Yesterday, the big “oh, look, a distraction from my homework!” news was a boy in Colorado who had apparently climbed into a homemade hot air balloon and floated away.  This, of course, raised questions. The immediate question was, “is this for real?” especially after he was found hiding in his house, safely on solid ground, a few hours later.  Immediately on the heels of this first query was a second, “who builds a giant balloon in their backyard, anyway?”

While no one has had much luck answering the first one yet, maybe you’re the type of student who knows the answer to the second question.  For some people, there’s a certain allure to creating and executing plans for original creations.  While your experiments and blueprints may not have resulted in a shiny balloon capable of capturing and holding national attention for hours, your inventions can still gain you recognition, and even cash, by way of scholarship awards.  So if the saga of “balloon boy” yesterday inspired you to build your own airborne contraption, you may want to see if you can win some scholarship money by doing so.

There are numerous scholarships available for more inventive students, whether they’re interested in engineering, design, business and entrepreneurship, or just making cool things as a hobby.  Students engaging in other out-of-the-ordinary pursuits in addition to inventing may take an interest in any number of unusual college scholarships, ranging from awards for speaking fluent Klingon to awards for exceptional duck-calling.

Aspiring inventors who are looking for college aid will definitely want to check out the Collegiate Inventors Competition.  This annual scholarship offers awards of up to $25,000 for doing what you do anyway: creating and developing a new and workable idea, process, or technology.  Students more interested in building elaborate designs from shiny material, on the other hand, may find themselves drawn to the Duck Brand Duct Tape “Stuckat Prom” Contest.  This well-known annual scholarship gives one lucky couple $3,000 college scholarships for designing and wearing duct tape prom attire.  If you don’t just want to build, but want to also produce, market, and distribute your brilliant inventions, you may be a candidate for one of several entrepreneurship and business scholarships awarded each year by various foundations.  There may even be local scholarships for young entrepreneurs in your area.

These aren’t the only scholarship opportunities available to creative and enterprising students.  To see more award opportunities like the ones mentioned above, conduct a free scholarship search on Scholarships.com.

Posted: under Scholarships.
Tags: business scholarship, design scholarship, engineering, local scholarships, Scholarship Search, Scholarships

Comments (0) Oct 16 2009

A native of a “small town in the Pacific Ocean,” Deisha P. hopes to use her business major to improve the economic growth of Molokai, Hawaii, her island community that has struggled to balance development and preservation. To help achieve that goal, Deisha has been named the 2009 recipient of the annual $1,000 College Business Scholarship from Scholarships.com.

Scholarships.com has been awarding Area of Study College Scholarships since summer 2008 to help students like Deisha meet their college and career goals. The competition has now entered its second year, granting a different $1,000 scholarship each month to high school seniors and undergraduate students planning to pursue careers in the following fields: Business, Culinary Arts, Design, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, English, Health, History, Science, Technology, and Art.

“These scholarships give students an opportunity to voice their opinions, and provide them with an opportunity to fund their education.” said Kevin Ladd, Vice President for Scholarships.com. “The Area of Study College Scholarships make paying for college easier for students like Deisha who are willing to expend the time and effort necessary to realize their career goals while taking out as few student loans as possible.”

Applicants are asked to compose essays describing what influenced their career choices. In her submission, Deisha described her goals of introducing innovative ways to bring more people to Molokai while maintaining the integrity of the island’s “untouched” resources and vibrant culture.

The Scholarships.com Area of Study College Scholarships are open to all U.S. citizens who will be attending college in the fall of 2009, regardless of age, test scores or grade point average. To apply for the Scholarships.com Area of Study College Scholarships, students can visit Scholarships.com, conduct a free college scholarship search and complete an online scholarship application.

A complete list of Area of Study scholarship winners, as well as their winning essays is available on our Student Winners page.

Posted: under College News, Scholarships.
Tags: Area of Study Scholarships, business scholarship, college scholarships, high school student scholarships, Scholarship Search, scholarship winners, Scholarships

Comments (0) Aug 26 2009

The rise of the online auction service eBay has prompted people to attempt to sell just about anything they can affix a price to.  So while it’s not surprising to find some pretty out there listings from time to time, it’s still not every day you see a student auctioning off a stake in his future.

A college student in Georgia attempted this week to fund the last 18 credits of his Master of Business Administration degree through an unusual source: selling a share of his potential earnings on eBay.  The student, Terrance Wyatt of Clark Atlanta University, has been paying for college with financial aid for the last six years, but according to his eBay listing, he found himself $10,000 short of his funding needs this year.

So, being a business graduate student, he began looking for a way out of this financial quandary by marketing himself and seeking investors in his future.  While his listing has been removed (eBay frowns on the selling of intangibles or the use of the site for fundraising), Maureen Downey’s Get Schooled blog for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the partial text of the ad, as well as more information about the student.

While eBay may not have been the best venue for Wyatt’s ad, his idea of seeking investors in his future is not so far-fetched.  Recently, a number of peer-to-peer lending sites have launched, allowing students and individuals to arrange for anything from straightforward student loans to buying shares in a student’s future success.  These alternatives to alternative loans are still operating on a small scale and relatively unknown, but students like Wyatt may find the funding they need through such programs.

There are also scholarship opportunities for MBA students, and really anyone who has come up a bit short on financial aid.  Business school scholarships and scholarships for graduate students could easily bridge the gap for students who need more money and want to avoid student loan debt.  Depending on your school and your program, you could even land a fellowship or assistantship that could fund your graduate education.

Posted: under College Culture, College and the Economy, Financial Aid, Student Loans.
Tags: business scholarship, College and the Economy, College Culture, college news, Financial Aid, private loans, Scholarship Search, Student Loans

Comments (0) Aug 21 2009

For many women, the task of balancing the myriad responsibilities of life is an ongoing challenge.  Expectations and obligations come from many directions, including work, school, finances, family, friends, and the community.  The ability to successfully juggle these elements of life and at the same time strike out and seek out new challenges and opportunities is commendable, and should rightly be rewarded.  If you’re a young woman between the ages of 12 and 18 who is pursuing her own business or service enterprise while attending high school, helping others, and taking the first steps towards financial independence, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America may award you up to $10,000 in scholarship money for your efforts.  This week’s Scholarship of the Week provides scholarship opportunities for entrepreneurial girls who are going places.

Prize:

Fifteen scholarships are awarded as follows:

• $10,000 for first place
• $5,000 for second place
• $3,000 for third place
• $1,000 for 12 finalists

Eligibility:

Scholarships are awarded to girls ages 12-18 (as of December 31, 2008) who are legal U.S. residents and are currently enrolled in high school or middle school or are being home schooled.  Current college students are not eligible.  Successful applicants will demonstrate entrepreneurship or financial acumen, be taking steps towards financial independence, and be involved in their communities.

Posted: under High School, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships.
Tags: business scholarship, high school student scholarships, high school students, scholarship for women, Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships

Comments (0) Jan 19 2009