PSEO credit at the University of Minnesota

[umnpremed]

This last school year I was a PSEO student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. PSEO is basically a program that lets select high school students take advanced classes at the University during their senior year in high school. I took a full course load and, along with my AP credits, will enter college with approximately 46 credits (including the chemistry class I will be taking this summer). My current concern is my volunteering/research situation that I am in. Since this PSEO experience basically counts for my freshman year of college, I am worried because I was not involved in any volunteer activities. I am interested in finding a volunteer opportunity, however I am having a hard time. Will the medical school admissions committee think that it is strange/unacceptable that I do not have any volunteer activities during what is basically my first year of college?

Also, I do not anticipate grades to be a problem, I currently have a 3.9 and am doing well in my courses.

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[sc2016]

This last school year I was a PSEO student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. PSEO is basically a program that lets select high school students take advanced classes at the University during their senior year in high school. I took a full course load and, along with my AP credits, will enter college with approximately 46 credits (including the chemistry class I will be taking this summer). My current concern is my volunteering/research situation that I am in. Since this PSEO experience basically counts for my freshman year of college, I am worried because I was not involved in any volunteer activities. I am interested in finding a volunteer opportunity, however I am having a hard time. Will the medical school admissions committee think that it is strange/unacceptable that I do not have any volunteer activities during what is basically my first year of college?

Also, I do not anticipate grades to be a problem, I currently have a 3.9 and am doing well in my courses.

PSEO does not count as 1st year of college even if you treat it that way. It is still high school. Adcoms don't care about volunteering in high school or PSEO.

 

[umnpremed]

So are you telling me that even though I anticipate going to college for 3 years, I still need to spend money on another year of college even though I already have the credits?

 

[Ursa]

So are you telling me that even though I anticipate going to college for 3 years, I still need to spend money on another year of college even though I already have the credits?

no...you graduate when you finish your degree. from high school graduation until college graduation is how long you were in college...even if you earned credits before hs graduation. if you graduate hs after PSEO, then it doesn't count as "being in college."

don't worry. even people who go to college for four years dont do **** to volunteer and shadow, and theyre fine. just start EC's when you actually start college.

 

[Robinson Crusoe]

College courses taken during high school will be factored into your GPA for applying to medical school, but AMCAS will note that these course were taken in high school.

As to graduating after three years of full-time college, do you plan to apply to medical school after your second year or after your third/last year? If you apply after your second year, you will only have two years to build up your resume, while most other applicants will have three years (if they apply after junior year) or four years (if they apply after senior year) to build up their resumes. This is a big disadvantage.

 

[rhesuspieces]

Like everyone else said, PSEO counts towards your college GPA but is still considered part of your high school years.

If you have any other questions about volunteering/research/miscellaneous pre-med related stuff at the U, feel free to shoot me a PM. I'm a recent U of MN grad 😀

 

[umnpremed]

I am not entirely sure when I am going to apply, but as far as GPA and competitive classes, I am at or above many normal medical school applicants. I will also most likely be minoring in Astrophysics, Biochemistry, and Biology in addition to my Chemistry degree. My only disadvantage that I see at this time is my lack of volunteer and research experiences. I do have experience with customer interactions through my job as a cashier. I aim to enter Medical school as soon as I can however, if I must, I guess that I will have to take an extra year from when I graduate to accrue volunteer hours and opportunities. Or, perhaps, I could volunteer during the summer and the school year. Either way, I hope that medical admission committees will see my drive for personal improvement and my ability to excel.

 

[umnpremed]

Sorry to revive a really old thread, however, after applying to medical school the first time (matriculate in 2014) I was rejected. I listed my PSEO courses under the designation High School (HS on AMCAS) and they changed and corrected a bunch of stuff, spanning two months (which delayed my application). I'm almost certain that it is related to PSEO and it messing things up. Is there something I should do differently when applying next time, I can't afford this type of gap.

 

[deleted577188]

I got an Associates Degree before I graduated high school and boy do I wish I had taken some of those classes more serious. Keep that GPA up!