Career Immersion Program (Minnesota)

Minnesota sophomores and juniors who know they want health care but not medical school. The 2.5 GPA floor is unusually accessible, and the program covers everything including travel, so cost should not stop anyone from applying.

• Current sophomore or junior at a Minnesota high school, charter school, or home-based school
• Minimum 2.5 GPA
• Minnesota resident
• US citizen or permanent resident

• Five days in Rochester, roughly late June
• Hands-on sessions in Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences classrooms and labs
• Exposure to 18 health science fields
• Full scholarship covering program cost, meals, and housing
• Transportation from the Twin Cities
• A clear view of the education pathways into allied health careers

• Online application form
• Essay of 300 to 500 words on your interest in allied health careers
• Unofficial transcript that includes fall semester grades
• One recommendation letter from an educator
• Interview in April if you advance

• Name specific allied health fields in your essay. Sonography, respiratory therapy, radiography, and phlebotomy are all part of the program, and knowing what they are shows you did the reading.
• Wait for fall semester grades before submitting, since the transcript must include them.
• The cohort recently doubled to about 20 students, so odds are better than they used to be. Apply even if your GPA is modest.
• In the interview, talk about hands-on work you enjoy. This is a program about doing procedures, not about theory.
• Ask your recommender to speak to your reliability and curiosity rather than your test scores.

The program started in 2016 and recently expanded its cohort. Contact Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences at 507-284-3745 or mccm@mayo.edu. Mayo also offers free virtual career tours and a virtual Discover Mayo Clinic series for grades 10 to 12.