Sometimes, it seems like you have no free time. Activities such as school, studying, work, sports, and volunteering bite out hours of each day. Given that, is it worthwhile to search for college scholarships and apply for them? In a nutshell: Yes, it is. This article explains.

You Qualify for More Than You Think

One reason that applying may seem like a waste of time: There do not seem to be a lot of scholarships you qualify for and surely there must be tons of applicants for each. Hence, your chances of actually getting one are very low.

That is not the reality. Scholarships for college students are pretty much everywhere, although tenacity is occasionally needed to find them all. Here are good places to look.

• Online search and application platforms that match students to thousands of scholarships and grants (with email alerts as more become available)
• Local and school libraries
• Your high school
• Your prospective college’s financial aid office
• Your college major’s department
• Parents’ and students’ workplaces
• Nonprofit organizations
• Various groups for people with specific disabilities, including mental, physical and emotional
• Diversity groups offering scholarships based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or other factors
• Local businesses, civic groups, foundations, and religious organizations
• Companies promoting specific talents
• Pageants
• Athletic programs
• State higher education boards and commissions

Scholarship types include merit, acting, atheist, anti-bullying, athletic, cancer, disability, distance learning, green, adult students, single parents, STEM, and much more.

Many of these scholarships have far fewer applicants than you might think. Sure, the bigger, splashier ones can get their share of applicants.

However, the smaller ones at, say, your high school, your college history department, a local nonprofit, or your parents’ workplace often get just a handful of applications, if that. Sometimes, they do not even get applicants, and the groups must push people to apply.

These scholarships may range from $500 to $1,000, which does not seem like much. The amounts can add up quickly, though. Say you spend five hours one weekend applying for several scholarships and end up with $1,000. You have basically earned $200 an hour.

You might better spend your time applying for smaller amounts versus the more competitive larger amounts. All in all, more than $7.4 billion in private scholarship money is available annually. Some of that could be yours.

Free Search and Apply Scholarship Programs Can Do Quite a Bit

Scholarship search databases can be sophisticated (not all are, of course). Fortunately, more of these programs are now able to find local, less competitive scholarships. They have form autofill tools so you do not have to re-enter the same information constantly. Bundled scholarships also mean you can apply for many opportunities at once. You can search and apply from your phone or computer desktop.

Many Scholarships Do Not Require Essays

It is true that people tend to associate college scholarship applications with writing essays, and essay writing certainly takes time. If art, videos, or music are more your forte, plenty of scholarships accept them instead of or in lieu of essays.

A good number of scholarships, though, do not require essays, videos, music, art, or anything that takes significant time. You can find them quickly through scholarship search sites and by talking with your high school or college’s financial aid/higher education people.

No-essay scholarships may instead ask that you stay in a certain area for a specific period of time after graduating and work in a certain niche or submit an application with a resume or short paragraph.

One note of caution: Because they do not require essays, no-essay scholarships can be more competitive than average. Some scholarships are decided randomly based on sweepstakes drawings or surveys. Be careful which you enter because a few are scams.

You Can Reuse Essay Material Where Possible

Scholarship applications tend to ask for the same general things, and it’s possible you can reuse the same essay for multiple submissions with a few tweaks. Focus on the details most relevant to the scholarship you are applying for.

Try to personalize a little something for each so nothing comes across as cookie-cutter. For example, it is a great idea to learn something about the organization sponsoring the scholarship. What are its goals and mission? If previous winning essays are online, read them to get an idea of what works.

Organizational Tools Help You Save Time

Online search and apply scholarship databases offer built-in organization that saves you time. Other tips include starting early when more scholarships are available and using a spreadsheet or similar tool to track deadlines, amounts, scholarship requirements, and when you applied. The upfront work you put into tracking pays off when you’re scrambling down the road to remember X or if you did Y or Z.

Be careful to follow instructions. Even using the wrong font for an essay can squander your chances. If you properly do what’s outlined, then you maximize your time.

Applying for college scholarships can take time, but search and application platforms streamline the process. Also, look for smaller scholarships in your community. They have fewer applicants, and your chances of winning are much higher.

Establishing a minimalist look in your house can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to begin. But it becomes easier if you take it one room at a time, changing what you can. The first step to a minimalist house is eliminating anything that isn’t needed and storing away what you do need. Cluttered, messy rooms will never look minimalist. Next, take a look at your furniture and rooms themselves to see what needs to be changed, painted, or replaced. A minimalist look can take a little time to establish, but these tips can help you break down each room into parts.

It can take a lot of work to achieve the minimalist look you desire, but the style of home is very popular. Once you have finished your renovation and decoration, you may find that the value of your now very attractive house has gone up considerably. When you are ready to move on, you will be able to sell your house fast with this Little Rock based company.

Natural Light

Large open windows and a lot of natural light are key to the minimalist look. By incorporating the windows as decorations and inviting the outdoors in, you open up the space and add color and texture without adding color. Window treatments are usually minimal or eliminated altogether, in cases where the window units are new, clean, and attractive. If you need shade or privacy, window treatments can be neutral and simple with clean lines. Simple fabric shades that can be pulled back to expose the window are one option. Straight-line, neutral fabric drapes that can be opened or shut are another good choice.

Neutral Wall Color

Use a neutral color for the walls in your home to open the space and make it feel airy and light. Neutral colors also look simple and clutter-free, exactly what you want in a minimalist home. White is probably the most popular minimalist color, but other pale neutrals, such as gray, greige, and beige are also used. Some homes successfully feature dark neutrals in areas, such as dark gray or black. This is usually done as an accent and not as the wall color for an entire room.

Simple Lines

Simple lines are the hallmark of the minimalist home. Wherever possible, use simple lines in your home to open up the space. This can be done by using simple trim and baseboards without any details, eliminating elegant or fancy furniture, and simplifying window treatments. In the kitchen, simple lines can be applied to cabinetry and hardware, eliminating any carved or detailed cupboard fronts and simplifying the knobs and pulls.

Use Practical Decorations

Decorations can be practical when possible. Attractive items with simple lines can be stored in visible places, such as shelves and coffee tables, to double as decorations. In the kitchen, simple wooden bowls can be used as decorations on shelves and to mix cookies in. In the dining room, your fruit bowl can contain snacks for your children as well as decorate the table.

Even when your decorations aren’t practical, they can look practical, supporting the minimalist feel. Even if you prefer to use plastic bowls to mix your cookies, you can still use attractive wooden ones to decorate your kitchen rather than kitschy figurines.

Add Warmth With Texture

The minimalist look can begin to feel cold and sterile if taken to extremes. Add warmth to your rooms with texture. Fur throws or pillows can add interesting texture to your living room. Textured rugs can bring both physical and visual warmth to areas with hard floors. Twine, metal, weathered wood, and woven fabrics are all great ways to add texture and warmth without cluttering the home.

Greenery

Greenery is a great way to add color and warmth to any room, even those in minimalist homes. The addition of a natural element and color can brighten a cold, sterile room, and green looks good in almost any minimalist color scheme. As an added bonus, the addition of plants in your home can make you feel better. Greenery can be used as decorations in most rooms. A row of succulents can be used to dress up a window sill, while a tall plant such as a palm tree can fill a lonely corner without adding clutter.

Simple Flooring

Flooring is a big part of any home decoration scheme. The flooring, while often unnoticed, is one of the largest surfaces in the room and sets the stage for the rest of the style. A minimalist look requires simple, neutral flooring. This will often be a light-colored wood or wood-look flooring with little or no visible grain. In areas where more warmth is desired, consider a low-woven carpet or rug in a neutral color, such as Berber or natural fiber.

Go Hardware-Free

A hardware-free look can increase the minimalist look in kitchens and bathrooms. While not all cabinet doors support this style, many do. The streamlined cabinet fronts that result from not having any hardware can take your kitchen from boring to modern with little work. The minimalist modern cabinet style also minimizes visual clutter by having the cabinet fronts shut closely, leaving no gap between the doors, and by having smooth fronts with no decorations or panels.

Conclusion

For most people, minimalism is a lifestyle as well as a home decoration style, and unless you can achieve that lifestyle you will have a hard time achieving and maintaining a minimalist look. A minimalist lifestyle is a work in progress and no one arrives overnight, but the result is a clutter-free home that is free of unnecessary things. While you are working to decorate in the minimalist style, you should also be working to minimize the clutter in your home, life, and mind.

Your level of financial literacy can affect your financial goals as you plan for the future. Whether you want to save money for your first home or save millions for retirement, financial planning is necessary to get you where you want to be. Investing is a big part of personal finance because it involves letting your money work for you. Your financial needs will change throughout your life, and saving money can help you prepare for the unexpected.

But it’s not enough to save money in a money market account. You should be investing any extra money, aside from your emergency fund. Depending on your investment history, or lack thereof, you might be apprehensive about stocks or bitcoin.

Investing doesn’t have to be scary and can bring significant returns. The best way to make good investment decisions is to do your research and connect with an investment professional who likes to teach rather than tell. Here are four investments that have the potential to yield impressive returns so you can let your money work for you.

Index Funds

Over half of Americans report that they invest in the stock market. Stocks can be very volatile and, unless you’re an experienced day trader, you’ll want to stay away from investing in single stocks. But index funds are a great way to have a diversified portfolio. The S&P 500 is an index fund composed of 500 of the largest companies in America.

When you invest in this index fund, you’re purchasing stock across all of these major companies. The S&P 500 index fund has averaged a ten percent return over a 30-year period. Market fluctuations can cause resistance in investing, or result in investors pulling funds from their investment accounts due to fear. It might seem counterintuitive when your goal is to make money, but you should avoid taking money out of your investment accounts when the market is down.

As you learn more about investing in stocks and index funds, you’ll find it’s best to “ride the waves” by allowing the market to return to the previous rate. As long as you are invested in a mixture of growth, aggressive, and international mutual funds, you can leave your money in the market with confidence. Even though there is an economic downturn, index funds and mutual funds are still sound investments.

Real Estate

Another way to earn impressive returns and diversify your investment portfolio is by investing in real estate. Real estate investments can deliver higher returns in some cases, but they might also require more work. Managing investment properties involves upkeep and maintenance if you choose to be a landlord. But you can also opt to use a property management company to handle the administrative tasks.

If you don’t want to own rental property, you can choose to flip houses for a faster return on your investment. You can also put some of your money into real estate investment trusts (REITs) that yield high dividends. You will get the most benefit if you combine all of the above to further diversify your portfolio.

Precious Metals

Investing in precious metals is a common way to hedge against inflation. Metals like gold, silver, and platinum can hold their value in their purest form and be exchanged for currency in any economic market. Although the stock market typically produces higher returns, precious metals could be more reliable. You can also combine two investment types by putting some of your money in precious metal IRAs.

These individual retirement accounts are safer than other investment types because they hold their value. You can research some companies and even read some goldco reviews to decide if precious metals are right for you. Investing in precious metals should never be your only asset, but you can benefit from including these IRAs in your portfolio.

High-Yield Savings Account

A savings account will probably offer the smallest rate of return than other investment types, but you’re also a lot less likely to lose the money. High-yield savings accounts are best used for storing money for a short period of time. If you have a lump sum of funds that you have allocated for a particular purchase, you can park it in a savings account to earn a little money until you need it.

It’s not a good idea to leave the money there too long because the interest rates will not keep up with inflation. But if you can leave it untouched for five to seven years, it can be beneficial. A good example would be a down payment for your new house. It’s a great way to protect it from the fluctuations in the market while earning a little money on it.

Final Thoughts

Financial planning is essential when setting goals and focusing on retirement. Investing should be a big part of your plan as you work to improve your financial literacy. Once you’ve learned about the different investment types, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions.

Four of the best investments include index funds, real estate, precious metals, and high-yield savings accounts. You can diversify your portfolio by including a variety of investment types, so you get the biggest bang for your buck.

Lab work can be both challenging and rewarding. From time-consuming efforts such as entering data into a spreadsheet to managing complicated procedures and tracking down research materials, a range of stressors can get in the way of our performance. Thanks to the digital age, these challenges can now be easily overcome. This article discusses digital laboratory management tools and why you should consider using them in your lab.

Introducing SciNote

SciNote Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) is a top-rated lab management solution trusted by the FDA, USDA, NIH, and thousands of scientists in over a hundred countries. It was specifically designed to help labs at the forefront of their industry manage modern challenges.

Klemen Zupancic, Ph.D., CEO of SciNote said, “The complexity of these challenges will require the combined effort of brilliant minds worldwide to work together in a very efficient manner. At SciNote we are helping these scientists be more efficient and are safeguarding the scientific data for future generations of scientists.”

As a digital notebook platform, SciNote works well in many situations where scientists work with developing new processes or conduct research that generates novel data. It is much more flexible than a typical LIMS (laboratory inventory management system) which is more focused on handling samples generated from routine activities. As an ELN with basic LIMS functionalities, SciNote can be considered the best of both worlds.

LIMS vs ELN discussion aside, too many labs today are still working with outdated paper-based systems. Due to worries about costs or training, some labs are hesitant to switch over to a digital platform. Others are reluctant to give up the familiarity of a conventional system, even if it is less efficient. However, making the transition to an ELN system comes with numerous benefits. Here are some of them.

Why Use An ELN?

Reduce Redundancies – One of the biggest frustrations for lab workers is having to search for information across several siloed documents or databases. This can lead to wasted time, errors, and missed deadlines. By utilizing a lab management platform like SciNote, you can access all your documents and records in one place, saving both precious time and effort.

Streamline Processes – Most labs have multiple processes that must be followed to run experiments and generate results. A digital lab management platform makes it easy to organize these processes and track the steps associated with each procedure. You can also assign tasks to specific people based on availability and skill level to ensure a smooth workflow in the lab.

Manage Inventory – Managing inventory is an essential part of running a lab. It can also be one of the most difficult aspects of your job. Using a lab management platform like SciNote can help you keep track of everything you need for your experiments, including searchable entries with specific IDs and barcodes so you always know the status of your items.

Data Quality – Laboratory data is the crux of scientific discovery. The data gathered in your lab must be accurate and reliable. A digital lab management platform can help ensure the quality of your data by streamlining the data collection process and ensuring standardized protocols across your lab. So, you can achieve the same data quality even if tests are performed by different members of the team.

Quick Duplication – Having to set up an experiment from scratch each time can take a lot of time and resources away from other important projects. With a digital lab management platform, you can use previous experiments as templates and replicate them with ease, helping you get the information you need more quickly and with less margin for error.

Facilitate Collaboration – As scientific data becomes more and more complex, it is becoming more important than ever for researchers to work together to analyze research and make discoveries. The NIH data sharing policy 2023 outlines the need for biomedical research facilities to align with good recordkeeping rules to share data and allow for collaboration.

Meet Regulations – Many industries have strict regulatory standards that require audit records and e-signatures for all documents. This is particularly relevant for labs that work with sensitive information or handle samples that may require regulatory approval. A digital lab management platform with the right functionality can ensure that you meet the prevailing requirements and standards.

Make the Switch to SciNote

Technology is developing every minute and the biomedical industry is all about experimentation and innovation. It is time for your lab to seize the day and go digital. An ELN can boost the performance of your lab by improving efficiency, maximizing productivity, facilitating collaboration, and maintaining the integrity of your data. All these elements will help make your lab more reputable, competitive, and profitable.

SciNote is an intuitive electronic lab notebook that is top-rated by industry and academic labs. The company is committed to helping society benefit from science and provides customer service that is focused on the needs of the scientific community. SciNote is 21 CFR part 11 & GxP-compliant and provides a range of tailored solutions for anyone from individuals to large-scale government laboratories.

If you want to find out more about SciNote and how it can help your lab run more efficiently, visit SciNote.net for a free 14-day trial.

Living a minimalist lifestyle is far more than living in a tiny house, throwing out belongings, or painting everything white. Minimalism is more about the person than the things. Although there are benefits associated with a minimalist lifestyle, some challenges can make it difficult to live a peaceful life, especially while transitioning. Minimalists are not boring environmentalists who command attention by daring to be different. In reality, their lives are not much different from everyone else.

If you’re living a minimalist lifestyle, you know how important it is to keep things in perspective. You focus on things that add value to your life. Eliminating physical clutter and living in a clean, organized space are things that help you cope. Of course, you’re still able to live an exciting life while embracing minimalism.

You can have all the things that others have without being wasteful, including a pet. You can get a lot of value from owning a puppy as a minimalist. Here are five useful ways these furry friends can help you live a simple and peaceful life.

Keep You Active

As a minimalist, you pay attention to the little things in life and find ways to get the most out of what you have. You love finding ways to serve multiple purposes with one purchase. Having a puppy in your life can do that. Most people know they need to increase their physical activity but have a hard time getting started or sticking with a regimen.

Eighty percent of Americans have at least one fitness product in their home. But a puppy can help you live an active life without all the bulky exercise equipment cramping your style. Dog owners get more exercise than people who do not own dogs. Puppies are generally energetic and playful, allowing you to have fun while getting in some cardio.

Judgment-Free Companionship

Living a minimalist lifestyle can be lonely at times. Some people do not understand the concept of not being attached to things, and it may make them uncomfortable. It’s easy to isolate yourself from others when they don’t understand or agree with how you live your life. If you’re transitioning into a minimalist lifestyle, you’re bound to face some opposition from friends and family.

Some people will have lots of questions and they may be sincere, while others may judge you for being different. But standing alone in the things you value does not mean you have to be lonely. Aside from socializing with other minimalists, you can find some puppies for sale and have constant judgment-free companionship at home. Puppies are the ideal pet for a minimalist because, although they need a lot of love, they don’t need a lot of stuff.

Promote Relaxation

It’s easy to get caught up in analyzing every purchase, scrutinizing every gift, managing finances, and maintaining relationships while living a minimalist life. The stress of it all can be detrimental to your health, especially if you don’t have support. Some people believe minimalists live a “perfect” life with no issues or problems. While minimalism does promote a certain level of freedom and peace, the constant purging and stewarding can cause some anxiety.

But a puppy can help you live that peaceful lifestyle you set out to have. Overall, they can help decrease stress, improve your mood, and give you a lot of joy. It’s not easy to transition to living as a minimalist. While minimalism has been trending among Americans, less than twenty percent profess the lifestyle. It can be hard to detach from material things after accumulating so much. Taking care of a puppy can help keep things in perspective as you purge and start your new life.

Dissolve Awkwardness

Once you start the minimalist lifestyle, people will start to notice the changes you’re making in how you live. Sometimes people who like to have a lot of stuff and collect different items may feel uncomfortable around minimalists. They might ask questions and then feel awkward after hearing your reason for wanting to live as a minimalist.

Again, it seems trendy and cool to some, but other people might think it’s weird. Talking about it can lead to a dead conversation. But you can dissolve these awkward moments by changing the subject to something most people would enjoy talking about.

In your case, that could be your new puppy. You can show pictures and share funny stories of your sweet little pet to keep the topic light. Having your puppy with you can also make you more approachable to people who might be squeamish about your lifestyle.

Final Thoughts

There are many misconceptions about minimalists and how they live. Although it’s been trending as a “perfect” fix to an overwhelming life, it does come with some challenges. Some people think minimalists are boring or self-deprecating, but they can enjoy fine things in life like everyone else. They have meaningful relationships, valuable household items, and they can own pets.

Puppies are great pets for minimalists because they provide a simple way to live an active lifestyle, but also stay relaxed. They also provide judgment-free companionship and can serve as an ice-breaker for those awkward moments. If you’ve been considering a pet, a puppy will fit nicely in your minimalist lifestyle.