Funded by BC Children's Hospital Foundation, Mini Med School Scholarships provide:
- A scholarship of $1,000 CAD to go towards tuition fees at any national or international postsecondary academic institution.
- An in-person career placement at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute for one week (5 days) July 2025. This is a research-based career placement. You will not be interacting with patients or be involved in clinical care of any kind.
To be eligible for the career placement part of the award you must:- Reside in the Lower Mainland or have access to housing in the Lower Mainland during the placement (residency or transportation is not included as part of the Mini Med School Scholarship)
- Be at least 16 years of age as of July 1, 2024 to meet minimum safety standards for a healthcare facility
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible to apply for the Mini Med School Scholarship, you must:
- Be a grade 12 student currently enrolled at a BC private or public school and graduating in 2025
- Be selected to attend Mini Med School (In-Person, Virtually Live OR On-Demand) scheduled for October 2024
- Have participated in all 4 Mini Med School 2024 sessions in October & November (attendance for sessions will be tracked by program organizers)
Deadline
The application must be submitted by Friday, January 10, 2025.
Application Package:
A complete application package for the Mini Med School Scholarship includes the following:
- Mini Med School Scholarship Application Form: Click here to access the Mini Med School Scholarship application form.
- High School Transcript: This should include your most up-to-date grades. This can either be the unofficial transcript issued by the Ministry of Education or any type of transcript provided by your school
- Resume
- Recommendation Letter: This can come from any teacher at your school and should be 1-2 pages long
- Short Essay: In 500 words or less (approximately a one-page word document, single spaced), answer the following question:
Identify one topic area that was introduced in this series (Mini Med School 2023) which was particularly captivating for you. Identify the key questions that the presentation led you to ask and describe what you have learned in attempting to answer these questions on your own.
Assessment Criteria:
Up to 3 Mini Med School Scholarships will be awarded. Award applications will be assessed by the Mini Med School awards committee based on the following criteria:
- Scholarly success: Academic achievement, awards and honours
- Community engagement: Volunteer services, work experience and extracurricular achievements
- Mini Med School Scholarship application form and essay
- Reference letter from a teacher
FAQ
When is the career placement at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute?
The 5-day career placement will be held July 2025 from approximately 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
I live outside the Lower Mainland, can I still apply for the Mini Med School Scholarship?
Yes! For the 5-day career placement, residency, living expenses or transportation is not provided. Successful applicants can either opt-out of the career placement (and still accept the $1,000 CAD scholarship), or make their own arrangements to be located in the Lower Mainland for the 5-day period.
What will the 5-day career placement include?
Successful candidates will be placed with a career mentor for a week. During that week you will shadow your mentor and provide support for a research project. This may include hands-on lab work or computer-based data analysis. Please note, this is a research-based career placement. You will not be interacting with patients or be involved in clinical care of any kind.
What are the requirements for working at the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute?
To protect the safety of the community, those working at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute (including the successful candidates of the career placement) must be at least 16 years of age as of July 1, 2025.
Additionally, successful candidates will be asked to complete a BC Ministry of Justice Criminal Record Check and a selection of online lab and facility safety courses.
Can I participate in the career placement virtually?
No, the career placement is designed to maximize interactions between the successful candidates and the career placement mentor. Participating virtually is not an option.
I'm currently enrolled in grade 11. Can I apply for the Mini Med School Scholarship? No. To be eligible to apply for the upcoming scholarship, you will need to attend Mini Med School 2024 as a grade 12 student.
Can I apply without knowing what school or field of study I plan to pursue? Yes. On the application form you will be asked to outline your future plans, but we understand changes happen.
Do I have to be enrolled at a BC or Yukon high school to be eligible? Yes. To be eligible to apply you must be enrolled at a BC or Yukon based high school.
What is the minimum GPA required to apply? We don't have a minimum GPA requirement, but award applications will be partially assessed on academic success.
If I plan to take a gap year after high school, am I still eligible to apply? Yes, but you will need to be clear about your future plans.
How many applications for the Mini Med School Scholarship do you receive each year? How competitive is this program? Last year we received 60 applications for the Mini Med School Scholarship. 4 scholarships of $1,000 were awarded.
For other questions, please contact researchevents@phsa.ca.
