Admission Procedures for the PSEO Program

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Program is designed to offer Minnesota high school seniors, juniors and sophomores in public, nonpublic or home schools, with demonstrated academic achievement the opportunity to take college level courses while attending high school.

The PSEO program allows high school students to earn college credits tuition-free, saving both time and money on completing a college degree. With the high school’s permission, the students can also use those credits toward the completion of high school graduation requirements.

There are two types of Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) Programs, each has different admission and course eligibility:

PSEO General Education for juniors and seniors completing general education courses.
PSEO Career & Technical Education (CTE) program for sophomores, juniors and seniors completing eligible career and technical education courses identified by the college.

The application deadlines for both programs are July 1 for fall semester and December 1 for spring semester. Normandale Community College follows the PSEO admissions guidelines set forth by the Minnesota State system.

Individuals applying to the PSEO program will be admitted based on the following eligibility requirements:

High School sophomores: Eligible for the PSEO/CTE program only. Must have attained a passing score on the 8th grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) in reading. Or, an Accuplacer reading score of 78 or higher, if the student did not take the MCA reading test.
High school juniors: Must be in the upper one-third of their class or score at or above the 70th percentile on any nationally standardized, norm-referenced test.
High school seniors: Must be in the upper one-half of their class, or score at or above the 50th percentile on any nationally standardized, norm-referenced test.
Students applying from high schools that do not provide rank must have a 3.5 GPA (to be eligible as a junior) and a 3.0 GPA (to be eligible as a senior) or meet the percentiles on the nationally standardized, norm-referenced tests mentioned above.
Home schooled or students who attend an alternative learning center (ALC) or school which does not provide GPA or rank are eligible for PSEO admission based upon meeting the percentiles of the nationally standardized, norm-referenced tests indicated above. Students who have less than one year experience at an ALC or home school are required to submit previous high school transcripts. Home-schooled students can access the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) standardized tests through the Minnesota Statewide Testing Program.

NOTE: Eligible applicants must satisfy all three sections (reading, writing and mathematics) of Normandale’s placement testing and indicate a college level placement in reading to be eligible to register for general education courses under the PSEO program.

Individuals applying to the PSEO Career and Technical Education program are eligible for only one course the first semester. If a student earns a grade of “C” or better in the one course taken the first semester, the student can enroll in more than one CTE course in subsequent semesters.

A student who first enrolls under the CTE provision while in grade 10 and wishes to enroll in general education courses in grade 11 or 12 must contact the Office of Admissions.

Normandale PSEO Students:

Are not eligible for developmental courses (courses numbered below 1000).
Are not eligible for courses with supplemental fees of $85 or more.
Are not eligible for study abroad.
Cannot repeat courses for which a passing grade has already been earned (including the grade of D).
Receive college-level courses and required textbooks free of charge during the fall and spring semesters (this benefit is not available for summer terms).
However, textbooks paid for through PSEO become the property of Normandale Community College upon completion of the course due to policies established in law by the State of Minnesota.
Are not eligible for financial aid.

The PSEO admissions process involves three steps:

Submitting the application materials and meeting the eligibility requirements.
Satisfying placement testing (if needed).
Attending an advising and registration session.

The Admissions Office will send letters to applicants with information about how to complete each step.

Individuals applying for admission to Normandale Community College under the PSEO program must:

Complete the Normandale PSEO application form. PSEO application materials are available on the Normandale Admissions website on the PSEO Program page or by contacting the Office of Admissions at 952-358-8208.
Submit an official high school transcript. The high school transcript must be sealed in an envelope bearing the high school letterhead and enclosed with the application. Tenth grade CTE program applicants must submit evidence of a passing score on the MCA 8th grade assessment, if not on the high school transcript.
Complete and sign parts 1 and 2 of the Minnesota Department of Education Notice of Registration form and attach to the application.
Alternative/home schooled students must also submit immunization records and records of academic achievement; ACT, SAT, PSAT scores.
Students who have previous college coursework must submit an official transcript from all colleges and universities that they have previously attended.
Submit official ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or other scores that may qualify the student for waivers from placement testing (see the Placement Test Waivers section for further information).

When the application, Minnesota Department of Education form and required transcripts and documents have been received, the Normandale Office of Admissions will send a letter verifying that the student’s application is complete. If the student needs to complete placement testing, additional information on how to complete this requirement will be provided.

Qualified students are accepted to the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program only and are not admitted general enrollment students at Normandale Community College. PSEO students who wish to continue their college education at Normandale after their high school graduation must complete a separate General Admission application form (the $20 application fee is waived) and meet all the specific admission requirements for general enrollment.