<p>I would like to ask some questions concerning pseo at the university of Minnesota- twin cities. These questions are mainly toawrds students who have finished or are currently doing PSEO.
1. How is the academic rigor in comparison to AP courses?
2. Are you enjoying yourselves and have you made some good friends?
3. How does lunch work? Do you buy it yourselves or did you order buy a meal plan?</p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to read this :)</p>
<p>bump please</p>
<p>Well, I’m not a student, but I have one daughter who recently did PSEO at the U, and another daughter who is currently in her second year of PSEO there (HS senior).</p>
<p>Our experience;</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Academic rigor varies in U classes, just as it varies in AP classes. The main differences are these. First, HS AP classes try to be “like” college classes in terms of content and rigor. College classes are colleges classes. That means a couple of things. One big difference is the pace of the course. Actual college classes are not necessarily “harder” or “more rigorous” than HS AP classes, but they move much quicker. As a rough rule of thumb, a college class will try to cover in a semester what a HS AP class will try to cover in a year. Also, college is much less structured; you aren’t spoon-fed the material on a daily basis. Instead you’re on your own with more latitude to organize your time and get the work done on your own schedule. That’s not to say there aren’t deadlines; there definitely are deadlines, and they have consequences, sometimes more serious consequences than in HS, but you’re much more responsible for organizing your own time, learning on your own, and getting things done in a timely way without someone reminding you on a daily basis. These are skills that are invaluable once you’re in college fullt-time. Bottom line, then, PSEO is much more of a college experience than a HS AP class, because an actual college class is an actual college class, and not a HS facsimile of a college class. Not every HS student is ready to take on that much individual responsibility, but those who are can get a lot out of it.</p></li>
<li><p>Our daughters have enjoyed their PSEO experience and definitely made friends, but it’s not the kind of tight social network you get from HS. I wouldn’t recommend PSEO at UMN-TC for the social experience alone. That’s not a negative, it just is what it is.</p></li>
<li><p>Lunch is completely on your own. I don’t think there is a lunch-only meal plan (though I could be wrong about that). In any event, the campus is large and far-flung, and class schedules and locations vary by semester; you also likely won’t be in the same place 5 days a week. Plan to bring your lunch and/or pick up lunch at a cheap on-campus or off-campus venue. This is not a trivial cost, but given how much you’re getting for free, it’s not unreasonable.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the response!!</p>