College Counseling
Naviance
St. Croix Preparatory Academy utilizes Naviance to develop multi-year plans to chart a path toward graduation while achieving college and workplace readiness. Naviance is the leading provider of student success solutions for K-12 schools, providing solutions to over 100,000 educators and 5 million students in over 72 countries.
College Code
Advanced Placement Classes & PSEO Opportunities
St. Croix Prep offers approximately 20 Advanced Placement classes within its curriculum. Students may also pursue Post Secondary Enrollment Options(PSEO) outside of the St. Croix Prep environment. It is important for students and parents to understand the differences in these options and the impact these choices have on graduation and the college application process.
Advanced Placement Classes
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college-level courses taught by high school teachers in the regular school day. Each spring, students may choose to take AP examinations produced by The College Board. Students who take the exams will receive a score ranging from 1-5.
Colleges and universities have widely differing policies on AP. Many schools offer credits if a student’s score meets certain criteria. Other schools will not grant credit, but will grant the student advanced standing, allowing them to skip prerequisite courses. Some schools do not recognize AP scores.
Students who are planning to attend college should consider what role AP courses might play in their academic preparation. AP courses are rigorous and students with appropriate skills and background find that challenging course work can play an important role in their overall college preparation.
If you are not sure about how AP might fit into your college planning, please visit with the College Counselor:
Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO)
Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) is a program that allows 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students to earn both high school and college credit while still in high school, through enrollment in and successful completion of college nonsectarian courses at eligible participating postsecondary institutions. Most PSEO courses are offered on the campus of the postsecondary institution; some courses are offered online. Each participating college or university sets its own admissions requirements for enrollment into the PSEO courses. Eleventh and 12th-grade students may take PSEO courses on a full- or part-time basis; 10th graders are eligible to enroll in PSEO on a more limited basis (see note below). Students must meet the PSEO residency and eligibility requirements and abide by participation limits specified in Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.09. If a school district determines a pupil is not on track to graduate, she/he may continue to participate in PSEO on a term by term basis.
By March 1 of each year, or three weeks prior to the date a student registers for courses for the following school year, schools must provide PSEO information to all students in grades 8-11 and their families. To assist the district in planning, a student must inform the district by May 30 of each year of their intent to enroll in postsecondary courses during the following school year.
There is no charge to PSEO students for tuition, books or fees for items that are required to participate in a course; however, students may incur fees for equipment that becomes their property when the course or program is completed, textbooks that are not returned to the postsecondary institution according to their policies, or for tuition costs if they do not notify the district by May 30 and the district does not waive this date requirement.
Funds are available to help pay transportation expenses for qualifying students to participate in PSEO courses on college campuses. For more information on these funds, access the PSEO Mileage Reimbursement Program Instructions.
Enrolling in a PSEO course does not prohibit a student from participating in activities sponsored by the high school.
School districts must allow a PSEO student reasonable access to the high school building, computers and/or other technology resources during regular school hours to participate in PSEO courses, whether on-line or on campus.
Each year, districts must publish their grade-weighting policy on their website, including a list of courses for which students can earn weighted grades.
All courses taken through the PSEO program must meet graduation requirements. Districts must transcript credits earned in PSEO by a ratio prescribed in statute. Districts have the authority to decide which subject area and standards the PSEO course meets. If there is a dispute between the district and the student regarding the number of credits granted for a particular course, the student may appeal the board’s decision to the commissioner. The commissioner’s decision regarding the number of credits will be final.
Postsecondary institutions are required to allow PSEO students to enroll in online courses consistent with the institution’s policy regarding postsecondary student enrollment in online courses.
Tenth-grade students may initially enroll in one Career and Technical Education (CTE) PSEO course if they receive a reading proficiency score of “meets” or “exceeds” on the 8th grade MCA. If 10th graders taking a CTE PSEO course earn at least a grade C in that class, they may take additional CTE PSEO courses. If the student did not take the MCA in 8th-grade, another reading assessment accepted by the enrolling postsecondary institution can be substituted. For students with disabilities, there is an alternative option to demonstrate reading proficiency.
For current information about the PSEO program, visit the Minnesota Department of Education’s Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) webpage.
Completing a College Application
St. Croix Prep’s College Counselor will assist students with this process, but it is important to note the basic steps in completing a college application:
Basic Steps:
- Obtain an application from each to school to which you are applying. Schools have paper and on line options available.
- Read EACH application carefully. Each institution may have different requirements related to letters of recommendation, essays, and deadlines.
- Complete each application carefully. Be neat, be complete, be on time. Make sure your application reflects your best work.
- Have your official ACT/SAT scores sent to each school. If you did not request that scores be sent to colleges when you took the test, you can request scores through the ACT and SAT websites.
- Common Application. Some schools allow you to use the Common Application to apply to several schools using the same basic form.
The Common Application
The Common Application membership association was established in 1975 by 15 private colleges that wished to provide a common, standardized first-year application form for use at any member institution. Now in their fourth decade, the Common Application currently provides both online and print versions of its First-year and Transfer Applications.
Their membership of more than 400 institutions represents the full range of higher education institutions in the US: public and private, large and small, highly selective and modestly selective, and East Coast, West Coast, and every region in between
You can download the application, complete the application, then print it off to be sent by mail or you can submit the application through the Web at:
Common Application. Some schools allow you to use the Common Application to apply to several schools using the same basic form.
