2025 Yale-Proxima Mentorship Program.

Reviewer instructions.

Overview.

  • A total of 88 applications, ranging from the 7th semester of undergraduate studies to master's levels, are being considered for the 2025 class after our first round of screening.

  • Applicants in the fields of biological and biomedical sciences who are interested in pursuing careers in translational/basic science and/or science education are the focus of the program.

  • This year, 30 applicants will be selected to compose the class of Scholars 2025.

  • A 2-minute video and short responses to four questions about the candidate's career trajectory and how they would benefit from the program are included as part of the application questionnaire to help you select your candidates.

Selection process.

11 reviewers will review 88 applications (each reviewer will review 24 applications). Each application will be reviewed by 3 reviewers. Up to 30 Scholars will be selected.

Reviewing instructions.

  1. Complete the scoring sheet.
    • Gold card (optional): You may select one exceptional candidate who will be automatically chosen as part of the Class of Scholars 2025. Please write a justification for the selection of this candidate.
    • The top four candidates receive a score of 4.
    • Candidates 5-9 receive a score of 3.
    • Candidates 10-14 receive a score of 2.
    • Candidates 15-19 receive a score of 1.
    • All others receive a score of 0.
  2. Important:
    • You can use your gold card to select one candidate as Scholar 2025. Please write an explanation of why you selected this candidate. This is important for us to understand how you are selecting candidates and to improve our processes and student pool.
    • Make notes of your evaluation and be ready to advocate for your candidates at the board meeting.

Reviewer materials.

Bio video, short essays, CV, and transcripts:

  1. QA1: A 2-minute short bio video on any aspect of their careers that they wish to share;
  2. QA2: An essay sharing an example of something they have been part of, created, led, or joined that they consider unique in their life (250 words in Portuguese);
  3. QA3: An essay describing their previous experience with science and education (maximum of 250 words in English);
  4. QA4: A paragraph elaborating on their short-term career and any upcoming major decisions they will have to make (250 words in Portuguese). We included this question to identify applicants going through key transition moments in their careers, who would benefit most from the mentoring and career coaching offered by the program;
  5. QA5: An essay explaining what impact the program would have on their career (maximum of 250 words in English);
  6. Link to Lattes curriculum and a CV (free format);
  7. Official academic transcripts.

Example of the Google Folder shared with the applications:

Google Drive Folders

Application folder with the materials:

Google Drive Folders
Google Drive Folders

Timeline.

  • 01.18.25 – Information on the YPMP 2025 and review process is shared with the YPMP 2025 Board of Reviewers
  • 01.18.25 – Folders with applications and scoring spreadsheet are shared with the Board of
  • Reviewers
  • 02.09.25 – Deadline for submission of the scoring spreadsheet by reviewers.
  • 02.13.24 (3:30 PM - 5 PM EST Zoom link) – Final meeting and discussion with the YPMP 2025 Board of Reviewers.
  • 02.15.24 – Selected YPMP 2025 Scholars are notified.
  • 02.20.24 – Final results are made public.

Frequently asked questions.

  1. Where can I find the materials for review?

    A Google Drive folder containing the 24 applications for review and the scoring spreadsheet was shared with each reviewer. Each application for review will consist of a sub-folder with the number and name of the candidate (for example, 1_Name Surname). Inside the sub-folder, the following files for review will be present:

    • The candidate info, containing the applicant’s identification information and their answers to the questions of the application process. (The link for the YouTube video is also present in this document as the answer to Question A1.)
    • The candidate's curriculum vitae.
    • The candidate's transcripts.
  2. Which criteria should I prioritize while reviewing the applications?

    We are interested in a holistic view of the potential of the applicants for a career in science or education. The reviewers are expected to take into account the background of each applicant in the ranking to increase inclusion and diversity in the program. Therefore, it is important for the reviewers to take notes while scoring candidates. This information will be important for our final meeting when we present the selected candidates.

  3. What is the ‘gold card’ added to this year's review?

    In the 2025 review, each reviewer will have one ‘gold card’ that can be used for one candidate during the scoring process. If the reviewer decides to use the gold card, the candidate will be automatically selected as a 2025 Scholar. However, reviewers do not need to use their ‘gold card’. The idea behind the ‘gold card’ is to allow reviewers to support candidates that they believe will strongly benefit from our program. Typically, in past years, we discussed candidates in the reviewers’ meeting, but this discussion was often biased toward candidates supported by reviewers who were present at the meeting. With the gold card, we hope to give equal voice to all reviewers and, with that, expand the breadth and diversity of the pool of selected candidates.

  4. I really liked a candidate, but he/she/they were not selected among the top 25 applicants. Would I have the chance to advocate for this student?

    Yes. The reviewers will have a chance to advocate for one student during the last meeting with the entire board of reviewers. The reviewer will have the opportunity to describe why that candidate deserves a chance to be among the pool of Scholars.

  5. Do the reviewers need to assign an applicant as Scholar or Associate?

    In the 2025 edition, applicants will be selected only for the class of Scholars.

  6. Is 24 a high number of applications for review?

    In previous editions, reviewers agreed that 30 applications was a relatively good number to review. Nonetheless, this edition limited applications to students in later stages of their undergraduate studies to Master's levels, reducing the total number of applications. Therefore, the number per reviewer was reduced to 24 for the current year.

  7. Are the applicants going to receive feedback about the review?

    No. We advise reviewers to make notes about the applicants to be used as guidance for discussion in the last meeting. However, this information will not be shared with the applicants by the Iniciativa Proxima team.