Hi, I’m Kaitlin, from Ontario, Canada. I graduated from United World College Dilijan in 2024, and I am currently a junior at Minerva University.
I would say my sister played a big role in my path to studying abroad. Back in Canada, I went to a normal public school in my hometown,Markham District High School. It was during COVID that my school began to feel incredibly restrictive and bland. At the time, my older sister was in the middle of her undergrad at Minerva. She noticed that many of her Minerva classmates were United World Colleges (UWC) alumni and urged me to apply.
I was around fourteen and had never lived outside of Markham. Both my parents and I were worried about whether I would be able to travel and live on my own. Despite our initial concerns, I took a leap of faith and applied in Grade 10. I received an offer for the Dilijan campus in Armenia, a country pretty much unknown in Canada. The beautiful campus and the promise of a cultural and environmental shift pulled me in, and I ended up spending two lovely years at UWC Dilijan.
The Minerva Application Process & Stats
I applied to about eight universities, a majority of which were Canadian (York, Simon Fraser, Waterloo) and some U.S. schools (NYU, Purdue, Berkeley). I was really conflicted about staying close to Canada because I wanted to explore the world while I am still young and have the energy to.
My final IB score was 38/45, and I had a predicted 40 when I was applying. I would say for Minerva, grades are more of a checkbox. As long as your grades reach a certain baseline, you don’t have to worry about having a full GPA. Minerva doesn’t require traditional college essays, SATs, or IELTS scores. Instead, they use a pretty unique admissions system that tests your ability to think fast, creatively, and critically by asking you to solve cognitive puzzles. Another part is a self-interview where applicants have to record themselves answering prompts on the spot.
What Minerva heavily prioritizes, though, are your personal achievements and projects. These don’t necessarily have to be world-changing supercurriculars like doing intensive university-level research or a very prestigious internship. They have to be key experiences that shaped who you are, such as solo-backpacking across Central Asia.
My first project was an internship I did throughout grades 9 and 10 with Miracle Messages, a San Francisco-based NGO that works with the homeless population. Next, I included my involvement with Combili, a project that won a Global Youth Action Fund grant, taking our group to speak on a panel at an IB global conference in Dublin, Ireland. It was the highlight of my high school experience. The last thing I remember mentioning was the transformative experience of attending a UWC itself. I think integrating with a whole new culture and a diverse group of students laid the foundation for my path to Minerva.
Life on a Global Campus
If you didn’t know already, Minerva is a highly selective residential college where students study around the world across the four years of earning their degrees in the following four cities:
- Year 1: San Francisco, USA
- Year 2: Tokyo, Japan
- Year 3: Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Year 4: Berlin, Germany
The cohorts are on the smaller side, around 130–140 students, and you will not find more than a maximum of five students from each country. Because you live in the same residence halls, travel, and experience culture shocks together with these 100 or so students, the community is very tight-knit, and the bonding is intense.
As for living accommodation, the residences have kitchens to cook our own food, and the rooms are usually shared. Minerva doesn’t own designated campus buildings, dining halls, or gyms, which creates a massive cafe culture among students. The city is thoroughly explored by the end of the rotation because students use local facilities to study, eat out at, and work out. Due to location and space restraints, there aren’t as many clubs or a party culture as at traditional colleges. The lifestyle at Minerva definitely expects students to be more independent and responsible for themselves.
What are classes at Minerva like?
Instead of in-person lectures, we have 1.5-hour-long classes conducted completely online via Minerva’s proprietary platform, Forum. There is a common misconception about Minerva: a fully online learning system means a lack of engagement and teacher-student interaction. However, I think the classes at Minerva are the most engaging classes I’ve taken. Every class is graded on active participation, meaning cameras must be on, and the duration you speak in class, as well as every word you say, can be and is used for marking. Professors won’t hesitate to cold-call you if you are silent for too long!
Traditional lectures go over the topic during the lecture itself, but at Minerva, the student has to go through the content themselves and bring their thoughts to the class to discuss and reflect. To engage in class properly, students must complete 2-3 hours of pre-class reading. Class starts with a small written exercise to test us on our readings and ends with a reflection session.
I felt a bit antsy about the class participation requirement, especially in the first year. But now, I think this level of engagement has helped a lot with how much of the coursework I retain and remember.
The good news is that Minerva has zero traditional exams. This also means final grades rely entirely on class participation and written assignments. Another plus is that there are no classes on Fridays!
My Pivot in Major
When I started my first year, the tech wave had just arrived, leading me to double major in Computer Science and Business. However, I quickly realized that I genuinely disliked coding. Learning to code is definitely doable, but whether you like it determines your success in the field. After the first year ended, I made the hard decision to switch from Computer Science to Arts & Humanities to continue what I liked about the visual arts course I took in high school. Now, I am a happy double major in Arts & Humanities and Business.
Currently, the courses are more theoretical, like reviewing literature or artwork. More application-based courses will be offered next year. After grad, I hope to work in a job that combines business with design and allows me to be creative with my work.
Career Support & Internship
The career coaching is excellent at Minerva. In my first year in San Frianciso, we were required to do these “Civic Projects” where students work with local enterprises ranging from big names like Google and Adobe to small local entrepreneurs and startups. These projects were basically mentored networking opportunities. Recently, I landed a role as a design intern at the Toronto office of Critical Mass, a global design agency under Omnicom, and it’s been amazing!
Minerva’s extensive alumni network helps. It’s very easy to reach out to anyone and connect because we’ve all gone through a super unique experience that only certain people were apart of. Also, I think people at Minerva are just naturally more proactive and good at finding opportunities.
Final Notes for Future Minervians
Minerva doesn’t facilitate everything, but civic projects are one of the greatest opportunities given to you in terms of getting professional working experience. Other than that, I agree with what many people say:
Minerva is the experience you make it out to be.
A lot of it is on you to look for those cool opportunities, especially in cities foreign to you. If you want to network, then you have to find those networking events and coffee chats yourself. It’s on you to explore the city and shape your own experience. It’s for you if you don’t like staying in one place too long and are ready to go through a lot of change, especially if you’re not used to a more project-based curriculum. Looking back, I have no regrets about choosing Minerva.
