In the UK, the average student debt runs at about £5000 a year. They’re a more serious business than you might have first thought too. So, start off right and avoid getting into bad debt habits. Student loan providers have established their own protections against defaulting borrowers and normally, a student loan will be non-dischargeable.

Of course, you are wholeheartedly recommended to take full advantage of any grants or scholarships that you might qualify for. These will tend to be means or performance tested. However, across the Atlantic there are some incredibly interesting and totally bizarre scholarships available to students in the US.

• Are you a guy over 6′2″ or a girl over 5′10″? You could qualify for theTall Clubs International Scholarship.
• Left handed? The $1,000 Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship is offered to two left-handed students at one US university each year.
• Any high school senior in the US can apply for the Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest. If you’ve got the best duck call, you get a $1,500 scholarship.
• Nose for a bargain? The Fragrance Research Fund makes a scholarship of up to $50,000 to clinical psychologist post-graduates in aromachology.
• Academic, athletic and look good with a milk moustache? You can go for the Scholar Athlete Milk Moustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award.
• The Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship is for $5,000, with three $1,000 runner-up scholarships on offer too. Apparently, you don’t even have to be able to kickflip.
• Is your name Van Valkenburg? No? Oh well, never mind.  The Van Valkenburg Memorial Scholarship isn’t for you then.
• Can you predict the future? If you’re studying economics, you should apply for the Excellence in Predicting the Future Award… on your way to buy a lottery ticket.
• Languages your thing? Sorry, alien languages I mean. The Klingon Language Institute awards $500 a year for language study.
• Student debt can be a headache. Luckily, the Tylenol Scholarship can be the perfect remedy They helped out American students to the tune of over $250,000 in 2006 alone.
• Slightly ironically, the US credit card Discover Card has established The Discover Card Tribute Award, which gives 10 lucky students $25,000 a year and another 300 students $2,500 a year. You don’t need to pay it back either.

If you’re concerned about student debt, get in touch with Debtsolver and they’ll be able to help you take control of your finances, without having to move to the States, change your name to Van Valkenberg, practice your duck calls or learn Klingon. Bet that’s a relief.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 4th, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under Student Debt News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.