By Elise Nikolic
Rampage staff
With 31 colleges in Minnesota offering post-secondary enrollment option programs (PSEO) for high school students to earn college credits, choosing which college can be a difficult decision. Shauna Ling and Isaiah Nolan both had more than one option; one chose Anoka-Ramsey, the other chose the largest school in the state.
Shauna Ling chose to attend the University of Minnesota for PSEO as a junior in high school from Champlin Park High School, but it was not the only option she considered.
“I applied to North Hennepin and Anoka-Ramsey Community Colleges, but I was so surprised that I got into the U of M that I didn’t want any other school,” said Ling. The U of M for PSEO is very competitive; they only accept 500 applicants a year according to the college’s PSEO page.
Ling plans on attending the U of M after high school as well, “I couldn’t say no, the U of M is one of the schools I am considering for college after high school anyway,” she said.
After almost an entire semester done with 14 credits Ling does not regret her decision. “I like the sense of independence and how spread out I am from everyone else; I can take the classes I want to take. By the time I graduate I will save one year’s worth of tuition,” said Ling.
Ling is not completely independent, however. She participates in the U of M PSEO board committee that plans events for U of M PSEO students.
“It helps you get to know people and find people that have the same class as you and maybe find friends to study with. We make events and put them on Facebook and Twitter, and we have a PSEO member that is an academic expert that can answer questions like the best place to study is,” said Ling.
Overall the decision to go to the U over closer colleges for Ling was the right fit for her.
“It’s really cool, I am able to attend a four year university and receive college credit, but it is definitely not for everyone, going from 10th grade to a university takes more than independence,” said Ling.
Ling is satisfied with her PSEO experience at the U of M, but the U is not for everyone especially in Isaiah Nolan’s case. Nolan, a junior at Andover high school, chose to do PSEO at Anoka-Ramsey Community College instead of the U of M due to convenient location yet still being challenged academically, and to receive an associate degree right out of high school.
“I am super close to home at AR; it (the U of M) would have been two hours of driving and gas every day. I would have been stuck down there all day if my classes were spread out. It would have been so hard with two jobs with all that driving,” said Nolan.
Nolan believes that the classes he takes at Anoka-Ramsey are just as challenging as the U would have been. “People say the classes are easier here than at the U which I don’t really understand. Calculus is calculus no matter where you go,’’ said Nolan.
Although Nolan intends to attend the U of M after high school, he said that all of the classes he takes would transfer anyway, “It doesn’t really matter where I go for PSEO all of my 80 credits will transfer and be accepted into the U of M’s computer science program as a freshman,” said Nolan.
Nolan also could have also gotten a ride from his dad who is the senior manager of infrastructure and operations at the U, but it would have been difficult with two jobs since his dad doesn’t leave work till 6 or 7 p.m. “The only reason I would go to the U was if I lived down there, which I don’t or if I wanted to go to a school outside of MN, which I don’t at least for the first four years,” said Nolan.