PSEO stands for Post Secondary Enrollment Options. This gives high school students the opportunity to take classes at colleges such as Anoka Ramsey Community College, Bethel University, and even the University of Minnesota, free of charge! You can choose to take these classes part time: meaning you take some classes at the college, and some at the high school. Another option is, you can do full time PSEO and take all of your classes at the college of your choice. PSEO is offered to juniors and seniors. There are some requirements, which differ between grades, such as:  seniors must be in the upper half of their class, while juniors must be in the top third of their class.

Now that you have a general idea of what PSEO is, let me tell you what PSEO has to offer you.

1. You can arrange your class schedule the way you want it. Classes are offered at multiple times, on multiple days, and while you are registering for classes you get to pick what time, and day, you want class. You can choose to not take a class before 10am, or you could choose to get all of your classes over with early in the day. You can chose to spread out your classes over time during the day. The choices are almost endless. Although, if you do part time PSEO, you will have to work around your Blaine classes, and cannot choose you’re own time. I can practically see the look on your face; you are excited by this new found freedom. You can sleep in!

2.  It will save you hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars in the long run! PSEO gives students the opportunity to take college classes, and receive college credit, for free. When you graduate high school and go to college, these credits may transfer, depending on the school you decide to go to, and you will be saving tons of money you would have spent to earn those credits.

3. You can graduate college in less time. When you graduate high school and go to a college, these credits will transfer, meaning you will need less credits to earn a degree. Since you need less credits, you won’t have to take as many classes, and thus can get your degree in less time than it would take if you didn’t have these credits.

4. You will have the opportunity to meet new people, and try new things. A lot of colleges are much larger than high schools and have many more students and many more extracurricular activities. This gives PSEO students so many opportunities to join new clubs and try new things, while meeting new people and making new friends. You never know what you will find at these colleges, and might enjoy doing.

5. PSEO will help to prepare you for when you graduate high school and actually go off to college. Other students won’t have the real life experience PSEO students gain from doing the program. They will go to college unknowing of what to expect, or what it will be like. PSEO students have already experienced it, and will go in knowing what to expect and be more prepared.

Hopefully this has given you some knowledge about PSEO, and encourages you to go after this incredible opportunity.