Study Long and Prosper

Eight unusual college scholarships.

Illustration: Gordon Studer

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[For the rest of MoJo’s Mini College Guide, read 10 Cool Schools, 6 Cutting Edge Jobs, and Give ‘Em Hellraisers.]

Starfleet Academy Scholarship: For 10 Trekkies from the next generation, logically. $500.

David Letterman Scholarship: For the Ball State University student with the best idea for a creative project, regardless of GPA. (Dave was a C student.) $10,000.

Duck Brand Duct Tape “Stuck at Prom” Scholarship: For the couple with the best all-duct-tape prom outfits. $6,000 per couple.

Tall Clubs International Student Scholarship: For women 5’10” or taller and men 6’2″ or taller. The payout: one large.

Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest Scholarship: For the young waterfowl impersonator. $1,500.

American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship: For 10 high scorers on a quiz about the dangers of combustion. $2,000.

The Twin Pack: For kids who shared a womb and plan to share a campus, Virginia’s Randolph College offers a 15 percent break on tuition. Worth $8,376.

Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship: For special boys or girls planning careers in children’s media. Can you say “$10,000”?

Additional reporting by Ben Buchwalter, Andy Kroll, and Stephen Robert Morse

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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