Frequently Asked Questions

The mini-course program will take place in person from April 28 to May 2, 2025.

During this time, students will be able to take part in a mini-course designed to enrich their educational experience. Mark these dates in your calendar and prepare for a rewarding week of learning.

Each mini-course lasts a week, from Monday to Friday, five hours a day. The daily schedule is as follows.

Courses at Carleton University and courses in English at the University of Ottawa

• Courses start: 9 a.m.
• Courses end: 3 p.m.
• Lunch: noon to 1 p.m.

Courses in French at the University of Ottawa

• Courses start: 9:30 a.m.
• Courses end: 3:30 p.m.
• Lunch: 12:30 pm to 1:30 p.m.

Lunch

You have an hour-long break for lunch, so you can rest and prepare for the afternoon sessions.

To be eligible, you must meet these criteria:

Level of study

• Ontario: students from grades 8 to 11
• Quebec: students from Secondary II to V

Selection by school

Your school board or private school must be a participating member of the program.

For more information

Eligibility and enrolment procedure

Contact the person responsible for the program at your school

Person responsible

If you don’t know the person responsible, contact your school board or private school to find out.

To take part in the mini-course program, follow these steps.

Be selected by your school

First, your school must select you for the program.

Look for the registration link email

Once you’re selected, you’ll receive a link in your student email account the week of January 13, 2025, to register.

Create your profile

• Select the registration link to access the MINIC registration platform.
• Follow the instructions to create your personal profile.

Follow the instructions to create your personal profile.

Once you’ve created your profile, you can choose the courses you’d like to take. You can find more information on course selection under the “How are students placed?” section below.

Check your personal page

After you’ve submitted your choices, you can check your personal page to see what mini-course you’ve been placed in.

Check your student email regularly to get the link to register and important information.

Students are placed after we’ve received all registration applications.

Process overview

Registrations received

All registration applications are collected.

Processing by algorithm

• A neutral algorithm developed with mathematicians is used to assign places in the courses. The algorithm considers several criteria, including students’ choices of courses, availability of places and other relevant factors to ensure fair placement.
  It’s very important to choose 10 courses.
• You’ll need to choose 10 mini-courses that interest you and rate them on a scale of 1 to10 (with 1 being your first choice and 10 your last). We can’t guarantee you’ll get your first choice, but the algorithm takes the order you give us into account to offer you the best possible choice.

Importance of course selection

It’s very important that you and your parents take the time to choose the courses you really want because these choices play a big role in the final placement.

The best, fairest choices

Our algorithm is designed to fulfil your wishes as much as possible while taking into account capacity limits. We can assure you the process is fair and open for all students.

We suggest you think over your choice of courses and rank them in order of preference, to increase your chances of getting the course you want.

Lunch isn’t included in the mini-course program. You’ve got two choices for lunch:

Bring a light meal

You can bring your own meals and snacks from home.

Food services on campus

Universities will share their food offering on campus once placement is completed.

Tips

Prepare your meals the night before

If you’re bringing your meals, prepare them the night before to avoid stress in the morning.

Healthy choices

Choose balanced meals to be sure you have enough energy for the whole day.

Hydration

Don’t forget to bring a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated.

Registration fees for the 2025 mini-course program are $200.

This covers your participation for the entire program. Please note that meals aren’t included in these fees (See the “Is lunch included?” section).

For more on fees and methods of payment, see the program brochure or contact the person responsible for the program at your school.

Transportation for the mini-courses depends on the participating school board or private school. Here’s what you should do:

Check with your school

Some school boards and private schools arrange their own transportation for students taking part in the mini-courses.

Contact the person responsible

• To see if your school is taking care of transportation, check with the person responsible for the program at the school.
• If you don’t know who that is, contact your school board or private school to get the person’s contact information.

Confirm the transportation details well in advance so you can arrange your travel with no rush.

If you have to withdraw from the program, here are the refund conditions:

Until April 26

• You’ll receive a 100% refund on the program fees.
• However, a $70 administrative fee will be charged on the refund.

After April 26

No refund is possible.

Contact your person responsible for the program. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or to start the withdrawal process.

Once you’ve been placed in a course, you can’t change it. That’s why it’s important to carefully choose your courses first. The course you’re placed in is from your initial selection.

Remember, as well, that course placement is handled through an algorithm developed with mathematicians. The algorithm considers several criteria, including students’ choices of courses, availability of places and other relevant factors to ensure fair placement. Our algorithm is designed to fulfil your wishes as much as possible while taking into account capacity limits.

Each year, before the program week begins, the host institutions organize information and orientation sessions. These sessions are an opportunity for you and your parents to get to know the campus. Here’s what you’ll get from the sessions.

Discovering the campus

You can explore the campus and find the main buildings.

Directions to your classroom

We’ll show you exactly where your course is taking place.

Meeting your instructors

You’ll have a chance to meet your instructors and get to know the course content.

We strongly recommend you attend these orientation sessions to make a smooth transition and feel at ease right from your first class.

You can email us.

Please note that due to the high volume of emails we receive at this time of year, we’ll answer you as soon as we can, based on the staff available. Thank you for your understanding.