Catalyst Summer Program Application

Catalyst Summer Program Online Applications are now closed for Summer 2023. We appreciate your patience in our response as we evaluate applications. 

For 2023, you will need:

  • A completed online form (available through the apply now button below)
  • A teacher reference (you will be asked to provide their contact info in the online form so we may send them steps to complete their reference)
  • Personal Interest Application (can be uploaded along with the online form or sent separately via email)**

**The Personal Interest Application is a creative way to express your interest in this program. Be as creative as you like with it.  Video, audio, artwork, letter, etc... the format is up to you! You can tell us about:

  • Yourself and your interest in science, engineering, and leadership
  • Why you want to come to the Catalyst Summer Program
  • What you can contribute to the program
  • Your accomplishments, they can be academic, community, athletics or creative. (Why and how are you awesome?)

We recommend focusing your application on creatively showing your interests and why you want to be a part of the program so we can get a better idea of you!

Please ensure that you name all files clearly so the whole package can be kept together.

ex: Jane-Smith-Catalyst-Summer-Personal-Interest-app

As a reminder, applications will not be considered complete for evaluation until we have received all three components. It is the responsibility of the applicant to mae sure we receive all parts of the application. 

Submission

Please submit all pieces of your application virtually. If you need to send any additional parts of your submission afterwards, you can do so through an email to catalyst@uwaterloo.ca.

Please note that any registrations received without proper submission of a completed application will be removed.

Cost

The program cost is $675+HST. A special bursary program is available for those in financial need. Please see our ESQ Bursaries and Awards page for more info. 

Please note:

The registration fee is due only upon acceptance into the program. If accepted, applicants will receive an e-mail which provides information about using our registration system and paying the registration fee. There is no application fee for this program.

Catalyst offers online registrations for its programs. The following explains various policies surrounding registration, and how to register for our programs.

Cancellation policy

If arrangements for cancellations are made with Catalyst with more than 2 weeks notice to the start of the intended registered session, a full refund minus a 25% processing fee will be given. Cancellation requests with less than 2 weeks notice will be charged a 50% processing fee. There are no refunds for cancellations given with less than 48 hours notice. 

Note: There is no charge for switching sessions (pending availability).

Acceptance Notification

Summer Program applications will be considered in three rounds. After each round's cutoff date, we will notify all applicants of their status . If you are not accepted in a round, you will still be considered in the subsequent rounds. We recommend submitting your (complete) application as soon as you can in order to be considered in more rounds!  Please note, we must receive all 3 parts of the application before a submission will be considered complete for evaluation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure we receive all pieces of the application.

Cutoff Dates for Consideration

All applicants will be updated on their application status in the days following the below cutoff dates. We appreciate your patience as we evaluate applications.

  • Round 1: January 31st
  • Round 2: February 28th
  • Round 3: March 31st