PSEO (or Running Start) Students?

<p>I dont remember any huge specifics, but he did take academic classes at the U, not electives. I know that he did apply to 7 ivies, and got rejected by 4 of em (the first 4) and then got aaccepted by this one and then i never asked about the others, since he seemed content. He was also a first generation college student, if that helps at all (although he did drive an Infiniti to school every day, so he isnt a poor one :P) Umm he was a leader of a youth group outside of school too, but thats basically all i know. Hope that helps.</p>

<p>Oh and he had a 3.9 something gpa in high school gpa before he came here, so maybe the admissions counselors saw that he excelled at the H.S. but the university was an all new level, so they were nicer on his gpa? lol</p>

<p>Is U of M PSEO program more challenging than other PSEOs in MN?</p>

<p>It's basically the same as going to real college - thus, U of M TC is harder than U of M Morris and community college, but most likely easier than, say, Macalister or Carlton.</p>

<p>a shout-out to fellow Minnesotans . . </p>

<p>My nephew took a PSEO class at Macalester last year. I know they can only admit a few students and heard that most of the participants are in advanced language classes after taking all the HS courses offered in their chosen language.</p>

<p>I think it helped my nephew some with his writing, and it definitely made him more relaxed and confident when he got to college for good this Fall.</p>

<p>Thanks for joining the thread. One thing that has kept Minnesota's PSEO program from being even cooler than it is is the nonparticipation or partial participation of some colleges. At the U of MN TC one can go full-time for two years. At Carleton and St. Olaf, as I recall, one can do far less--maybe take only one class, or maybe none at all, but I need to check the details on those schools. </p>

<p>It's interesting that we haven't heard much from other states in this thread. I know that PSEO is called by the same name in some other states, but apparently it is more restrictive in those states.</p>

<p>So.. even if you have some local univs that has pseo program nearby, is it worth going to some harder schools like MN Twin cities? Also, if you are a full time student at MN Twin cities (as PSEO), what kind of ECs could you do? such as sports, orchestra..etc. are these available?</p>

<p>I think most of the U of MN TC ECs are available to PSEO students. I'm going to an information meeting on campus in a week to find out more.</p>

<p>umm.. If you are a full-time on campus student in PSEO program since your junior year, whom do you get the recommendations from? teachers from high school? or professors from Univ?</p>

<p>I beleive at the U of M you will need to have a letter signed agreeing that you won't look at the recommendations. I'd rather get recommendations from my professors than my high school teachers, looks more intellectual.</p>

<p>You can definitely get letters of recommendation from U of MN professors as a PSEO student and should if you are confident that those will be strong recommendations.</p>

<p>thnks a lot:)</p>

<p>Is it better to start PSEO in junior year than senior year?
I also would like to know some other Uof MN PSEO students' stats and colleges admitted</p>

<p>I think it is better to start as soon as possible if high school is tedious. The statute says the state will pay for two years, but only for the last two years of "high school" study, so you might as well take both years. You do have to be ready for that level of challenge to make this a winning strategy.</p>

<p>I went to the public meeting about the PSEO program at the U of MN on Thursday 10 Feb 2005. The admission rate to the program is about 50 percent. The admission essay is very important; the program officers want to see your writing to see if you are ready for college-level work. PSEO students can participate in U of MN ECs and ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ON-CAMPUS JOBS. All in all, I am urging many local parents to consider the PSEO program at the U of MN for their children. It sure beats regular high school.</p>

<p>At least until the next tournament of education funding cutting, we have PSEO. One daughter took some classes at U of Akron, next daughter is looking to take some at Kent State. I think it's a good option for serious students, those who've taken all the "good stuff" at their h.s. and are bored to death there. We've never been too concerned about credits transferring, as you can't predict where a student will end up for college. Our middle daughter had college credits from PSEO, a summer university program, a number of good AP scores, and ended up at a college that takes none of those items for credit. But the courses were worthwhile anyway, and anything that shows extra effort on a transcript/application is good.</p>

<p>My daughter was advised against PSEO if AP or IB are available. The primary reason was the difficulty of out-of-state colleges evaluating the quality of coursework. For example, other Minnesota schools know how to evaluate coursework at area colleges. A course at Carleton might be viewed differently than the same course at St. Cloud State. Out-of-state schools might have difficulty in making similar evaluations. For example, how does the University of Vermont's class compare to the same class at Oregon State versus the same class at Texas Christian? While the quality of an IB or AP class might differ among high schools, the exams are the great equalizer. If you get an "A" in a AP class and score a "5" on the exam, every college in the country has a sense of how good that class was.</p>

<p>A second reason is that in Minnesota, PSEO classes are considered a part of your high school education. They don't always count for transfer credit. So, even if you take high level classes at the U of M, you may not get college credit when you go to Harvard (although they might result in higher placement).</p>

<p>Third, most kids in PSEO classes are basically "gone" from high school. They don't get a chance to participate in most HS EC's and miss out on a valuable part of the "high school experience."</p>

<p>My daughter went the IB route although many of her friends went to the University via the PSEO program. It works out great if you want to stay at the U of M.</p>

<p>"My daughter was advised against PSEO if AP or IB are available."</p>

<p>Who gave the advice? Someone at her school? </p>

<p>I'll reply to each of your points in order. Please don't be offended; I'd say the same replies in friendly face-to-face conversation, but we're online here and can't always convey friendly tone as I'm sure we both would wish to do. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>It's true that each school is different from each other school, but it would be a rare community in which there is no college that is not at least as good as some of the high schools. Of course, when you evaluated what to do for your daughter, you were comparing her specific high school with some specific group of colleges. Other parents might find that the local college is plainly more credible even to far-away colleges than the local high school, and I would expect that to be true more often than not. </p></li>
<li><p>Going to Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire is also high school education in the sense that it doesn't provide credits that transfer to institutions of higher education, but it is very good education (by reputation). (Yeah, I know, I'm providing a counterexample to my point 1 above--but there is no high school like Exeter in Minnesota.) Getting a good secondary education that doesn't provide transferable credit is not a bad idea at all if one's goal is to go to a competitive college out of state for an undergrad degree, and several Minnesota colleges can provide that. </p></li>
<li><p>Many students find high school social life even more tedious than high school academic life, and are glad to get their social life on a college campus, which is, after all, where a lot of high school students end up just two years later. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Did your daughter stay in state for college or apply out of state? </p>

<p>Thanks for sharing your perspective.</p>

<p>The really good part of taking advantage of the college courses is that your child gets the chance to know they can succeed and organize themselves at that level. Now when my S goes away to college next year, I KNOW he can handle at least his scheduling, organization, tests, dealing with the counselor, etc...some of our (and his) stress will be somewhat alleviated. </p>

<p>Admittedly being at the high school for very short periods of time each day changes his senior year experience markedly. In his case, thankfully. He is sooo ready to leave and has matured alot through the whole experience.</p>

<p>The college advisor told him he could not take 15 hours of quarter credit this quarter as that is a full load and with his AP classes in hs it would be too tough (they never allow full load apparently). My S wanted so to add this 3rd class and it fit perfectly into his schedule, that he went and asked the prof if he could sit in on the class for no credit (he takes tests, etc...). The prof agreed, no problem. He wants the advisor to see his ending grade and realize that it is a policy that maybe need not apply to all students and this was his way to make his point (as well as to learn the material he was very interested in).</p>

<p>What if my high school doesn't let me to do the pseo at U of M?
It's not because of my grades.. I'm a straight A student and I took some hard courses (nothing compare to CC standards but)such as Calc 2 and highest level physics(3rd year physics). Since I go to some small and not competitive Catholic private school, there's not many courses I can take after this year but my counselor and school administrations don't let me even apply for pseo.</p>

<p>Their reasons are,
1. Since my school is far from U of M, I should be a full time student there and If I'm attending U of M full time, I'm "not in the school community and not really in my high school anymore".
->But until this year, there's a guy taking his all courses at local college. School administrations are saying that it's new rule.</p>

<p>2.I told my counselor and administrations that even though I'm an
international student, as long as I'm not an exchange student I am eligible
to apply for PSEO program at U of M, but they said no because they haven't
had any international students participated in this program and don't know
what to do. Also, I'm still going to be technically enrolled in my high school, so they are responsible for me and if I'm staying at U of M, which is far away from my school, they don't know how that's gonna work.</p>

<p>They said, If I can find some international students who are participating
in this program, or the private high schools which let their international
students to participate in PSEO program at U of M, they might let me. </p>

<p>My questions are..
1. Could you give me names of some international students at U of M pseo
program or some private high schools which let their international students
to participate in U of M pseo program? </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Can I apply independently without my current high school's approval or is
the approval of school principle necessary for admission process? </p></li>
<li><p>If my school doesn't let me do it and if I can't apply without school's
approval, is it possible for me to transfer to some other high school for
fall semester and participate in PSEO program at U of M? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Argh.. has anybody had this kind of problem when they apply to PSEO?
Can anybody give me some suggestions?
Your advice will be very appreciated. Thank you.</p>

<p>I don't know the answers to your situation because you are an international student. (I did receive your private message, and as I thought about it, I kept getting stuck on how to reply because I don't know how the international student issue fits in.) I do know that the PSEO staff are very helpful and friendly at the U of MN, so try telephoning their office at </p>

<p>(612) 626-1666 </p>

<p>to ask if there is a way for you to apply to the U of MN PSEO program. I think your visa status will be a key issue, so prepare to explain that in detail. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>I already contact with the PSEO staffs and they said I'm eligible even if I'm an international student, as long as I'm not an exchange student and my visa is good through 4 more years. It's just my high school doesn't let me apply...</p>