Congratulations, High School Graduate! Before you take that next big academic step in life, you've got a very important decision to make:

How the heck are you going to pay for college?

Unless you happen to be the class valedictorian, finding a scholarship that rewards your unique talents or ambitions may not be easy.

Nevertheless, they are out there. In fact we found quite a few unusual scholarships when we weren't even looking all that hard for them. Can you tell which of the following are real and which are bogus?

1) You've gotta hand it to them
Which one of these hand-related scholarships is for real?

Scholarship for students with clean fingernails

Scholarship for left-handed students

Scholarship for knuckle-crackers

Scholarship for students with a firm handshake

2) Sizing up your options
Scholarships exist for each of the following body-types. Which one DOESN'T win a prize?

Tall

Short

Fat

Skinny

3) Clean living
Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, awards scholarships for students who do not smoke or drink during their entire college career. To get this scholarship, recipients must also avoid ...

Participating in any sports whatsoever

Telling a lie

Dating

Red meat

4) I'm only doing this for the scholarship
Parents tell us we 'won't amount to anything' if we keep engaging in this juvenile activity. Actually, it might just earn us up to $5,000 toward college tuition.

Skateboarding

Playing video games

Sleeping until noon

Body piercing

5) Nerd alert
There's nothing wrong with being a nerd. Heck, Bill Gates doesn't seem to mind. Which of these nerd activities will also put you in the running for a scholarship?

Making your own Spider-Man costume

Speaking 'Klingon'

Quoting lines from any of the 'Matrix' films

Designing your own G.I. Joe diorama

6) All talk
This late-night talk show host has a scholarship named for him that specifically rewards 'average' or 'C-level' students who demonstrate creativity.

Jimmy Kimmel

Jay Leno

David Letterman

Conan O'Brien

7) Glory seekers need not apply
If fame and fortune have no appeal to you, you might be eligible for a scholarship that awards those who choose to study ...

Dust

Wind

Maggots

Fungus

8) Best of the best
Who says athletes get all the free rides? Those at the top of other games can earn big money toward college tuition. All of the following champions earn a scholarship victory EXCEPT ...

Winner of a scrap metal welding competition

Winner of a duck-calling contest

Best essay on Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead

Winner of an apple pie baking contest

9) Now that's specific
If you think that there's a scholarship for everyone, you are so right. Which one of these highly specific awards is on the level?

Scholarship for American Indian students who want to study sports medicine

Scholarship for children of beet farmers who wish to study hotel management

Scholarship for disabled foreign students who want to study watch-making

Scholarship for those with severe motion sickness to study art history

10) You name it
Sometimes it's not what you know, but whom you know. Various schools award scholarships for people with an uncommon last name. Someone of the same name often funds these scholarships. All of the following names have an award tied to it EXCEPT ...

Gatlin

Scarpinato

Vrchoticky

Zolp

Extra Credit
Help yourself to an extra point if you answer this question correctly.

11) What the ... ?
The weirdest of the weird. Which one is a real reward?

Scholarship for student who produces evidence of the existence of Bigfoot. (Full ride for capture of live specimen)

Scholarship for prom couples whose clothing is made out of duct tape.

Scholarship for individual who can shoot the most free throws with a basketball made of Jell-O.

Streaking Scholarship for student who disrupts the most school events with a run in the buff.