Bizarre & Niche Scholarships You Can Win This Winter.
Stop applying for the “National Merit Scholarship.” You are competing against the valedictorian of every high school in America. It is a losing game.
To win free money for college in late 2025, you need to get weird. There is a whole ecosystem of “Niche Scholarships” that reward specific hobbies, strange talents, and unique biological traits. These organizations often struggle to find applicants because people simply don’t believe they exist.
If you are searching for weird scholarships 2026 or easy scholarships for hobbies, this list is your treasure map. We have found nine opportunities with deadlines hitting between now and early 2026.
1. The Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest
Deadline: November 29, 2025 (THIS WEEKEND!)
This is real. If you are a high school senior and you can blow a duck call, you can win $2,000.
Held annually in Stuttgart, Arkansas (but often accepting remote/video preliminary entries depending on the year’s rules), this contest awards scholarships to the top four callers. It is incredibly specific. If you are a hunter or just have a weird talent for mimicking birds, this is the easiest money you will ever make. The deadline is imminent—check the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce site immediately.
2. The UNIMA-USA Puppetry Scholarship
Deadline: December 1, 2025
Are you the kid who always loved The Muppets? This scholarship is for American students who want to study the art of puppetry.
It is not just for theater majors. It covers workshops, summer programs, and university degrees. The applicant pool is tiny. If you have ever built a puppet or performed a show for your little cousins, you are already a top contender.
3. The “Wicked” Fan Scholarship (Bold.org)
Deadline: March 31, 2026
Ride the wave of the year’s biggest movie. Bold.org hosts a “Wicked Fan” scholarship that asks you to write a short essay about how the musical/movie has impacted your view on friendship or being an “outsider.”
This is a “low effort” scholarship. You can write the essay in 20 minutes. It is perfect for theater kids who are already obsessed with the topic.
4. Tall Clubs International Scholarship
Deadline: March 1, 2026
Genetics pays. If you are a male over 6’2″ or a female over 5’10”, you can apply.
Tall Clubs International (TCI) offers multiple $1,000 scholarships. You have to write an essay on “What Being Tall Means to Me.” It sounds like a joke, but the organization is very serious about supporting the “vertically gifted.” The only requirement is your height and a doctor’s note proving it.
5. The Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
Deadline: February 20, 2026
You don’t just have to be a vegetarian; you have to be an activist.
This scholarship awards up to $10,000 to students who have promoted vegetarianism in their schools. Did you get your cafeteria to start “Meatless Mondays”? Did you organize a vegan bake sale? If you have “proof of advocacy,” this is a high-dollar award with relatively low competition compared to academic scholarships.
6. The “Create-A-Greeting-Card” Scholarship
Deadline: March 2, 2026
This is for the doodlers. The Gallery Collection runs this annual contest where you design a greeting card (Christmas, Birthday, etc.).
The winner gets $10,000, and their school gets $1,000. It is judged on “visual appeal.” You do not need to be a great artist; you just need a clever design that looks good on a card. It is one of the most popular “creative” scholarships because it requires zero writing.
7. The “Minecraft” Scholarship (Apex Hosting)
Deadline: July 31, 2026
Do your parents yell at you for playing too much Minecraft? Tell them you are “studying.”
Apex Hosting offers $2,000 to a student who writes a short essay on how Minecraft can be used for education or career development. If you have built redstone computers or managed a server, you have the technical knowledge to crush this essay.
8. The Ocean Awareness Contest
Deadline: June 2026 (Prepare Now)
This is for the artists and poets who love the sea. The “Bow Seat” organization runs this massive contest.
You can submit art, poetry, film, or music that addresses the “Climate Crisis” and oceans. The top awards are huge (up to $1,500), and there are many categories. It is a great winter break project. Create a piece of art about coral reefs, and you could pay for your textbooks next year.
9. The “Clubs of America” Scholarship
Deadline: August 31, 2026 (Rolling)
This is a “for anyone” scholarship. It is designed for students who have a passion for any hobby.
The essay prompt is simple: “Write about your career aspirations.” It is funded by a company that runs “Gift of the Month” clubs (like Pizza of the Month). It is a classic “sweepstakes style” essay contest—short, sweet, and worth throwing your hat in the ring.
The “Weird” Strategy
Why apply for these? Because Boredom is your enemy.
Scholarship judges are bored of reading essays about “Hard Work” and “Leadership.” They want to read an essay about being tall, eating vegetables, or calling ducks.
Be Specific.
In the Puppetry essay, talk about the specific materials you use. In the Tall essay, tell a funny story about hitting your head. Specificity is memorable. Memorable wins money.
Stack the Odds.
Most people find these lists and think, “That’s funny,” but they never apply. Be the one who applies. The “Duck Calling” scholarship often has fewer than 50 serious applicants. Those are odds you can bank on. https://job.gterahub.com/scholarships-for-2026/