?", they suggest that 5 to 30 percent of people are left-handed. There's really no way to measure this as it would require an intricate method to ensure accuracy, but that'll at least lower the competition for this program quite a bit.

There are plenty more weird scholarships out there for those who happen to qualify for the abnormal eligibility requirements. It's all about getting out there and searching! Of course, who would ever think to search for a scholarship for having a last name if they had no clue it was around. It might not be a good idea to think up some crazy scholarship idea (like an Apirl Fool's Day scholarship) and Google it to see what turns up, but there are many scholarship search engine sites available that can help make you aware of various programs no matter how zany they are. Weird scholarships can pop-up anywhere and could totally make your scholarship quest an enjoyable one. Just be sure to be extra cautious if you do find an April Fool's Day scholarship because you'd be a huge sucker if it turned out to be a prank. Happy Hunting!