Senior Danielle Patterson, Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) participant, said she feels more prepared to go to college next year because of her opportunity to learn on a college campus the past two years.

Patterson attends PSEO at Normandale Community College. She said the benefits of PSEO include the ability to take college classes for free and at a convenient time.

“Advantages are for sure the money factor, but you also get to construct your own schedule. Right now I don’t have classes on Friday,” Patterson said. “It’s really flexible and then you get a ton more time to do your homework.”

Senior Joshua Hodge, who participates in PSEO at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), said he has already completed two years of his college studies and will receive a degree when he graduates.

“I will have my associates degree in biology when I graduate in the spring. I will have 64 credits,” Hodge said.

According to 11th grade counselor Laura King, PSEO allows students to be more self-reliant as they manage their schedule.

“Another pro is learning at an early age how to navigate the college system, the experience, learning how to schedule classes, learning how to really be an independent student,” King said.

King said some students face difficulties staying involved in the Park community while taking classes off campus.

“Some of my students who do PSEO feel disconnected from their high school friends,” King said.  “They are not in the building full time so they feel like they are out of the loop in that way.”

Patterson said she stays involved in the Park community by participating and watching sports, as well as being a member of various clubs in the school.

“I do sports. I do volleyball and I might do golf again this year. I do some clubs like YDC and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, so I still stay involved in the school and I come to sporting events and stuff and football games,” Patterson said.

King said eligibility for PSEO depends on the college or university a student wishes to attend. She said there are minimum GPA requirements to ensure the PSEO program will help the student to be successful.

“The community colleges in our area generally want to see about a 3.25 for incoming juniors’ minimum, (and) a 3.0 for seniors. For some of our other universities like the U of M they’re gonna be more competitive – looking at about a 3.8/3.9 GPA,” she said.

According to King, there will be informational session in the late winter for students who are interested in doing PSEO the following year.

“We generally spend two to three days in the media center classroom, or in our counseling office conference room where students are welcome to come down, whatever fits their schedule, and we walk them through the entire PSEO process,” King said.

Students interested in participating in PSEO should contact their counsellors and attend the upcoming informational meeting.