Admissions
Eligibility for admissions
- All applicants are required to consult with their high school counselor about the suitability of this program before making an application.
- Juniors are required to have a cumulative 3.5 High School GPA to be eligible for the program.
- Seniors are required to have a cumulative 3.0 High school GPA to be eligible for the program.
- Applicants must be Juniors or Seniors in Minnesota schools to participate in the program.
- Students are encouraged to live within a 60-mile radius of the UMD campus, as many of our course options are taught in person.
Continue in the program
- PSEO students must maintain at least a 2.5 university GPA to continue in the program.
- PSEO students are subject to the UMD drop/add schedule.
- Drops after week 10 of the term are not allowed in the program.
Not eligible for admission
- Grade 9 students.
- Grade 10 students, UMD does not offer Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses.
- Students who have completed grade 12.
- Foreign exchange students.
PSEO students are not eligible for
- On-campus living.
- Study Abroad programs.
Application Process
Application forms
Make an appointment with your high school counselor to complete the online admissions application, forms, and gather all other documentation including current high school transcript. All of the forms are editable PDFs. Please download the form and save with the student's name and then form type, example: Jack Frost State Form. This naming convention allows us to keep all pertinent information together. It is also acceptable to combine all completed forms into one document.
- PSEO Application
- PSEO Notice of Student Registration (State form)
- PSEO Program Academic Advisement Sheet
- All applicants are required to submit transcripts from every high school, college, or university attended
- All forms must be submitted via email to: [email protected]
Deadlines
All application materials must be submitted by these deadlines to be eligible, no exceptions.
New for the 2026-2027 academic year, there will be only one admission cycle per academic year:
| PSEO admission cycle | |
|---|---|
| February 15 | Application goes live online |
| March | Application period |
| April 15 | Application deadline |
| May | Admission decision and acceptance letter mailing |
| June | PSEO Orientation sessions |
| July | Registration |
| August | PSEO Welcome Gathering (optional) Fall classes being |
Advisement and registration
Your advisement and registration appointment will take place with the PSEO Advisor each semester. The PSEO Advisor has your best interest in mind and they will recommend courses that fulfill your high school requirements. Additionally, you will discuss UMD resources and answer any questions you may have.
Equivalency and common courses
The priority of the UMD PSEO program is to place students in UMD Liberal Education courses that fill both UMD Liberal Education and Minnesota high school graduation requirements.
The High School Equivalency Guide highlights common courses taken by PSEO students at UMD.
Course limitations
- PSEO students may not take music lessons, some physical education courses, and other courses with course fees over $8.50.
- PSEO may take some art or computer design classes, but must pay for all supplies required for the course except the books. (Art kits, software packages)
- Micro and Macro Economics classes have prerequisites of 15 college credits.
- PSEO students will be placed in UMD math and science courses based on their ACT math scores or placement exam score. These courses have the least availability in fall semester and students therefore may need to delay enrollment until spring semester.
Course load
When applying to the PSEO program students will be required to choose if they want to enroll as a part-time or full-time student. The maximum number of courses a student can enroll in each semester is four courses. This requirement is in place due to the fact that final grades taken at the university level follow the student to any college or university that they apply to in the future.
Part-time: 1-2 courses
Full-time: 3-4 courses