PSEO Students

Advantages

More than 90% of students who transferred their credits from Minneapolis College’s PSEO program had their credits accepted at other postsecondary institutions, including Minnesota State colleges, private colleges and out-of-state universities.
High school students are more likely to attend college if they have participated in a dual-enrollment program like PSEO
The credits students take in concurrent enrollment gives them a head start on their college career
PSEO offers convenient course scheduling

"PSEO has taught me numerous skills, such as how to manage my time given that I was taking a full-time college course load alongside my extensive list of extracurriculars. PSEO gave me the opportunity to learn the necessary work/life balance to succeed."

— Rahma Farah, Minneapolis high school senior and full-time PSEO student

Apply as a PSEO Student

The Post-Secondary Educational Options (PSEO) program is a state program for high school and home-schooled juniors and seniors, which offers the opportunity to enroll in and attend college-level courses and apply earned credits toward high school graduation requirements and a college degree.

The PSEO program pays for your tuition and textbooks for college-level courses (numbered 1000 level or higher) taken for high school and college credit. See below for eligibility requirements.

If you have been a PSEO student at Minneapolis College and you are graduating from high school, apply as a returning student instead of following the application steps on this page.

If you want to take classes in the summer, are from out-of-state or missed the application deadlines, you may apply for Minneapolis College’s High School Non-PSEO Program.

Upcoming Information Sessions

PSEO Eligibility Requirements

Minneapolis Community & Technical College follows the PSEO admission guidelines set forth by the Minnesota State system.

Students need to meet one of the requirements based on their year in school.

10th Grade Requirements

Tenth grade students must have received a passing score of 850 or higher on the 8th-grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) in reading. If the student did not take the 8th-grade MCA, students can take the Accuplacer to meet eligibility requirements.

***Screenshots or pictures will not be accepted. Official MCA score records must be submitted to PSEO@Minneapolis.edu.

Additional information about PSEO for 10th grade students:

Tenth grade students are only allowed to take one class from the approved CTE list in their first semester.
The classes that are available can be found under PSEO Classes for 10th Grade Students below on this webpage.
If a 10th grade student receives a grade of C or better in the course they took first semester, the student can take any PSEO eligible class that they meet prerequisites for.
Students must meet PSEO program eligibility as well as course prerequisites of the CTE course they wish to enroll in.

11th grade / High School Juniors:

Must be in the upper one-third of High School class.
- If class rank is not noted on transcript, we will need a letter from a counselor that verifies the students meets this requirement.
Have a test score at or above the 70th percentile on any nationally standardized, norm-referenced test such as the ITED, CAT (Timed Version), Aspire, PLAN, ACT, PSAT or SAT.
- The student needs to provide a copy of an official test score record.
- Screen-shots or pictures of these scores will not be accepted
Juniors may also qualify with a High School GPA of 3.0 or higher.

12th grade / High School Seniors:

Must be in the upper one-half of High school class.
- If class rank is not noted on transcript, we will need a letter from a counselor that verifies the students meets this requirement.
Have a test score at or above 50th percentile on any nationally standardized, norm-referenced test such as the ITED, CAT (Timed Version), Aspire, PLAN, ACT, PSAT or SAT.
- The student needs to provide a copy of an official test score record.
- Screen-shots or pictures of these scores will not be accepted.
Seniors may also qualify with a High School GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Note: 19-21 year old high school students follow the 12th grade criteria.

Work with your high school counselor to complete/send the PSEO Extended Eligibility paperwork and complete remaining Admission steps.

PSEO Classes for 10th Grade Students

Tenth grade students may register for one CTE (Career and Technical Education) course during their first semester enrolled. If they take a course during the fall semester and receive a letter grade of a “C” or higher, they may take any PSEO eligible courses that they meet prerequisites for.

The list below are the only classes 10th graders can take in their first semester in the PSEO program. Classes can be taken online or in-person.

Eligible Classes

Accounting:

ACCT 1215 - Accounting Cycle

Architectural Technology:

ARCH 1010 - Architectural Orientation

Business Management:

BUSN - Any course

Child Development:

ECED 1200 - Intro to Early Childhood Education

Graphic Design Print Media:

GRPH 1101 - Typography 1
GRPH 1130 - Introduction to Graphic Software
GRPH 1540 - History of Graphic Design

Health:

HLTH - Any course

Herbal Studies:

Herb 1000 - Foundation of Herbal Medicine

Human Services:

HSER 1001 - Intro to Human Services and Career Assessment
HSER 1002 - Multicultural Aspects of Human Services Law Enforcement

Information Technology:

ITEC - Any course

Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide:

NAHA 1819 - Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide

Sleep Technology:

PSOM 1000 - Introduction to Sleep Rest

This list is subject to change without notice.

Excluded PSEO Programs/Classes

For academic, financial and logistical reasons, not all Minneapolis College courses are eligible to PSEO students. Any student who registers for PSEO ineligible courses will be dropped unless prior permission and arrangements are made with the PSEO coordinator.

The following courses are not covered by PSEO funding and ineligible for PSEO enrollment at Minneapolis College:

Excluded Programs:

All courses numbered under 1000
All non-credit courses offered through Community Education or Workforce Development
Aircraft Maintenance (ACMT)
Architect Virtual Reality and Rendering (AVRR)
Cinema (CINE)
Music Lessons (MUSC)
Nursing (NURS)
Photography and Motion (PHMO)
Sound Arts (SNDA)

Important: *** denotes PSEO Classes that students CAN take.
Music Classes (MUSC) PSEO students can take:

MUSC any classes that are not lessons
MUSC 1310: College Choir ***
MUSC 1320: Vocal Ensemble ***
MUSC 1330: Chamber Ensemble ***
MUSC 1340: Jazz Ensemble 1 ***

Specific Excluded Courses:

ARTS

ART 1105: Introduction to Photography

This list is subject to change without notice 9/11/2024.

Application Deadlines

New Student Spring Semester Deadlines:

Priority Deadline: November 1
Final Deadline: December 2

New Student Fall Semester Deadlines:

Priority Deadline: April 14
Final Deadline: June 13

Returning Student Fall and Spring deadlines:

Last Friday before the semester begins

Please see Application Steps section below for what is needed for a complete new student application.

Returning students just need to turn in new Notice of Student Registration that can be found in section for Current Students and Administrators.

Application Steps

All application items need to be submitted electronically by the application deadline.

Please note we are unable to take photographs of documentation but can accept scans and PDFs of transcripts and PSEO Notice of Student Registration forms.

Need a scanner to upload electronic documents? Try this app. It will help you send your document/s in so we can read them.

Complete the PSEO online application by using the link below.
- Make sure to state you are in high school when asked on the application.
  - If this step is answered incorrectly your application will not be processed correctly.
- Complete the PSEO online application
- Record your StarID in a safe place. You will need this information.
- After you submit the online application, you will receive a confirmation email.
Submit your eligibility requirement
- High School Transcript
  - Submit this information to pseo@minneapolis.edu
- Nationally standardized test score (Optional)
  - Show us how you meet your grade level eligibility i.e. top half or top third nationally on the exam
  - Submit this information to pseo@minneapolis.edu.
Submit a Notice of Student Registration (NOSR) fillable PDF form
- Please complete this NOSR form, fill out sections 1 and 2, including a signature from your school counselor or administrator and send it in to the PSEO email. When sending an email with PSEO materials please include student's name and what items are being sent in the subject line.
Attend PSEO Orientation.
- PSEO Orientation is mandatory for all new PSEO students. During the Orientation, students will learn about campus resources, meet their College Navigator and register for classes.