Free College!!

The school day looks much shorter for students enrolled in online PSEO, or postsecondary enrollment option classes, which are online college courses available for upperclassmen. New Ulm High School has partnerships with multiple colleges including, Mankato State University, Southern Minnesota State University, and Bemidji State University in order to allow high schoolers to obtain college credit for free. Students can also take PSEO classes from colleges of their choosing as long as it fits all of the necessary requirements.

“I took PSEO classes this semester to experience a college curriculum from actual professors while at the same time taking college classes online for free,” said senior Emma Gieseke. “I do enjoy it because it gives me the opportunity to do the classes on my own time and it gives me a larger variety of classes and topics to choose from.” When taking online PSEO classes, students get one hour off during the day per class they take, and another hour off as ‘college study time’ for every 4 college credits they take.

Having so much time off in a day can be both beneficial and dangerous depending on a student’s time management skills.

“I like my PSEO classes because I can do them wherever and whenever I want, and they really help me understand time management which will be helpful when I go to college,” said senior Kate Frauenholtz.

Frauenholtz completes her school day by 11 a.m. and has the rest of the day off with which she fills her time working, doing PSEO classes, and spending time with friends. She reported already having saved over $10,000 in tuition by taking college courses at New Ulm High School.